WHAT IF? Microsoft & Skype

There are many people second-guessing the Microsoft acquisition of Skype. And for good reason. $8.5 billion is Microsoft's largest acquisition ever, and it was for a service which largely duplicates the existing MS Messenger application. The only two features that Skype has which MSN does not are: (1) the ability for telephones to call into it, and (2) the ability to call out to telephones.

And I am wondering if that is EXACTLY what MS wanted to buy.

A little while ago, Google rolled out Google Voice as "the last phone number you'll ever need". The idea was that you could give people your Google Voice number, and it would "bounce" the calls to whatever other phone you chose. It was paired with a clever speech-recognition system which was able to transcribe voice mails and send them to you as text messages and/or e-mails. The whole thing is quite clever, but it is ultimately a hack looking to work around the existing phone systems.

What if, rather than just adding Skype to XBox, Microsoft wants to change Windows Phone such that all calls thru it are done via VOIP, routed thru Microsoft servers. If Microsoft "owns" your phone number, then all calls are over data connections and it doesn't matter if you are calling on a Verizon phone, a Sprint phone, an AT&T phone, or even over your home Wifi or your XBox's ethernet connection. It could provide true phone number portability - perhaps better regarded as phone number "agnosticism" (so long as you stay with a Windows Phone). You could even, theoretically, have a "family phone" where all members of the family have their cell phones/laptops/XBoxes/Zunes ring when anyone calls their Microsoft phone number.

This would truly be thinking outside the box, and could free the customer from the control of the cellular companies. Of course, I doubt the cell phone companies would be too fond of that idea.

HP buys Palm - Geeks rejoice

While the Apple Newton was the first attempt at a mass-market PDA, Palm was the company that really brought the idea of a handheld computing platform to the masses. Their "Palm Pilot" transformed the industry and reminded techies that simple is good. In recent years, Palm has fallen on hard times - mostly due to missteps by management teams who had no idea how to compete with the modern threats of Apple and Google - but after a few weeks of uncertainty HP has announced a purchase of Palm for $1.2 billion. This goes a long way toward ensuring some kind of future for the innovative company.

And as Sean has pointed out, this may lead to even more exciting possibilities like an HP branded iPad competitor running the WebOS!

Microsoft to buy Danger (Maker of T-Mobile Sidekick)

In an apparent attempt to end the iPhone's dominance over Windows Mobile, Microsoft has announced they will be buying out Danger the maker of the Sidekick line of phones. Long-time Mod-Bloggers are aware that once upon a time I was a HUGE fan of the Sidekick devices, which were great for doing e-mail and text messaging. However, when the iPhone appeared, I quickly made the switch.

Honestly, this may be good for Danger, whose phones were being quickly marginalized by the growing smartphone market. Their phones were always popular with teens, but never figured out how to sell to adults. If they can marry Microsoft's business savvy with the Sidekick form factor and web-savvy nature, it could work.

REMEMBER: If Microsoft buys Yahoo, they own Flickr, too

I am a huge fan and power user of Flickr, a photo site which is focussed on encouraging users to share and view each others photos. It is great because it allows posting of any of your own photos on any of your own websites, and has a huge array of partners to make better use of the photos. They also expose an API to allow other websites to share their data and produce interesting applications and mashups. Last year, they were acquired by Yahoo, who pretty much decided to not change anything about Flickr, other than integrating the usernames with Yahoo identities.

Now, Microsoft has made an offer to acquire Yahoo and by doing so they would end up owning Flickr as well. And while Flickr is famous for sharing and openness, Microsoft is famous for HATING sharing and openness. As such, a rebellion is forming among Flickr power users and many are threatening to take their business elsewhere. If you are a FLickr user, I STRONGLY recommend you consider using their QOOP service now to get backup disks, to ensure you do not lose control of your own photos.

To be fair, Microsoft would be CRAZY to change much about Flickr. It would invalidate the reason for the acquisition. The problem is, you can NEVER be sure Microsoft won't be crazy. Backup disks provide insurance. OR you may want to consider one of their competitors which allow automatic import of Flickr libraries.