Anyone know if it will make any difference to our free SKYPIE calls to the UK or not?

Found this, lets hope they don't screw up the SKYPE thingy

http://newsstream.blogs.cnn.com/2011...kype-what-now/

Ohh bum they are saying it may get screwed up

http://news.yahoo.com/s/dailybeast/2...twillscrewitup

Microsoft says it intends to keep Skype operating at arms-length, as an independent division. Supposedly that will keep those brilliant engineers from bailing out. Lets hope so ?

Then they will re-vamp it and call it skype bloody vista and it will crash every 5 mins, and charge us 100's of squid licence fees for the pleasure.

Doomed I tell ya.

Seems it's going to be it's own Business Division at MS, Microsoft Skype appears to be the name.

It'll probably have a bit of rebranding, but hopefully the core will remain. At least it means the OS X version of the app won't be woefully behind the Windows version, as is the case with MSN Messenger. It took a painfully long time to get video into the Mac version of Messenger, I think it only happened last year, whereas the PC version has had it for quite some time, at least since 2003!

So, I'd say the current Messenger app MS provides will die, to be replaced / upgraded to the new Skype based version.

... if the worst comes to the worst - and I say this as someone who's been using skype for at least eight or nine years, then google are starting to operate a similar type of service....

I don't think so - at least not that way. My guess is that this will fit into their strategy for what they will do with lync which is a more obvious successor to msn messenger. Though I don't work at microsoft and who knows what they are really thinking.

Video is becoming more accessible so there's nothing to worry about. Whether it's Skype, Google, Cisco UMI, and not forgetting the mobile devices such as iPad / iPhone, Blackberry Playbook, etc.

Not sure the free ones will remain free though.

My thoughts also.

iChat on the Mac is free and very good quality compared with anything I've seen.

ooVoo is better than Skype, always get a better quality connection and is free...

But Skype has more Riboflavin and folic acid.

haha... depends on the quality of milk as well.