Ok, so it’s been a crazy 48 hours in the nerdiverse. A few pretty cool announcements have come up , and here they are in this weeks Tech-Bytes.
Microsoft buys Skype for $8.5 Billion
Microsoft confirmed here that they are set to purchase Skype for $8.5 billion. (For those of you who don’t know what Skype is, it’s a video conferencing application that is most widely used via computers. Apps for iPad and iPhone are expanding their market space however, and making it easy for anyone to ‘Skype’ from many different platforms. )
What will this acquisition mean for our free video conferencing? People are speculating that Microsoft will roll Skype into the Xbox 360 application set – which would mean that you could Skype directly from your couch via your 360 with Xbox Kinect.
I’m hoping the mighty Microsoft can see it in their hearts to keep the online app free, the Geekling has been enjoying video conferencing with our family overseas!
Sony says it will restore the PlayStation Network by the end of May
Oh Goodie. Sony says the network we’ve all grown to mistrust may be fully restored by the end of May. You may recall me writing about the Sony debacle here . Since then, a group of lawyers in the United States have filed a lawsuit against Sony for “negligent protection of personal data and failure to inform players in a timely fashion that their credit card information may have been stolen.”
To set your mind at ease, there have been no reported cases of identity theft because of the breach as of yet, and Sony may have to put their money where their leak is, as this lawsuit in the US may end up being a class action lawsuit. Hopefully the companies that we know and trust are taking note and will be better guardians of our personal data.
Google set to announce ‘Music Beta’
Hot on the heels of Google’s expected announcement of their new music player for Android enabled smartphones, reports are surfacing that today, Google will also be announcing the launch of a new service called “Music Beta by Google.” This new, free (for now) service will allow users to upload their mp3’s to a personal online location, from where they can stream and download files from Internet connected devices. Think Dropbox , but for music only.
If you’re interested in checking it out the ‘Music Beta’, I have bad news for you , it’s invite only (you have to request an invite at google.music.com), for US residents only, with priority given to those with the Motorola Xoom tablet. Let’s hope they open it up to a more general group soon!
And finally –
Could Groupon increase ticket sales?
Ticket promoter Live Nation has partnered with daily-dealers Goupon to create GrouponLive.
GrouponLive will launch soon, and will sell tickets sold through Live Nation to targeted areas using Groupon’s local audiences. You can click here if you’d like to sign up. (I have a sneaking suspicion that if you're already a member of the Groupon lists you’ll start getting the emails for concerts coming to your inboxes soon.)
So that's it for this week - Until net time (see what I did there??)
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