Skype was founded in 2003 by Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis - the creators of the Kazaa file-sharing program - with a simple idea and it revolutionized the way people communicate over the Internet. They wanted to 'give voice communications to any high quality with an Internet connection anywhere in the world'.
But why has revolutionized? Skype allows users to make connections between a Skype and a landline, and Skype from a mobile phone, and conference calls. And that two-way: as a Skype can call a conventional phone, the opposite also happens.
In late 2010, the service reached an average of 145 million online users each month. Users of the tool made 207 billion minutes of voice calls and video last year.
Hand in hand
In 2005, Skype was sold to eBay for $ 2.6 billion. At the time he was little more than 50 million users. Even after the sale, the founders Zennstrom and Friis have remained in their posts.
According to eBay's own blog, the founders of Skype have formed a new project of IPTV - a technology used to transmit television signals also based on the use of IP - Internet Protocol - with money from the sale.
Even before being bought by Microsoft, Skype changed hands once again. In 2009, the shares were divided among the group Silver Lake, the firm Andreessen-Horowitz and eBay itself, which kept a third of the shares. The private equity group Silver Lake, which controlled the company, spent less than 18 months ahead of the company, but earned three times the amount spent on its acquisition.
Action in Japan
After the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan this year, Skype offered free credits so that the Japanese could get in touch with relatives abroad. In addition, the company also decided to provide free Wi-Fi Internet via Skype around the points of Japan
All consumers receive by mail a credit worth $ 1, enough to make a connection to a line 25 minutes in Japan and some other countries such as China and the United States. The company released the sending of SMS messages by the tool.
The initiative drew attention because the Skype's own site says the tool can not be used for emergency calling.
The current scenario
Skype was bought by Microsoft on May 10 for $ 8.5 billion, becoming a new division of software giant. Even with the new exchange control, Microsoft said that the direction of Skype will remain the same and that the software giant has no intention of merging Skype entirely to Microsoft - at least for now.
With the acquisition, Microsoft intends to integrate the resources of voice and video in real time on their products, like Xbox, Kinect, Windows Phone, Outlook, Xbox Live and others. Microsoft said in a statement it will continue to invest in and develop customers of Skype to other platforms.
But why has revolutionized? Skype allows users to make connections between a Skype and a landline, and Skype from a mobile phone, and conference calls. And that two-way: as a Skype can call a conventional phone, the opposite also happens.
In late 2010, the service reached an average of 145 million online users each month. Users of the tool made 207 billion minutes of voice calls and video last year.
Hand in hand
In 2005, Skype was sold to eBay for $ 2.6 billion. At the time he was little more than 50 million users. Even after the sale, the founders Zennstrom and Friis have remained in their posts.
According to eBay's own blog, the founders of Skype have formed a new project of IPTV - a technology used to transmit television signals also based on the use of IP - Internet Protocol - with money from the sale.
Even before being bought by Microsoft, Skype changed hands once again. In 2009, the shares were divided among the group Silver Lake, the firm Andreessen-Horowitz and eBay itself, which kept a third of the shares. The private equity group Silver Lake, which controlled the company, spent less than 18 months ahead of the company, but earned three times the amount spent on its acquisition.
Action in Japan
After the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan this year, Skype offered free credits so that the Japanese could get in touch with relatives abroad. In addition, the company also decided to provide free Wi-Fi Internet via Skype around the points of Japan
All consumers receive by mail a credit worth $ 1, enough to make a connection to a line 25 minutes in Japan and some other countries such as China and the United States. The company released the sending of SMS messages by the tool.
The initiative drew attention because the Skype's own site says the tool can not be used for emergency calling.
The current scenario
Skype was bought by Microsoft on May 10 for $ 8.5 billion, becoming a new division of software giant. Even with the new exchange control, Microsoft said that the direction of Skype will remain the same and that the software giant has no intention of merging Skype entirely to Microsoft - at least for now.
With the acquisition, Microsoft intends to integrate the resources of voice and video in real time on their products, like Xbox, Kinect, Windows Phone, Outlook, Xbox Live and others. Microsoft said in a statement it will continue to invest in and develop customers of Skype to other platforms.
