In one of the largest purchases that the Microsoft has made, Skype was recently purchased for $8.5 billion. Many have speculated that with this purchase, Microsoft will kill the Mac OS X and Linux Clients. Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer has allayed the fear that non-Microsoft platforms will no longer receive Skype updates.
To support his point, Ballmer provided a couple of examples where Microsoft supports non-Microsoft platforms. These included Office for Mac, iOS applications and Android applications.
Ballmer also announced that Skype will be its own distinct division within Microsoft that will not be folded into other divisions, unlike the previous purchase of Sidekick’s company Danger. Danger was integrated in with the Windows Phone division.
I’m not sure why many have speculated that Microsoft would kill non-Microsoft platform support. If Microsoft were to do this, they would be throwing away a significant number of potential users, and it would generate significant ill-will towards current customers. Additionally, it would give more customers to Microsoft’s rivals like Google and Apple.
Article Via Electronista
