In 2007, the Mac Skype client finally integrated with the OS X Address Book. A year later, Skype 2.0 was released, marking the first time the Mac version of the software supported video calls.
In October 2005, eBay acquired Skype for $2.6 billion. Skype-founded by the developers who created the file-sharing software Kazaa-launched in 2003. So what does this $8.5 billion Skype deal mean for Mac and iPhone users?īefore we look ahead, though, let’s take a look back at the history of Skype on the Mac. Still, the company’s reputation amongst the Mac crowd isn’t always sterling. Microsoft, of course, has a long history of developing software for the Mac, and a short history of developing for iOS. Microsoft hasn’t provided any further details on its specific plans for Skype on Apple-branded devices, but that’s OK-it gives us room to speculate. That line may treat Mac OS X and iOS as entities that shall not be named, but it at least provides some small bit of reassurance that the existing Skype clients for the Mac and iPhone won’t be whisked off to a farm upstate.
Mac and iOS enthusiasts wondering what Microsoft’s $8.5 billion Skype purchase means to them can take some comfort from a single stoic sentence in Redmond’s press release announcing the deal: “Microsoft will continue to invest in and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms.”
