Comments on: Skype Founders Sue eBay — Big Surprise

By: Aswath Rao

Aswath Rao — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 03:28:48 +0000

If my understanding is correct, GI is needed to locate the called user’s supernode. There are other proven techniques that scale well. Given the reliable userbase, it is not risky to deploy owned supernodes instead of conscripted ones. Once roughly estimate that a standard Amazon EC2 instance can support 1000 users. In other words, it will cost $300K to service 1M users (24x365x$.03). These days Skype registers about 13M concurrent users. So the operational cost is around $5M per year. Thus I feel, the technology is readily available and the cost is manageable.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 23:21:01 +0000

This is juicy. Skipe got eBay to sign the dummy contract that they would sell them everything exepct the main techonogy. Now Skipe is going after eBay for using its technology. In the process the people at Skipe are picking up the doe. And is Skipe or any of these other web 2.0 services really worth $2 billion? Hardly.

By: jmburman

jmburman — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:20:21 +0000

Well crazy things do happen

By: Joe

Joe — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:23:14 +0000

So you’re saying Joltid should hand over an asset that they own to ebay for free? A contract was signed to license the technology and that contract expired. Ebay is entitled to nothing.

By: Vipin

Vipin — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:05:24 +0000

The reason for skype success is builtin NAT/Firewall traversal compared to SIP. SIP requires additional gears at Operator side for this called “Session Border Controllers”. Companies like Acme Packets, Nextone Networks and several other are having hendres million dollers business to target NAT/Firewal traversal SIP. SIP is good for peering (operator-to-operator) but not for access (user) side. Most of the internationl calls are transported now with SIP peering. Basically SIP is good for existing operators but not for start-ups that are trying to target access side.

By: Om Malik

Om Malik — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:27:03 +0000

Andy

Well said. I am going to trust my state to these guys… maybe move to Ohio.

By: Om Malik

Om Malik — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:16:10 +0000

andy

I beg to disagree … I think this move to SIP is not as easy as you might think and there are some I have spoken to who think it is virtually impossible.

By: AndreaF

AndreaF — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:10:38 +0000

well, they thought that just because they were famous they could make fly and then flog a lemon like Joost. Now, they realise nobody is as idiotic as ebay was when buying Skype and they need to recoup the money they sank in Joost in one way or the other. Of course, they are thinking that ebay may once again prove the easiest target for that. Who can blame them.

By: fritz

fritz — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 06:34:14 +0000

“even a lemonade stand owner who can’t tie his shoelaces wouldn’t overlook something as simple as that”

hahaha this sums up the article for me :)
all that the skype founders must be thinking right now is we need to find bigger suckers then ebay for our next deal ;)

By: james

james — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 06:18:50 +0000

However big an oversight (cock-up) E-bay management may have made over the Skype deal, there is also the aspect of greed on behalf of the Skype founders. They got their cake by making billions out of the sale and now they want more. Somehow the Skype founders need to take a long look in the mirror or not have sold in the first place. Moral to this story, money isn’t everything either.

By: Andy Abramson

Andy Abramson — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 03:17:08 +0000

My feeling is that the new Skype team will move to SIP and give Jolt the heave-ho.

By: Andy Abramson

Andy Abramson — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 03:16:04 +0000

And some of the people who worked on the Skype eBay team are part of her team….

By: jd

jd — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 02:08:02 +0000

Lord hear or prayer that Ebay and the new buyers don’t settle on this one. Every VOIP service and their mother works perfectly fine without the stupid JoltID garbage anyhow.

By: Jacobo Gallardo

Jacobo Gallardo — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:55:46 +0000

Man, that is crazy!

By: powel

powel — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:40:01 +0000

and now that same “then-CEO” is trying to take over kahlifornia govt and run it … c’mn, some accountability pls