I think it's good news. Considering MS owns the majority of the desktop operating systems with Windows, it's safe to say most people use it over Linux and OSX. That means most Skype users are on Windows. So for people who use it just on the computers, they probably won't even be aware of the difference, except now Skype will probably come pre-installed on computers or part of Live Essentials or something.

It's good for businesses with integration to Office, and gamers for XBox. And, of course, it's good for Nokia, which after they integrated Skype so well into Maemo I'm pleased that it'll be Nokia's next devices that continue that trend, not iOS and Android, where yet another thing Nokia did first gets credited elsewhere.

Frankly, the WP7 ecosystem is shaping up nicely: it has the biggest instant communication name with Skype, the largest hardware manufacturer in the world with Nokia, who also owns the largest mapping business in the world with Navteq. As most people own Windows computers, it's enticing to use a device that will integrate so well. Consdering Elop mentioned that this was now a battle of ecosystems, there's every chance of success.

I wouldn't be so enthusiastic except for the fact that Skype's CEO is still in charge of it under a whole new division of MS.

Largest maping in the world whose map of japan is 6MB.
Google might disagree.

Your use of hiperbole reminds me of steve jobs, biggest this, largest that, best at.

Microsoft knows the desktop market is slowly going away, this summer we will have quad core tablets. What OS do most tablets run on? Do i have to remind you that HP ditched them?
MS buying Nokia and Skype is just a desparate move before Google or Apple puts them in the grinder.

I really don't know what worse though, beeing dominated by MS on the Desktop right now or by Google on the.tablet/mobile in the future.

I wonder if the people who type "Micro$oft" know how childish they look.

I also find it funny how people blame Microsoft for everything wrong with their windows installs.

The large majority of the time, it isnt Microsofts fault. Its the third party that made the drivers that are erroring, its the third party that made the programs that didnt do it right.

Rarely will you do a clean install- not install anything and not have it "stable" for just as long as any other OS without hanging/crashes.
Its not the OS, its the user &/ third party developer.

does google map run on sat nav in cars? no. most use navteq. did cnn use google maps to show the royal wedding procession through london? no, it used nokia maps 3d, coming to wp7.

because tablets are going to get hardware updates the desktop market will go? what planet are you on? tablets won't replace PCs, netbooks maybe but not desktops or laptops. Google gets about 90something% of its revenue from advertising, not software like MS or hardware and software like Nokia. Most tablets run android but so what? none are huge sellers by any means. Android is popular because it floods the market and then enough people buy it from its presence, ditto Apple - its everywhere, part of Nokia's problem is lack of advertising.

Apple is successful with iPhone, but is losing marketshare and doesn't have global success with it. MS has always trounced Apple in the desktop market, didn't stop Apple making computers, so even if WP7 isn't the largest it means nothing. Hell, iPhone isn't popular because it's the best out there.

I got a WP7 device because of the Office and skydrive integration, and i won't be the only one. And my original point was for a strong ecosystem focusing on communication, purchasing skype is a good move. android and ios need apps, and skype is one of the most popular. WP7 has the fastest growing app store for a new system, and it will without doubt be helped by the windows ecosystem, the lure of office integration and now the communication offered by skype. this will all help wp7, and some of the mango features are amazing, far ahead of anything else. with developers now saying ios is difficult to create for, wp7 giving dev tools to port ios apps to wp7, android getting flak for frgmentation and google even admitting it with the aim of fixing it in ice cream sandwich, some people will switch. the mainstream consumers are often fickle, switching to the latest thing. and people buy phones for apps and communication, if you think skype integration and navteq maps, plus nokia's unique hardware which is also easily the best on the market won't make any difference then you're mistaken. it won't make wp7 a success overnight, but it has a lot of weight behind it now

Who said Windows == Maemo? He said, skype integrated with W7 phone as it was integrated with Maemo.

when it comes to MS people love to hate even it means distorting the original comment. Everyone is so convinced skype will now be ruined or the companies will go bankrupt. The funds between MS and Nokia are absolutely massive, and with a good strategy that really pushes the capability of the devices, there is no reason this wont succeed. People still love Nokia, they moved away because they want a fresh OS, which wp7 is. Unlike apple, they won't need to lie about inventing stuff, just show those incredible 3d maps, the social integration that is so beyond anything else, the gyro features of mango, maemo-esque multitasking and the live tiles and this can easily be a winner.

@richwhite

I can only speak for myself, but doing so, I feel safe to say there are plenty of things wrong with Microsoft and Windows. You are speaking from an average end-user point of view, a group to which a lot of people here do not belong. Maemo and the n900 are a tech-savvy combination which offers a lot of freedom to tinkle, on a hard - as well as software level.

As a tech-person who has installed hundreds of machines I appreciate the ease of a Windows install, and there´s not much to complain about a new and fresh install. But that´s about where it stops. It´s the third parties, you say, and you may be right, but I wouldn´t say that as a positive thing for Microsoft. After all, MS creates a general purpose OS that turns out to be working best if you buy additional software from MS only.

Working well or not, one fact is undeniable: any software coming from MS is bloatware. Thanks to MS the world now thinks it´s normal to spend some > 3 gig of harddisk space only to install an operating system.

Compare that to some of the more popular distro´s on distrowatch, that come as a Live CD (Hey, MS never made a Live CD? How strange...) and not only install an OS, but also a complete office suite and more for the end user.

Long story short, for me, there´s plenty of reason to dislike MS / Apple and the like and stay away from it as far as I can.

Luckily we´re not all the same.

PS: I will never forget either how MS killed a wonderfull text editor we were all used to: WordPerfect and how it replaced that with a inferior product the world now thinks of as a de facto standard...

This comes just months after buying Qik. Thus Microsoft purchased both video chat giants in one fall swoop. That pretty much leaves Google's gmail videochat as the only major cross-platform contender in this area.

And you look just as childish by painting with a broad brush.

Hint: its not only the OS installs that M$ deals with

As a former web developer, I have had to deal with IE's "undocumented features"....

... so get your facts straight please - I have plenty of reasons to be pissed at former M$ behaviour.

I use SciTE.