Microsoft buys Skype service for $8.5 billion

Microsoft on Tuesday placed its biggest bet yet - $8.5 billion for Internet voice and video communications company Skype - on a deal the software giant hopes will help it better compete in a world shifting away from desktop computers.

During a news conference in San Francisco, Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer announced the all-cash deal for Skype and outlined grand plans to bring the technology to a wider audience of consumers and business customers.

Those plans included the potential for video chats between game players on Microsoft's popular Xbox platform, Internet audio calls by business associates through the Outlook e-mail program, or mobile conferencing through Windows Phone.

The deal - Microsoft's most expensive acquisition - also snatched Skype out of the hands of other potential suitors, which reportedly included Google and Facebook.

Though analysts questioned the price and Microsoft's spotty record of digesting companies it buys, the Redmond, Wash., firm stands to gain a bigger presence in mobile communications just as people shift away from the desktop computers that made Microsoft the world's most dominant software company.

"By bringing together the best of Microsoft and the best of Skype, we will empower people around the world with new technologies that should bring them closer together," an effusive Ballmer said.

Skype, based in Luxembourg, offers free voice and video communications over the Internet, a popular alternative to standard telephone calls, especially over long distances.

Net losses

The company makes money from charging for premium services such as group video conferencing and calls made to regular phones. Yet Skype posted a net loss of $7 million last year on revenue of $860 million, and has lost money in four of the past five years.

But Skype brings Microsoft a large customer base - more than 660 million registered members worldwide, including 107 million who use the service at least once a month. Those users log in for about 100 minutes each per month, according to Skype.

"We think this allows us to extend from hundreds of millions to literally billions," said Skype CEO Tony Bates, who will become president of a newly created Microsoft Skype division if the deal passes the normal regulatory hurdles. "We believe this is a platform and a set of services that can reach everyone on the planet."

Skype was created in 2003 by Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, the software developers who also created the file-sharing network Kazaa. They sold Skype in 2006 to San Jose's eBay Inc. for $2.6 billion.

Analysts were always skeptical about eBay's plans to use Skype to better connect buyers and sellers, and were not surprised when the online auction firm sold most of its stake at a loss four years later to private investors led by Silver Lake Partners and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

The failed eBay-Skype marriage was even injected into the 2010 California gubernatorial race as an issue raised by opponents of GOP candidate Meg Whitman, the former eBay chief executive who engineered the deal.

Rolling In The Deep by Adele

There's a fire starting in my heart, 
Reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out the dark, 

Finally, I can see you crystal clear, 
Go ahead and sell me out and a I'll lay your shit bare, 
See how I'll leave with every piece of you, 
Don't underestimate the things that I will do, 

There's a fire starting in my heart, 
Reaching a fever pitch and it's bring me out the dark, 

The scars of your love remind me of us, 
They keep me thinking that we almost had it all, 
The scars of your love, they leave me breathless, 
I can't help feeling, 

We could have had it all, 
(You're gonna wish you never had met me), 
Rolling in the deep, 
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep), 
You had my heart inside of your hand, 
(You're gonna wish you never had met me), 
And you played it to the beat, 
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep), 

Baby, I have no story to be told, 
But I've heard one on you and I'm gonna make your head burn, 
Think of me in the depths of your despair, 
Make a home down there as mine sure won't be shared, 

The scars of your love remind me of us, 
(You're gonna wish you never had met me), 
They keep me thinking that we almost had it all, 
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep), 
The scars of your love, they leave me breathless, 
(You're gonna wish you never had met me), 
I can't help feeling, 
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep), 

We could have had it all, 
(You're gonna wish you never had met me), 
Rolling in the deep, 
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep), 
You had my heart inside of your hands, 
(You're gonna wish you never had met me),

And you played it to the beat,
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),

Could have had it all,
Rolling in the deep,
You had my heart inside of your hands,
But you played it with a beating,

Throw your soul through every open door,
Count your blessings to find what you look for,
Turn my sorrow into treasured gold,
You'll pay me back in kind and reap just what you've sown,

(You're gonna wish you never had met me),
We could have had it all,
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),
We could have had it all,
(You're gonna wish you never had met me),
It all, it all, it all,
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),

We could have had it all,
(You're gonna wish you never had met me),
Rolling in the deep,
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),
You had my heart inside of your hands,
(You're gonna wish you never had met me),
And you played it to the beat,
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),

Could have had it all,
(You're gonna wish you never had met me),
Rolling in the deep,
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep),
You had my heart inside of your hands,
(You're gonna wish you never had met me),

But you played it,
You played it,
You played it,
You played it to the beat.

How Many Faces?

There are __ faces hidden in this Optical Illusion below. Can you find them all?

Taylor Momsen and Jessica Szohr to Leave Gossip Girl

There's going to be a shakeup on the Upper East Side! 

Although Gossip Girl has been renewed for a fifth season, not all its fashionable characters will be back: Taylor Momsen, who plays Jenny Humphrey, andJessica Szohr, who plays Vanessa Abrams, will not return as series regulars,according to a TVLine.com report.

The news may not come as a total shocker – Momsen, 17, hasn't appeared on many recent episodes, and in season 4 the character played by Szohr, 26, left town. 

Still, both stars may make guest appearances in season 5 – and Momsen fans can check her out when she performs with her rock band, The Pretty Reckless.

The insider also confirms that GG‘s core five — Blake Lively (Serena), Leighton Meester (Blair) Penn Badgley (Dan), Ed Westwick (Chuck) and Chace Crawford (Nate) — will all be back in the fall. Additionally, Kaylee DeFer — who joined the cast this spring as Serena’s rabble-rousing cousin Charlie — has been promoted to series regular status.

The departures of Momsen and Szohr hardly come as a complete surprise. Momsen — who has made no secret of her desire to make music her primary focus — has appeared in only a handful of episodes this season. Similarly, Szohr’s alter ego has been given little to do save for a little eavesdropping and meddling here and there. What’s more, Vanessa recently revealed that she was leaving town to study abroad.

Thoughts? Will you miss either one of them? Do you think Serena’s cuz will ably fill the villainess void? Sound off below!

Health Tip for the Day

Predicting Heart Disease

New Test for Predicting Heart Disease: If you're over 40 and have any family history of heart disease, take heart! A new speedy scan warns patients of cardiac problems before they have a heart attack. This test could save your life. Most heart attacks are the first and last warning a person gets. The newly devised test is the electron beam tomography (EBT) that takes 3D pictures that point out calcium in coronary arteries, a known predictor of heart disease. The test is not offered everywhere yet so if you qualify, ask your doctor where it's available.

HEALTH IS WEALTH

Unexpected ouster leaves Lakers in limbo!!

The Los Angeles Lakers, their bid for a third straight NBA title stopped in its tracks by Dallas, face an uncertain future with a raft of aging players and the retirement of coach Phil Jackson.

"It's going to be a l-o-o-o-ng summer," Los Angeles' Ron Artest said Sunday after the Mavericks completed their four-game second-round sweep of the two-time defending NBA champions.

The summary dismissal marked not just an end to this season for the Lakers, but the end of an era.

Not only do they have to find a replacement for Jackson, who insists this time he's retiring for good, but they need to bolster a bench whose weakness was exposed by Dallas and with nine of their players enjoying guaranteed contracts the Lakers have little money with which to revamp the roster.

One contender for the coaching job is current assistant Brian Shaw, a former Lakers player.

But it remains to be seen what talent he -- or any other coach -- will have at his disposal.

Superstar Kobe Bryant is the cornerstone of the team. But point guard Derek Fisher will be 37 next season and could be on his way out. The Lakers could also decide to break up their duo of seven-footers Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol.

Gasol spectacularly under-achieved in the playoffs, amid reports that he and Bryant were at odds off the court.

"It's going to be a long flight home," Gasol said after the final defeat of the season. "It's been a long, tough season, too."

While Gasol denied a rift with Bryant, he acknowledged that off-court distractions took a toll.

"Individually, I want to learn from it," Gasol said after the final defeat in Dallas.

"Just look back and savor everything that's been going on and try to handle it better. And just whatever goes on, on or off the court, just try to keep it that way and not let it affect anything that goes on on the floor."

Jackson, who led Chicago to six titles in the 1990s and the Lakers to a total of five, decided to forego retirement at the end of last season to pursue one more career three-peat.

Although the effort failed, he said he was sure the Lakers would regroup.

"We all know they always come back and get themselves back in the race," Jackson said. "The Lakers are going to survive."

While the pursuit of a third straight title was "exciting," Jackson admitted that it also put a strain on the team, and it showed in several lackluster stretches in the regular season.

The Lakers seemed to come around after the All-Star break with a 17-1 surge, but won only six of their last 17 games of the campaign.

"I don't know where we lost it, that drive, that bond we had in the past, that cohesive drive in order to overcome adversity," forward Lamar Odom said.

"Obviously something wasn't there. We couldn't overcome a lot of things we usually overcome, a lot of things we used to overcome."

Better Luck next time Lakers.

See You Next Season XD

Lakers!!!

Parted Magic Free Download!

Parted Magic has been my go-to Linux boot disc since I first downloaded it several years ago. Not only does it boot quickly and provide easy access to the Gnome partition editor, GParted, it provides access to the Memtest86+ memory testing utility and numerous other handy apps on board.

The latest version of Parted Magic, 6.0, has ditched the pretty but occasionally problematic graphic boot menu for a more compatible character-based boot menu. I actually had boot issues on only one machine out of the maybe one hundred I used version 5.x on--and that one was running some rare hardware--but it was a bummer. I look forward to 100% successful boots with 6.0.

DOWNLOAD IT HERE