Not Everyone Thinks the Sky(pe)'s the Limit for Microsoft

Microsoft made waves this morning with the announcement of their acquisition of video chat service Skype.

But the buzz wasn't just about the acquisition itself, and more about the $8.5 billion price tag will be worth it for Microsoft. Considering Google's second-place offer was $4.5 billion less, financially it's easy to say that Microsoft overpaid quite a bit.

Another knock against this deal is that Microsoft already has a pretty strong video chat service in Windows Live Messenger. In fact, Windows Live Messenger has more monthly users and a higher number of simultaneous users than Skype.

However, Skype's 124 million montly users is still a large chunk of the market, and no one is arguing that Micorsoft bettered themselves by acquiring them. The criticism revolves around how much they paid for Skype, and what the future holds for existing Skype users.

On the other hand, some people are hopeful that Microsoft's vast resources will mean big things for the popular video chat service. One example is potential integration of Skype and Kinect, Microsoft's innovative gesture recognition system that has sold over 10 million units in 6 months.

So the initial reactions to this move are mixed, and now it's up to Microsoft to prove to the tech world that they didn't break the bank to get Skype.

Facebook Friday: New Ad Incentive Program Misses the Point

Facebook introduced an interesting incentive program yesterday to get users to watch more of the site's ads.

Basically, Facebook is giving Facebook Credits to people to watch certain ads, most of which will be through some of the games on the site. Current partners with the incentive program include Zynga, CrowdStar and Digital Chocolate.

While having the Facebook gaming powerhouses backing the program is good, there are two glaring issues Facebook is overlooking.

First off, the incentive for users isn't all that much. Granted, Facebook Credits can be used for real-world purchases through the Facebook Deals platform. However, most ads reportedly only yield one credit, which is equivalent to about 10 cents. I just don't believe that will be enough reason for most users to try this program out.

Secondly, and more importantly, is how advertisers will (or should) feel about paying users to watch their ads. While I'm sure this will boost ad views, there will be little to no effect on the sales of the products in the ad. Users aren't going to care about what the ad is saying, they will only care about amassing Facebook Credits.

The bottom line is I don't think this is good for advertisers, and I don't think it's worth it for users. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised one bit if users just click play on the ads and go back to playing Farmville while they reap the benefits of this ill-conceived program.

Pandora Finds Its Funny Bone

Last August I wrote about Pandora adding genres to its service, praising its attempt to innovate despite being the leader in its market. Luckily for its music-loving users, Pandora has continued adding to its site in 2011.

Earlier this week Pandora added comedy genres to their list of stations, letting users add stand-up routines and sketches from different decades and styles. There's a pretty good mix of stations, including a Working Class Comedy genre if you like the Blue Collar Comedy Tour style, or Golden Oldies if you fancy yourself more of a Bob Newhart person.

As with the music stations, users can like or dislike a comedy sketch with a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" voting system. Pandora's thumb-voting has been popular, and the site reported on Monday that they surpassed 10 billion thumbs.

Most people seem to like the new comedy stations, and its good to see Pandora thinking outside of the box.

Water, water everywhere at the Kitchen and Bath Show

Andrea and I have just returned from Las Vegas, this year's site for the annual Kitchen and Bath Show. The poor housing market continues to take its toll on manufacturers, many of whom were absent from the show, particularly U.S.-based appliance makers. However, of the companies at the show, water and water conservation was a recurring theme.  Here are my picks for Best of Show:

• No touch bathroom faucet from Delta (first one to market) http://www.deltafaucet.com/videogallery/index.html#vid-Addison
• High-style water-saving Kohler lav faucet with color inserts (and cool joystick control) http://kohler.dirxion.com/bold
• Have a spa experience with a digital showerhead (and a remote control, of course): http://levaqua.com/
• Get instant hot water without a big, energy-saving hot water tank in the basement or closet: http://rheem.com/products/tankless_water_heaters/residential
• And to wipe the water up, here's a touch-less paper towel dispenser: http://www.cleancutdispenser.com/

Andrea and I are planning on trying out some of these products to see how they work in real life situations. I'm particularly keen to try out the no touch faucet and the digital showerhead!

Apple Reminds Us That They Still Make Desktops Too

Although practically all of the spotlight the past year has been on iPads and iPhones, Apple apparently wanted to remind us that they aren't just about smartphones and tablets.

Apple did just that with this morning's announcement of the latest upgrade to their iMac line.

The tech blogs were buzzing this morning after many were noticing that Apple stores were closed. The immediate reaction was that Apple was getting ready to unveil the new iMacs, and within hours were proven right.

Granted, the rumors of the upgraded iMacs had been flying for weeks so this was expected, but now that they've finally hit the stores it's time to take a closer look:

• Ditches miniDisplay ports in favor of the new Thunderbolt connection, which is 20 times faster than USB. The technology was developed by Intel and could become the new standard for connecting peripherals to your computer, and these iMacs are the first device to implement it.
• The new Sandy Bridge chips will provide a big boost in speed and performance.  
• Includes a built-in HD camera with Apple's FaceTime software.
• Despite a noticeable upgrade to the line, Apple kept the price comparable to previous iMacs. Prices range from $1,199 to $1,999, and here's a basic breakdown of the available options:
• $1,199: The "budget" model gets you the 21.5-inch iMac with a 2.5GHz quad-core i5, AMD Radeon HD 6750M and 500GB hard drive.
• $1,499: This price keeps the 21.5-inch screen but upgrades the hardware to 2.7 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, AMD Radeon HD 6770M and 1TB hard drive.
• $1,699: For an extra $200 you get the same internal specs I just mentioned, but with the larger 27-inch screen.
• $1,999: The high-end of the new iMac line takes the larger 27-inch screen and bumps the internal specs to a 3.1 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, AMD Radeon HD 6970M and 1TB hard drive.

All in all this, looks to be a solid upgrade to the iMac line, but the big question will be whether this can slow the steady decline of the desktop computer as more and more focus goes to tablets and laptops.