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I think Microsoft has a master plan.

Skype and VoIP in general have all kinds of potential synergies with current MSFT products, difficult to materialize as they may be. Remember that they just put out an incredibly powerful 3D camera called the Kinect. With Skype on Xbox, we could see the beginnings of accessible 3D teleconferencing. Even if it's just Skype, its inclusion further cements Xbox's place in a living room by replacing another utility.

Some analysts are forecasting for the telepresence market to grow at ~30% annually through to 2015, with a strong driver being enterprise clients. Why not bundle Skype into Office? Microsoft Communicator already does video chat, but only with other Exchange users. Expanding the install base by 124M users might be the kick in the pants teleconference needs.

Whether or not these scenarios are achievable by MSFT is up for debate.



Skype on Xbox? 3D conferencing? Setting aside the horrendous culture on Xbox Live, does anybody want "3D conferencing"? Most people don't even use Skype for video conferencing today.


I could see how 3D avatar conferencing (like Xbox Live avatars) might actually be much more appealing than video conference.




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