Christian Science Monitor: Skype is in danger, owner says

For Skype, the line could be going dead.

At issue is a key piece of software code licensed to Skype by a company called Joltid. For months, Joltid and Skype have been scrapping over the legal rights to the code – and now, the battle has gotten serious enough that eBay, which owns Skype, is getting worried. If Skype loses the right to the software code, “Skype’s business as currently conducted would likely not be possible,” eBay said in a quarterly filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The hitch sent tremors through the tech world, not least because eBay was reportedly considering letting Skype go public. “Waiting for eBay to spin off Skype into the stock market? Don’t hold your breath,” Kevin Kelleher wrote on GigaOm. The legal battle “could delay the move until at least the second half of next year — and possibly put the entire offering into jeopardy,” Kelleher wrote.

According to several news reports, Joltid claims that eBay broke the original licensing contract. EBay, meanwhile, seems unsettled by the affair – and concerned about the long-term implications.

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All they want to do is have big box stores and discounters list their goods on the site. I'll never buy anything on Ebay ever again.

i got myself a copy of 1986 (is that it??) which i never read in school and wanted to read for a couple of bucks. i also bought a bunch of holly hobby stuff for a couple bucks a piece. now it's nearly impossible!! everyone wants way too much for everything!! i have bought a couple things on there though...i set my limit based on the price plus shipping and if i get it i get it... if not... too bad. people are crazy.... they buy stuff they could get cheaper in the store.

one big difference: Amazon sets the amount that people can charge for shipping

and while I know that they're part of the eBay conglomerate, I can always find reasonable prices there. I've even managed to sell some books there, which is better for me than just dumping them somewhere.

Yes, eBay is just an extension of big-ass business, but it really is the only way to find some items that you need for minimal cost. My lady just got a new cell phone, and I told her not to buy the car charger that Sprint had in the store for a dozen bucks. She was able to find one on eBay for about three bucks, delivered.

It is often the ONLY place where you can find parts for discontinued products. In a way, eBay helps keep the landfills from filling up completely with junk generated by planned obsolescence.

my daughter wanted harry potter so i got the first book used for 99c plus shipping, so it was about $4 or $5 bucks. not bad considering it was in excellent condition. When emy decided she wanted to read the rest of the books, i ended up getting one through six as a set for $35 plus the 7th for $8 and I had a gift card for $10 off, so i paid $35 with free shipping for the whole set. so now i have two of the first book, but i figure i may donate it to the library or something. I could sell it, i guess... but I figure for what i can get for it why not just give it to the library.

I have also gotten clothes and stuff on ebay. I got a usb connector so I could hook up my phone and get the pictures off of it. I can also put ringtones on my phone and update my contact list with bitpim. but mainly i wanted to be able to get my pictures off the phone. it only cost me like $10.... you just have to look harder for things on ebay. and it's harder to sell stuff too because of how much stuff is on there.

A good place to buy, but a lousy place to sell. But that's a reflection of the times more than anything else.

It really makes person-to-person recycling possible, though. It would be impractical for me to have a garage sale every weekend to sell the stuff that I don't need anymore, and would like to get a few bucks for.

It's staggering how much stolen property is fenced via ebay...and if you notify them of it, they ignore you and do nothing. Clearly stolen items (like city water meter covers, for example) and the auctions are allowed, even when you notify them of the stolen property! ebay's an incredibly irresponsible "business", and morally bankrupt.