Skype
hideSkype (pronounced /ˈskaɪp/) is a software application that allows users to make voice calls over the Internet. Calls to other users of the service, and in some countries to free-of-charge numbers, are free, while calls to other landlines and mobile phones can be made for a fee. Additional features include instant messaging, file transfer and video conferencing.
Skype was written by Estonia-based developers Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu and Jaan Tallinn, who had also originally developed Kazaa. The Skype Group, founded by Swedish-born entrepreneur Niklas Zennström and the Dane Janus Friis, has its headquarters in Luxembourg, with offices in London, Tallinn, Tartu, Stockholm, Prague, and San Jose, California.
One of the initial names for the project was "Sky peer-to-peer", which was then abbreviated to "Skyper". However, some of the domain names associated with "Skyper" were already taken. Dropping the final "r" left the current title "Skype", for which domain names were available.
Skype has experienced rapid growth in popular usage since the launch of its services. The company was acquired by eBay in September 2005 for $2.6 billion. EBay has written Skype down to $1.7 billion on its books and announced a public stock offering for 2010 to spin Skype off as a separate company.
For more information about Skype, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with skype
EBay completes sale of Skype for $2 billion
Nov 20, 2009 |
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(AP) -- EBay has completed its sale of Skype for about $2 billion to an investor group that included the founders of the Internet phone service.
EBay settles lawsuit filed by Skype founders
Nov 06, 2009 |
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(AP) -- EBay Inc. has settled a legal skirmish with the founders of Skype that threatened to complicate eBay's plans to sell most of the Internet phone service to a group of investors for $2 billion.
Video firm settles lawsuits clearing way for Google buy
Oct 26, 2009 |
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Video software firm On2 Technologies Inc. announced on Monday that it had settled five pending lawsuits, potentially clearing the way for its takeover by Internet giant Google.
WOWD, the real-time search engine
Oct 26, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The beta version of WOWD, the Internet's newest search engine, was launched last week at the 2009 Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. It aims to differentiate itself from other search engines ...
Skype founders file another suit over eBay sale
Sep 18, 2009 |
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The founders of Skype fired another salvo Friday against online auction giant eBay's plans to sell the Web communications service.
ASUS Launches Skype Certified Standalone Touchscreen Videophone
Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets
Sep 17, 2009 |
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ASUS today launched a Skype Certified touchscreen videophone dedicated to unlimited video calling over the Internet -- the ASUS Videophone Touch AiGuru SV1T.
Skype founders file lawsuit against eBay
Sep 16, 2009 |
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(AP) -- A company owned by the founders of Skype has filed a copyright infringement suit against the Internet phone service and parent eBay Inc. - an action that could crimp eBay's plans to sell Skype for about $2 billion ...
Wiretapping Skype calls: virus eavesdrops on VoIP
Sep 02, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Some computer viruses have a crude but scary ability to spy on people by logging every keystroke they type. Now hackers and potentially law enforcement have another weapon: a virus that can eavesdrop on voice conversations ...
eBay to sell Skype to investor group, to retain 35 pct stake (Update)
Sep 01, 2009 |
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Online auction giant eBay announced Tuesday it has agreed to sell 65 percent of its stake in Skype to a group of investors in a deal that values the Web communications service at 2.75 billion dollars.
Vonage makes free international calls standard
Aug 19, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Unlimited domestic phone calls are nearly standard feature for landline plans these days. Now, Vonage Holdings Corp., which helped pioneer that feature with its Internet phone service, is expanding it to most international ...
EBay working on alternative software for Skype
Jul 31, 2009 |
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(AP) -- EBay Inc. is developing software it might use to continue running the online telecommunications service Skype if it cannot resolve a legal dispute with a separate company run by the service's founders.
Economy keeps hurting eBay as 2Q profit falls
Jul 22, 2009 |
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(AP) -- The recession continued to hurt eBay Inc. in the second quarter, as earnings and revenue fell amid a sales decline in the main online marketplace, overshadowing growth in the PayPal online payments ...
Cuba criticizes Microsoft blocking Messenger
May 30, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Cuba criticized Microsoft on Friday for blocking its Messenger instant messaging service on the island and in other countries under U.S. sanctions, calling it yet another example of Washington's "harsh" ...
EBay plans IPO for Skype, undoing $2.6B-plus deal
Apr 14, 2009 |
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(AP) -- EBay Inc. plans to spin off its Internet communications service Skype through an initial public offering, undoing a $2.6 billion acquisition that puzzled analysts and eBay struggled to justify.
Skype founders looking to buy back company
Apr 11, 2009 |
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The two founders of Skype are seeking to buy back the hugely popular Internet telephone service that they sold to online auction giant eBay in 2005, according to US media reports.
