It's hard to tell if this is real or got, given that this got published on Techcrunch on April 1st, but I have to agree, this makes sense. eBay clearly hasn't got a clue what to do with Skype. Google, while it may not have a clue what to do with it either, at least has some money and other acquisitions that are in a similar space.
Possible synergies with other Google-acquired properties aside, I think one thing Google could bring to Skype right away is eliminating the dreaded client-side Supernode problem. Google has got the servers-and the bandwidth-to reduce or eliminate supernodes forming on unsuspecting client PCs.
If eBay were to sell out Skype to Google, though, I wonder how long it would take before it was Google-fied. Recent acquisitions GrandCentral, Jaiku, and others have not been brought into the fold as of yet. Is Google waiting for Skype to tie them together? What do you think?
{ 3 } Comments
Do you really think that another major company would make the mistake of throwing away money on Skype? Or do you think eBay might end up paying Google to take Skype off their hands?
where would this leave gtalk voip? would google turn skype protocol into an open standard? consistent with at least there ‘promoted’ philosophies?
@j.a. watson: There is/was some sort of partnership between Google and Skype signed a while back, so having these companies “talk” is not unexpected.
@tom: If Google buys Skype, it’s going to be a few years (likely) before anything actually happens with gtalk. Supposedly, the partnership I mentioned above covered interop with gtalk. Hm….
Post a Comment