Well, this is going to be a brain twist to many. Although the title for this article might look like nonsense, it is true: Microsoft, who had acquired Skype quite some time ago, the company doesn't have any ownership rights over the VoIP software in China, at least until quite recently.
The matter is quite complicated. Long story short: China has some big problems against VoIP technology in general. First, the tech enables basically everyone to operate a virtual telephone service over the internet, making service/content censorship impossible. Second, uncontrolled prosperity of VoIP services will inevitably impact the business and profit of Chinese telecommunication carriers, all three of whom are state-owned enterprises. Especially if it is utilized by "evil foreign anti-China forces", there will be an impending disaster, or so the government believes.
As one of the first popular VoIP services, Skype got into the Chinese market without much problem. There is one catch though: the service must be run (fully or partially) by a trusted Chinese company. Therefore, Skype came into a joint venture with TOM, a Hong Kong based internet service provider which is also well established in China. So, in the Chinese market, the ownership over Skype's intellectual property is a joint venture. It cannot be sold to Microsoft without involving TOM.
Due to said reason, the Chinese market is left largely untouched. Users were given notification that Live Messenger will continue to exist for one extra year in China, giving Microsoft more time to seal the acquisition deal. Now the time has come. The TOM-Skype home page has put up a huge banner, telling people Microsoft has taken over the service on November 24, 2013.
Due to the same political reason, Microsoft will be running Skype in China through a joint venture company as well. It consists of:
- Microsoft: You know who this is.
- Founder: A Chinese IT company, providing the much needed Chinese identity and legal qualification.
- Guang Ming Daily: A government-owned newspaper, supposedly contributing even more Chinese identity, plus a large dose of political correctness.
A new Skype official site has already gone live. This time it's hosted by Guang Ming Daily. It's worth a mention that the three-way joint venture wasn't proposed by Microsoft. A joint venture already exists between Guang Ming Daily and Founder. Microsoft just decided to join the game.
And that enables Microsoft to catch up with Skype/Messenger/Windows 8 integration within this particular market.
Source: WPDang (1) (2)
Benchmarking the new Surface Book 3 15 with GTX 1660 Ti and 10th Gen i7
Although it's too early for a review, here are some initial benchmarks from the new Surface Book 3 15-inch with a Core i7 and NVIDIA GeForce 1660 Ti (Max-Q) and how it compares to Surface Book 2 and other premium laptops. Spoiler: While the CPU is just OK, that 1660 Ti definitely bumps up the Book 3's potential.
Minecraft Dungeons Ultimate Guide: Everything you need to know
Minecraft Dungeons is here, and it's time to run through everything you need to know about the game.
Developers weigh in on Microsoft's all-digital Build 2020 conference
Microsoft had to hold Build 2020 as an all-digital event. Developers from around the web shared their thoughts on Microsoft's all-digital conference and the biggest announcements from the event.
Best Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 Docks and Docking Stations in 2019
The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 is a fantastic ultrabook, but what if you want to use it desktop-style? You're going to want to get yourself a laptop dock for that. Here are some of our favorites.
