Skype news stories on Newser

No Bullet in Case of Soldier Who Died Skyping Wife

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 07 May 2012 11:11:05 CDT

The sad and strange tale of the US Army captain who died while Skyping with his wife gets even more mysterious: Army investigators say they found no bullet wound or any evidence of foul play in Bruce Kevin Clark’s death, but wife Susan Orellana-Clark has suggested her husband may have...

Army Nurse in Afghanistan Dies While Skyping With Wife

Matt Cantor — Fri, 04 May 2012 10:16:05 CDT

An Army nurse in Afghanistan died Monday in the middle of a Skype conversation with his wife, the El Paso Times reports. The cause of Cpt. Bruce Clark's death has not been disclosed by the Army; an investigation is underway. "Bruce's wife tragically witnessed her husband's death during one of...

Skype Buys GroupMe for $50M+

Matt Cantor — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 08:58:05 CDT

Skype has purchased group text-messaging firm GroupMe in a deal worth somewhere between $50 million and $100 million. The startup will remain independent but will likely play a major role in Skype’s mobile and social arenas. It’s a big success for the year-old firm, writes Ben Popper for BetaBeat , who...

Facebook Brings Video Chat Into Mainstream

John Johnson — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 16:02:01 CDT

Some quick reactions to Facebook's announcement about incorporating video calling from Skype into the site: Andrew Tarantola, Gizmodo : "By integrating video calling directly into the Facebook experience they're able to drop this technology directly into the mainstream. You thought getting Friend Requests from your parents was a hassle? Then you're...

Facebook Adding Video Chat Via Skype

John Johnson — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 12:46:10 CDT

Tech bloggers had this one right: Facebook is indeed adding video calling to the site in a deal with Skype. Mark Zuckerberg confirmed today at a news conference, and the Facebook blog has details, reports the Digits blog at the Wall Street Journal . The feature, which comes a week after...

Facebook Looks to Add Skype Video

Mark Russell — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 10:13:04 CDT

Facebook's "awesome" new product , set to be announced Wednesday, looks like it's going to be Skype video chats that work in your browser, reports TechCrunch . Details are still hazy—will it just work on its own or will users need to download software?—however, "it’s clear that there’s very deep...

Microsoft Buys Skype for $8.5B

Mark Russell — Tue, 10 May 2011 07:12:48 CDT

It's official: Microsoft will buy popular online telephone service Skype for $8.5 billion in cash, reports the Wall Street Journal . The deal is the largest in Microsoft history, besting the company's 2007 acquisition of online ad service aQuantive for $6 billion. Though Microsoft produces the world's most common consumer...

Facebook Considering Buying Skype

Kevin Spak — Thu, 05 May 2011 09:43:18 CDT

Skype is suddenly the prettiest girl in school now that it’s pushed back its IPO. Google is in talks for a joint venture with the online calling company, and Facebook is considering buying it outright, sources tell Reuters . Skype is expected to rake in about $1 billion if it goes...

Google Voice Launches Number Porting

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 00:03:00 CST

Google's Voice calling application is adding a long-promised feature: the ability to move a phone number from a cell phone to Google's service. Previously, Google Voice assigned each user a new number,making it more difficult to take advantage of its features, which include cheaper international calls and the ability...