Microsoft to buy Skype?

According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft is set to acquire VOIP company Skype for almost $8 billion. This would rank as the largest acquisition in the history of Microsoft, bringing to mind their failed bid for Yahoo three years ago.

It is unclear to me what, exactly, Microsoft would be gaining with this purchase. Skype is a great service for video-conferencing and internet telephony, but it is already having problems with profitability and security. And these core technologies are widely available and cheap to deploy without buying the core technology. eBay purchased Skype in 2005, and has found little to do with it since then. Then again, they have also invested relatively little, since then.

Perhaps this will give Microsoft something to compete with Apple's FaceTime and Google's GoogleTalk. Or maybe it is just a landgrab for Skype's millions of users, who can easily and quickly switch providers in a heartbeat.

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.