Been busy and "lost in translation" recently... in the true meaning of the words that is, which means work for me. Not to mention, parents are in town from the US.
Busy, busy, busy... no me gusto trabajo! Nuncaaaaaa!
So, today in the news, online auction behemoth eBay buys VoIP giant Skype for up to 4 billion US. Is it worth it you ask? The popular vote seems to be no. eBay is planning to integrate VoIP to their service so that sellers and bidders can interact by voice, which is interestingly enough, how REAL auctions are, dating back to ancient times.
Reuters - EBay paying up to $4 bln for Skype
Other news concerning Skype, China is reportedly blocking Skype in certain regions (Shenzhen to be exact) and they are planning to fully prohibit the use of it in the future. I actually had a feeling this would become "official" and hit the news shall we say... as I've been to Shanghai (which is supposedly one of the most "open" cities in China), and I know firsthand about how regulation and censorship issues roll over there.
China Telecom is basically running an old-fashion monopoly and almost all of its profits are from fixed-wireless.
Maybe not the smartest business model, but hey, each country has its own regulations, and the internet ain't above all.
The below link sums it up well.
Red Herring - Skype Blocked in China