Microsoft to Buy Skype

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Sorry for the lack of updates, I have been busy watching my beloved Los Angeles Lakers get swept by the Dallas Mavericks. And thus ends the Kobe Bryant Era. Sigh...

But much like the fall of dynasties in sports, dynasties in the tech world also fall. Except in the tech world, once you hit rock bottom, you do not come back (i.e., Atari). There is no magical player that can resurrect your franchise, like Kevin Garnett did for the Boston Celtics in 2008. We are witnessing the potential collapse of the Microsoft dynasty. Once Microsoft was the undisputed tech giant, now they are being assaulted on all fronts. They needed to act. And so they have!

Microsoft has agreed to buy Skype for $8.5 billion dollars. Skype is a company with 170 million users. Skype is also a company synonymous with video chat. Video chat will continue to become an integral part of the future of how we communicate. This acquisition is a Charlie Sheen approved "winning" move. Google had just released an update for their Google Talk application which allows for video chat (if you have a front facing camera phone with the newest operating system). Apple introduced their "Facetime" feature with the iPhone4 (too bad you can only use it within the Apple product line). The Skype deal definitely puts Microsoft ahead of Google and Apple in the race to provide consumers the best line of video communications software.

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