Microsoft And Skype Ink $8.5 Billion Partnership

Microsoft has aquired Skype for $8.5 billion which has also made Skype very happy, giving its software a major “foot in the door.” Skype is used by literally hundreds of millions of people world wide. Microsoft CEO steve Ballmer looks forward to working with Skype in the coming years to create new ways for people to connect with family and friends Ballmer said last night at the conference.

Microsoft had previously announced back in May it’s intentions in aquiring Skype but it wasn’t until now that the deal was finally made.

For those unfamiliar with Skype’s services, they offer free video calls over the Internet. For a small fee you can also use “SkypeOut” a service allowing you to dial ordinary telephone numbers that connect through Skype also. Skype, in a public statement, announced that they have 65 million daily users for the service. With statistics of 700 million minutes a day on video calls and 30 million minutes a day on standard phone calls.

The merger has also made Skype CEO toney Bates now president of the Microsoft Skype Division. EVen though Microsoft and Skype will merge and be integrated into Microsoft future products they have staed that Skype will still be available for use on other platforms also, like MAC OS and Android. So there’s no need to panic if you dont own a Microsoft operating system already!