We use Skype a lot. Video calls with our granddaughter, many family members that live overseas, friends. Now Microsoft is buying Skype. Will this have a positive or negative impact for frequent users like us?
Poll: Microsoft buying Skype - good or bad
- Thread starter MichaelB
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studbucket
Recycles dryer sheets
So, I work for MSFT and was surprised to see this news this AM. Overall, I think it could be a very good thing. This could help our collaborative products, integrate with Kinect/XBox 360, and be nice on Windows Phone.
I do have a few concerns though.
1) The company vastly overpaid for Skype
2) Our recent history of buying out companies has been kind of bad. Buying out a good Danger company, treating them like crap, and then putting out one of the most embarrassing products ever: Kin. Then we let them all go. This better not be a repeat.
Anyway, I'm glad to see that some sentiment (at least so far) is at least a bit positive, many people like to beat up on MSFT because of our rep as "boring" or the "Evil Empire".
I do have a few concerns though.
1) The company vastly overpaid for Skype
2) Our recent history of buying out companies has been kind of bad. Buying out a good Danger company, treating them like crap, and then putting out one of the most embarrassing products ever: Kin. Then we let them all go. This better not be a repeat.
Anyway, I'm glad to see that some sentiment (at least so far) is at least a bit positive, many people like to beat up on MSFT because of our rep as "boring" or the "Evil Empire".
studbucket
Recycles dryer sheets
Also, I will not vote in the poll because I'm biased, but I'm very interested to see what the sentiment here is.
ziggy29
Moderator Emeritus
In another couple of decades, there will be about seven businesses left on the face of the earth because the smaller companies have all been bought out.
haha
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
True, and no new ones will start.
Then the government can take over these few large companies, and we can all take the advice I have passing out for several years to join the winning team- El Gobierno!
Ha
ERD50
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I'm very skeptical that MS will turn this into to something better for the average consumer. I suspect they will try to tie it to their phone OS and other OSs will be get short shrift.
What is stopping them from bringing out Skype on a Windows phone now? It's on iPhone, iPad , iPod Touch, and Android phones, and they didn't buy the company.
Yes. So what does that say about the new owner?
You can hope it isn't a repeat, but I bet history is a better predictor. What has changed in the Microsoft corporate culture since Kin? Why should I have any realistic expectations that it will be different this time?
I won't beat up on Microsoft for being 'boring' or an 'Evil Empire' (although I could - after all, you said the company has that 'rep' - must be a reason). I'll beat up on them for producing what I consider sub-standard products (and you apparently agree with your example of 'Kin'). A real shame considering the talent and power they have at their disposal. I would think they should be able to blow my socks off with 9 out of 10 product releases.
Here, for example - why shouldn't a company with all the experience and resources and financial strength that Microsoft has not be able to dominate this market? Take away their monopoly leverage, and they appear unable to compete:-
Microsoft’s U.S. smartphone market share dips despite Windows Phone 7 | WinRumors
More importantly, what other options are there to Skype for us? I like choice and competition, so I'd like to check out the competition. I am just sorry that I have $8.23 in my Skype account that now belongs to Microsoft
-ERD50
What is stopping them from bringing out Skype on a Windows phone now? It's on iPhone, iPad , iPod Touch, and Android phones, and they didn't buy the company.Yes. So what does that say about the new owner?
You can hope it isn't a repeat, but I bet history is a better predictor. What has changed in the Microsoft corporate culture since Kin? Why should I have any realistic expectations that it will be different this time?
I won't beat up on Microsoft for being 'boring' or an 'Evil Empire' (although I could - after all, you said the company has that 'rep' - must be a reason). I'll beat up on them for producing what I consider sub-standard products (and you apparently agree with your example of 'Kin'). A real shame considering the talent and power they have at their disposal. I would think they should be able to blow my socks off with 9 out of 10 product releases.
Here, for example - why shouldn't a company with all the experience and resources and financial strength that Microsoft has not be able to dominate this market? Take away their monopoly leverage, and they appear unable to compete:-
Microsoft’s U.S. smartphone market share dips despite Windows Phone 7 | WinRumors
More importantly, what other options are there to Skype for us? I like choice and competition, so I'd like to check out the competition. I am just sorry that I have $8.23 in my Skype account that now belongs to Microsoft
-ERD50
Texas Proud
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I agree... overpaid for the company... I think they could have started from scratch and built a new one that would have been even better cheaper...
I am sure they will not get it working right... who wants to use their XBox for this Right now my wife tries to watch movies using the Xbox and it is a LONG process of connecting etc etc... and then there is no easy remote for it... and they it breaks the connection and you have to start over...
SOOO, I am sure they will do something like this to Skype... where it does not work.. (PS... we are a PAYING Skype user and like it)....
I am sure they will not get it working right... who wants to use their XBox for this
Right now my wife tries to watch movies using the Xbox and it is a LONG process of connecting etc etc... and then there is no easy remote for it... and they it breaks the connection and you have to start over... SOOO, I am sure they will do something like this to Skype... where it does not work.. (PS... we are a PAYING Skype user and like it)....
ERD50
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Ooops, looks like a trend:
Report: Microsoft Lays Unsuccessful Zune to Rest | Gadget Lab | Wired.com
How long before Skype joins the graveyard?
-ERD50
Report: Microsoft Lays Unsuccessful Zune to Rest | Gadget Lab | Wired.com
How long before Skype joins the graveyard?
-ERD50
grumpy
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
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We use Skype to keep up with our new granddaughter who lives 200 miles away. Our son is a software engineer for Redhat and has always hated MS products. My guess is that he will shortly find us another software platform to use in place of Skype. So from that perspective this will be bad.
OP
OP
Microsoft already has audio and video chat capabilities using windows messenger, dating back to XP. I'm not sure if there is any technology in Skype that MS doesn't already have. So, will they just merge messenger into Skype? Are they just rebranding their own service - for $8.5N?
chinaco
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They are buying the large and entrenched user base!
They will broaden the user base by deploying it on everything they produce.... including business products!
studbucket
Recycles dryer sheets
I have no insight into the Windows Phone organization or the ideas behind purchasing Skype. I'd tell you more if I could.
Yes. So what does that say about the new owner?
Well, Microsoft is such a big company (90000 worldwide I think), that it's a bit of a broad brush to say that "corporate culture" is the same as Kin. Kin was a dead product that we apparently HAD to do for political reasons and shipped it despite no support from OEMs or WinPhone. I have no clue how it got to such a bad place, but most of the knuckleheads in charge at that time are gone or have demoted.
Kin was an absolute disaster, and Skype is a good product. If we manage to mess this up, even myself (a big optimist) will have to have some 2nd thoughts about this company.
You're right, we should be able to do that. However, aside from disasters like Kin, in what sense (in the last 5-6 years) has Microsoft not released quality products?
I think the 2 most recent Office Suites are very nice, Windows 7 is great, Microsoft Security Essentials and the Windows Live suite are great (and both free!) and the Server Business is booming.
I can understand the complaints about Vista (I didn't like it), but those were mostly UX problems (especially once you learn the technical details of Vista's issues).
I'd counter that MSFT's issues aren't quality, but rather the overall customer experience and the inability to respond to the market in a timely manner. (See, WinPhone 7, Tablets, etc)
Related to what I said above. WinPhone 7 is actually pretty awesome...it just came like 2-3 years too late. It's a business leadership issue, not a technological issue.
But you're right, not many excuses for why Microsoft has "stagnated" when it comes to innovation and consumer products.
I am sure they will not get it working right... who wants to use their XBox for this
It sounds like that's not really an XBox problem, but more of an internet connection/bandwidth issue. I watch HD Sports through ESPN 360 and movies on Netflix often, and play games online when I can. There's a small connection time, but it's not bad.
As far as the remote goes, the stock one isn't great, that's true
So, given the time it will take for
A) This acquisition to happen
B) Microsoft to come up with a business strategy
C) Overcome corporate inertia
Tells me that you shouldn't worry about any changes to your Skype for 1-2 years. Just a hunch. If I learn anything I can share, I'll post it here later.
I think these are 2 completely different situations, and there's no trend to be found. Skype is going to be its own entire Division in Microsoft, as in the Skype CEO now reports to Ballmer. This puts Skype at a very importance place.
Zune was a product buried way down the chain:
Entertainment & Devices Division->Specialized Devices & Applications->Zune.
Zune v1 sucked IMO. Zune v2 was fine, but was 1-2 years behind the times in technology. Zune HD is/was an awesome product, but Microsoft was too late to the game, so it had no chance to succeed. The Zune software is pretty nice, but way too bloated and slow.
The best thing to come out of the Zune was the UI/UX that WinPhone 7 took.
Texas Proud
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It sounds like that's not really an XBox problem, but more of an internet connection/bandwidth issue. I watch HD Sports through ESPN 360 and movies on Netflix often, and play games online when I can. There's a small connection time, but it's not bad.
As far as the remote goes, the stock one isn't great, that's true
So, given the time it will take for
A) This acquisition to happen
B) Microsoft to come up with a business strategy
C) Overcome corporate inertia
Tells me that you shouldn't worry about any changes to your Skype for 1-2 years. Just a hunch. If I learn anything I can share, I'll post it here later.
Since you quoted me on my post I will respond....
My wife and kids are not watching Netflix or one of the other sites that are part of Xbox... they are watching an online video site that they play through windows media player... it is on her laptop and then goes to the Xbox... the connection to the media player is hit and miss... there are times when it connects with little trouble and other times it will not connect at all... even when we go through all the steps it tells us to do... and it is the Xbox that drops as the computer is still showing the movie when we look... I will solve this with another laptop and an HDMI cable...
As for Skype... you are right... nothing will probably change for up to two years... and heck, there is a possibility that it might get better with big buck behind it.... I would love to buy a Skype phone instead of using the computer.. but the costs now are way to high for me....
BigNick
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
My internet company here in France lets me call 80 countries worldwide, including the US, Canada, Australia, etc, for free, using an interface I know: either a regular cordless phone, or my mobile phone over WiFi using the SIP protocol. Skype is going to have to add a lot of features before I'm going to want to regularly connect to people using their way of working. It's occasionally nice to use video to talk to our kids at college, but we do that maybe once every couple of months because it requires them and us to sit still where there's a webcam (OK, we should have bought tablets by now, but there's that whole LBYM thing).
So I voted "no" because, even thought they are no more than a minor irritant these days and we're all meant to hate Apple and Google now, I still haven't forgiven Microsoft for ten or so years of "something has gone wrong, please contact your system administrator", as if your system administrator - that would be me - had the slightest freaking clue what the latest piece of carp from M$ had broken.
So I voted "no" because, even thought they are no more than a minor irritant these days and we're all meant to hate Apple and Google now, I still haven't forgiven Microsoft for ten or so years of "something has gone wrong, please contact your system administrator", as if your system administrator - that would be me - had the slightest freaking clue what the latest piece of carp from M$ had broken.
Rustic23
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Heard some interesting comments today on the business channel. One, Skype has only1% of its registrants that actually pay for the service. The rest are add supported. The talking heads pointed out that Microsoft has not been good at turning an add based business into a profitable business. I guess time will tell.
If I was one of the thousands of investors who've been buying MSFT stock for its "bargain valuation", then I'd be mightily pissed off about this news. MSFT could've "integrated" and "been nice" with licensing fees and other "partnerships" without having to buy the whole hog. This smacks of executive ego, and I'm not referring to Skype's staff.
I'm not sure why MSFT believes that (despite seed money, angels, VCs, eBay, and private equity) they can actually turn Skype into a profit center. Somewhere Meg Whitman is laughing her assets off at Ballmer or Bill Gates, perhaps making a side bet with them. We remember what AOL did to Time-Warner. Maybe Skype is about to do it to MSFT.
If I saw MSFT treating acquired employees that way, I'd make sure my resume was perpetually buffed up and my ER plan perking along.
I can't wait to see what perspective Scott Berkun has on this news...
M Paquette
Moderator Emeritus
Gah. This will likely turn out to be another complete waste of cash, like so many previous mergers. They'll fold in the company, and within a year or two, introduce everyone to Microsoft HR, sprinkle some partners on top, and apply whatever flavor of stack ranking they use for evaluations then to the new kids in town. Cue employees running for the exits...
I predict that this winds up just like Microsoft's previous takeovers and mergers. Someone will decide to tie it to Passport or Windows Live. Then it'll become part of the Windows 8 Phone feature list and honk off AT&T.
I've seen this particular evolution before. Howzat Danger Sidekick phone? Remember Massive, the in-game advertiser? Neither do I. How about LinkExchange? Oops, competed with MSN Search banner ads. Oh, WebTV! Yeah, um, we're gonna do XBox now. Bye, guys. Well, there's aQuantive ad software. At least Yahoo or Google didn't get it. Yeah, they just got the employees... Well, there were those investments in Korea Telecom, Comcast, and Titus, so they were sure to lock up the settop box market. Your settop box runs Windows Media Center, right? No? Um...
Beryl
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I have nothing against Microsoft. However, I don't think this is good news for Skype users like me. I hope I'm wrong.
M Paquette
Moderator Emeritus
One more idle thought. As Skype has been a non-US company, and distributed the software from outside the USA, they were able to offer strong encryption as a standard part of the package. This allowed Skype voice to be used as a secure communications channel.
As part of Microsoft, a US corporation, the rules change a bit. Microsoft Skype, being a Voice over IP service, will have to comply with the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). The Act obliges telecommunications companies to make it possible for law enforcement agencies to tap any phone conversations carried out over its networks, as well as making call detail records available. The act stipulates that it must not be possible for a person to detect that his or her conversation is being monitored by the respective government agency.
As part of Microsoft, a US corporation, the rules change a bit. Microsoft Skype, being a Voice over IP service, will have to comply with the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). The Act obliges telecommunications companies to make it possible for law enforcement agencies to tap any phone conversations carried out over its networks, as well as making call detail records available. The act stipulates that it must not be possible for a person to detect that his or her conversation is being monitored by the respective government agency.
studbucket
Recycles dryer sheets
Thanks for the thoughts guys. Once again, this seems like a somewhat wasteful purchase. I don't think MSFT is living below its means, or at least not in LBYM in the right areas
I just hope this means good news, because if it's good for the company, it's good for me.
I just hope this means good news, because if it's good for the company, it's good for me.
Hmm--Maybe MSFT bought Skype at the quiet urging of US government entities. How conveeeenient. (I feel another conspiracy theory brewing!)
I'd opine that MSFT doesn't appear to give a d*mn about the customer experience.
1) How many hours did we all spend having to re-learn how to do familiar tasks in the latest version of Office? If you use Powerpoint a lot, you know what I'm talking about. "Where's the box that lets me . . .??!! It used to be right here! ". If MSFT cared about what folks thought, customers would get two choices when they installed the new software.
"Choose an option"
A) "Hide all my familiar menus and scramble everything the way the wizbang good idea fairies at Redmond sold it to their bosses.
B) Please, PLEASE make it look and function as much like the old version as possible. I've spent hundreds of hours learning that.
2) If they cared, MSFT would not allow manufacturers to sell software or hardware products as "Windows XX" compatible until they really were. MSFT would grab hold of the certification process and be ruthless. I spent all day today trying to get Windows 7 to see and use my old scanner. The new driver for the old scanner is supposed to work with Windows 7 (x64). Of course, maybe the problem is my antivirus program. Who the h*ll knows? There are literally thousands of things that could be causing the problem ("you might need to add a new section to your PATH statement" --or maybe not. It worked for some guy at one time so that's what we all get to try. Nope, keep guessing!). I know, I'll call Microsoft, maybe they'll help me (HA, HA!!). Every Windows user gets to be a beta tester and sysad. If Microsoft would attend to this problem like their business depended on it, they could cut Apple's laptop business in half within 5 years.
Signed,
Another happy Microsoft Customer (and user of Skype--until it gets "improved")
Edited to add: I'd gladly spend $100 additional for the OS when I buy a computer if I can be sure that hardware and software would actually function with it. Money like that could allow MSFT to do real compliance and validation testing. And make more profit.
Didn't Microsoft make a big investment in Apple a decade or so ago? I wonder how that worked out...
ERD50
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Well, I'm not going to try to counter all of this point-by point, but if you look back at your post, there sure are a lot of qualifiers in there. Why should such a powerhouse company require all these disclaimers (but, but ,but... we weren't bad, we were just late; we didn't get enough support; those were 'just' bla, bla problems; It's a business leadership issue, not a technological issue; it was a product buried way down the chain; ___ is pretty nice, but way too bloated and slow; etc , etc.)
And the piece de' resistance of your post (which samclem already covered, I'm just piling on at this point
): We are talking software here, right? What else is there, other than the overall customer experience? Isn't that just about everything? Let's see, when I buy a software product, I'm focused on: "gee, that sure is a shiny CD there", or " Wudda purdy box they put that CD in", or "gee, that sure is a long serial number they want me to type in"? Or is it " the overall customer experience? If MS isn't focusing on the overall customer experience, and getting it to the customer on time, then the only prayer they have is their monopoly power (which has served them well for decades).This is why I am kind of glad they decided to start paying us more instead of giving us stock grants
Well, if they wanted to motivate the employees financially, I don't think they had much choice...
-ERD50
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