REDMOND, Wash. (AP) — Microsoft is closing down Skype, the video-calling service it bought for $8.5 billion in 2011.
The tech giant said Friday it will retire Skype in May and shift some of its services to Microsoft Teams, its flagship videoconferencing platform. Skype users will be able to use their existing accounts to log into Teams.
Microsoft has for years prioritized Teams over Skype and the decision to fold the brand is part of a broader shift in how people communicate online.
Founded in 2003 by a group of engineers in Tallinn, Estonia, Skype was a pioneer in making telephone calls using the internet instead of landlines. It added video calls after online retailer eBay bought the service in 2005.
By 2011, when Microsoft bought it from eBay, Skype had about 170 million users worldwide, then-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in an event announcing the planned merger.
“The Skype brand has become a verb, nearly synonymous with video and voice communications,” Ballmer said.
Skype was still considered high-tech in 2017 when recently inaugurated President Donald Trump’s administration used it to field questions from journalists far from the White House press briefing room.
More than four decades since Lennon's murder and two since George Harrison's death, the very last Beatles song has been released as a double A-side single with “Love Me Do,” the band's 1962 debut single.
World leaders and top executives are meeting just outside of London on Wednesday and Thursday to address artificial intelligence concerns and risks. Cheddar News explains.
The murder trial of a woman accused of gunning down rising pro cyclist Anna Moriah Wilson and fleeing the country began Wednesday with Texas prosecutors telling jurors they would hear Wilson's final screams and the shots that killed her.
LinkedIn is rolling out generative AI tools for premium members.
Closing arguments began in the trial of FTX co-founder Sam Bankman Fried.
Apple unveils new M3 chips.
Samsung reported better-than-expected operating profits in the third quarter.
Apple's latest event announced new Mac products and new chips and the company's latest line of Macbook Pros and iMacs were unveiled.
Apple's 8pm ET event Monday will revolve around its iMAC computer lineup of products which are expected to contain its new faster and three next-generation silicon chip.
President Joe Biden on Monday will sign a sweeping executive order to guide the development of artificial intelligence — requiring industry to develop safety and security standards, introducing new consumer protections and giving federal agencies an extensive to-do list to oversee the rapidly progressing technology.
