At last a new bèta after the eBay purchase: Skype v2.0 bèta is now a fact. Apart from a few changes in the layout, new features have also been added. Stuff that caught my eye immediately are: personal messages that appear next to your name in the contact-list (much like in msn) , new ‘bubble’ sounds, and most important of all: video. Yep, they finally added a web cam feature. Haven’t been able to test it yet, but you can read a review on Skype v2 at latimes.com (you need to register, or use bugmenot ). I’m glad to see that Skype finally added web-cam support, because...

Tibault, apologies from me – you were slightly more realistic!  London, September 12, 2005 – eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY; www.ebay.com) has agreed to acquire Luxembourg-based Skype Technologies SA, the global Internet communications company, for approximately $2.6 billion in up-front cash and eBay stock, plus potential performance-based consideration. The acquisition will strengthen eBay’s global marketplace and payments platform, while opening several new lines of business and creating significant new monetization opportunities for the company. The deal also represents a major...

The Wall Street Journal reported today that EBay is in talks to buy the Luxembourg-based Skype, whose software allows Internet users to speak to each other for free. The acquisition would cost $2 billion to $3 billion, the paper said, citing people familiar with the talks. Skype has held discussions with other potential purchasers including News Corp., Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp., the Journal said. The talks with EBay are at a sensitive stage and may still collapse, the newspaper said. Interesting, I heard there had been discussions, but I didn’t know Microsoft had been one of the potential...

Well this hardley comes as a surprise after Google Talk joined in the competition against Skype, MS hardley wanted to loose out on this expanding market.  Microsoft is preparing to enable computer users to make a normal phone call from their PC. The computer giant has increased its presence in the fast-growing internet phone sector by purchasing leading player Teleo for an undisclosed sum. Microsoft and rivals AOL, Google and Yahoo all currently allow phone calls between computers, but not yet to a domestic or mobile handset. Yahoo! is also in the process of making such a system.  :arrow:...