A Consumer FAQ

PC World — Microsoft is buying Skype for $8.5 billion, and the Windows maker says it will integrate Skype with many existing Microsoft products and services. The company as well plans to maintain Skype's stand-alone customers for non-Microsoft platforms just as Mac OS X and Linux.

Skype has been up for sale for some time, and several companies were rumored to be courting the Voice over Internet Protocol service including Cisco, Google and Facebook. Ebay purchased Skype in 2005 for $2.6 billion, nevertheless in 2009 sold its majority interest in Skype to a consortium of investors for $1.9 billion.

Profit as a stand-alone business

Many critics have doubted Skype's ability to turn a profit as a stand-alone business, however there's no denying it's an incredibly popular service. There are 170 million active Skype users worldwide, and in 2010 users made 207 billion minutes worth of video and voice calls on Skype.

Skype and Microsoft are planning to host a press announcement at 11 a.m. Eastern on Tuesday to discuss the acquisition. If you're interested in watching, you can view the Skype-Microsoft announcement online. Until at the time, here's a breakdown of what we know so far about the Skype deal and how it will impact fans of the VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) service.

No, for the moment not yet at any rate. Microsoft says it will continue to invest and support Skype on non-Microsoft platforms. Skype currently offers apps for Mac OS X, Linux, Windows, Android, Blackberry, iOS and Symbian devices.

Microsoft says it plans to add Skype support to the Xbox and Kinect, and Windows Phone devices. The company as well says it will "connect Skype users" with Outlook, Xbox LIVE, and Lync.

The Xbox LIVE platform alongside Netflix

It's as well not clear if Microsoft plans to offer Skype as one of many services available on the Xbox LIVE platform alongside Netflix, Hulu Plus and Facebook. The company could as well use Skype as the primary research for Xbox LIVE's in-game chats.

Microsoft has but to say whether it will integrate Skype innovation into its Windows Live Messenger desktop and Web app or if Skype will replace Messenger altogether.