(cc) Florian SEROUSSI
Don’t Panic.
The biggest story in tech today is probably this story about Microsoft buying Skype. Last week everyone thought the bidders were Google and Facebook so this is a bit of a surprise. So why is MS doing this and does it have any implications for education?
First, I think Microsoft had to do this if only to prevent Google or Facebook from getting their hands on it. I do cringe a little bit thinking about what kind of damage MS can do if turned loose but I think they will wisely leave the Skype people alone to do their thing. Interestingly, they say that Skype will be on more platforms in the future which is where this deal will benefit education.
The big limitation of Facetime on the Mac and iPhone is it is limited to those platforms. Skype can be the answer to that. Skype is more and more popular for video conferencing, so now it’s going to be on more platforms it can only help to connect more people for educational purposes.
More resources for faster development, more platforms = good for everyone.
So, overall this is a good thing as long as Microsoft doesn’t mess this up. 
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Confirmed: Microsoft is Buying Skype for $8.5 Billion
Playing prevent defense
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Last week, it was Google and Facebook who were said to be purchasing Skype. Today, Microsoft has announced that actually? They’re the ones snapping up the VoIP company. The confirmed price is $8.5 billion; considerably more than what eBay bought Skype for back in 2005.
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