Microsoft’s blockbuster agreement to acquire Skype is all but assured now, with multiple reports citing a purchase price of $8.5 billion, including assumption of debt. The deal is already raising lots of eyebrows, with New York Times columnist David Pogue’s readers turning it into a running joke on Twitter.

The skepticism is warranted. Microsoft has had a rough time with big acquisitions in the past, and Skype will be seen by many in the industry as tying its fortunes to an over-the-hill technology giant that has struggled in consumer markets.

But many of the people trying to wrap their heads around the deal are missing an important point — the more than 10 million Microsoft cameras connected to television screens in homes around the world...


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