Microsoft Buy Skype

Microsoft  Buy Skype. The team also discuss an apparent schism within Anonymous, and examine the group's denial of an attack in which credit card details were stolen from Sony's PlayStation Network

This week Aleks Krotoski and Charles Arthur are joined by Tom Loosemore to analyse this week's biggest tech stories.

We begin with Microsoft's purchase of Skype for $8.5bn. At the time of recording, the deal was only expected, and so the team look back at Skype's 7 year life, and how it has changed hands in that time. Charles finds it hard to see why Microsoft needs the VoIP service - and predicts a hard time for it within their Redmond HQ.

Charles also takes a look at the latest sales figures of mobile phones in western Europe, and finds Nokia has been pushed into second place by Samsung and Apple in the handset and smartphone markets respectively. It's more bad news for Nokia, and neither Tom nor Charles can foresee a rosy future for Nokia - with Tom predicting fatal consequences for the company.

The team also discuss an apparent schism within Anonymous, and examine the group's denial of an attack in which credit card details were stolen from Sony's PlayStation Network. Aleks, Charles and Tom talk through the group's aims, ponder the ramifications of a split, and attempt to describe the structure and motivation of Anonymous - with mixed success.

And finally, Tom talks to us about his attempts to build a single, central government website which will deliver information and services from recommendations made by the UK's digital champion Martha Lane Fox. Tom explains what his aims are for Alphagov and what it has been like working on such a large project, and within a huge government bureaucracy.

Microsoft  Buy Skype

Microsoft files EU complaint against Google

Microsoft files EU complaint against Google. Google has consistently denied dominating the online search market and has contested individual allegations made against it. It said its behaviour was driven by the desire to give users of its search facilities the best results.

 

Microsoft has filed a formal complaint with European antitrust regulators about Google’s online search dominance in the region.

 

Brad Smith, Microsoft’s general counsel, said the software company had become “concerned by a broadening pattern of conduct aimed at stopping anyone else from creating a competitive alternative”.

He added: “We’ve therefore decided to join a large and growing number of companies registering their concerns about the European search market.”

In filing its complaint, Microsoft has joined its rivals in voicing their concerns with the European Union, which is investigating whether Google has violated the region’s antitrust laws and uses its dominance of web search to thwart competition.

“Our filing today focuses on a pattern of actions that Google has taken to entrench its dominance in the markets for online search and search advertising to the detriment of European consumers,” Mr Smith wrote in the blog post.

While Microsoft and partner Yahoo have about a quarter of the US search market and Google the rest, Google has almost 95 per cent of the market in Europe, according to Mr Smith, who cited data from regulators.

Google has consistently denied dominating the online search market and has contested individual allegations made against it. It said its behaviour was driven by the desire to give users of its search facilities the best results.

Microsoft files EU complaint against Google

Source : www.ft.com

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