SOFTWARE

Microsoft has landed a juicy deal as it snatched Skype from the jaws of Google and Facebook in an $8.5 billion deal.

Microsoft brings aboard Skype for $8.5 billion. With Skype, Microsoft is getting an established player in the increasingly competitive voice and video calling market. Skype has 170 million connected users and logged over 207 billion minutes of voice and video conversations in 2010.

Amazon's cloud-based locker service can now be accessed by iOS devices iPad and iPhone after Amazon added an update to its Cloud Player service.

Wedbush Securities expects April U.S. retail video game console software sales data to be released by the NPD Group after the market close on May 12. The brokerage said April may be an anomalous month for software sales, with a rebound likely due to an outstanding lineup of blockbuster title.

Google Inc. plans to launch its cloud-based music locker service at its developer's conference Google I/O to challenge Amazon's early mover advantage in the music streaming service.

Microsoft turned the tables on long-time Skype wooers Google and Facebook to reportedly land an $8.5 billion deal to buy the popular Voice over Internet Protocol service. The following are some key facts about Skype:

Microsoft Corp is close to buying web video conferencing service Skype Technologies for $8.5 billion including debt, a source familiar with the situation said, in a deal which would rank as the biggest for the software company.

Software giant Microsoft is close to buying leading Internet phone company Skype Technologies SA for a deal valued at over $7 billion, according to sources close to the development.

Microsoft is close to buying Internet phone company Skype, which could be announced as early as Tuesday sources say.

YouTube is adding more than 3,000 mainstream movies for users to rent starting on Monday, along with the millions of free user-created videos the popular website is best known for.

Search-giant Google updated its Goggles app on Monday to include better note-taking capabilities, search history, and better business card recognition as machine-vision becomes more useful.

Despite age restrictions on some social media sites, the number of parents who would allow children 10-12 years old to have a Facebook or MySpace account has doubled in a year, a new survey showed.

YouTube is adding more than 3,000 movies for its users to rent starting on Monday, along with the millions of free user-created videos the popular website is best known for.

Zynga Inc is hiring two key developers of cocos2d, a popular game engine that powers top grossing iPhone apps such as Tap Pet Hotel and Tap Zoo in a move that will help the social games company boost its presence on smartphone and tablets.

Zynga Inc is acquiring two key developers of cocos2d, a popular game engine that powers top grossing iPhone apps such as Tap Pet Hotel, and Tap Zoo, in a move that will help the social games company boost its presence on smartphone and tablets.

Rumors have been circulating about the possible launch of a redesigned, and more importantly free, MobileMe service, but no one has forgotten the uneasy days when the service was launched in 2008. The launch of the revamped MobileMe, which was essentially an upgrade of a pre-existing service called .Mac, had invited disappointing media review, promoting Jobs to sternly castigate the product executives.

Last Pass says it may have overreacted to an anomaly in its network traffic log, but one security firm isn't so sure.

Apple plans to start planting ARM processors in laptops which would usher in a departure from Intel chips which currently power its MacBook Pros.

People who prefer to store their numerous, ever-growing list of passwords in the cloud were in for a big surprise when LastPass revealed earlier in the week a possible security breach in its networks and asked users to reset their master passwords connecting to the site.

As two Internet powerhouses slug it out to tie the knot with Skype, Facebook looks likely to be a more aggressive suitor than Google, and the world's largest social network may make for a better fit.

As two Internet powerhouses slug it out to tie the knot with Skype, Facebook looks likely to be a more aggressive suitor than Google, and the world's largest social network may make for a better fit.