Read Full Story By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer

Excerpt from Story:

NEW YORK – Microsoft Corp. said Tuesday that it has agreed to buy the popular Internet telephone service Skype SA for $8.5 billion in the biggest deal in the software maker's 36-year history.

Buying Skype gives Microsoft access to a user base of about 170 million people who log in to Skype every month, using the Internet and Skype usernames as a complement to the traditional phone network and its phone numbers.

===============

Well, it's not like Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook and all the mobile phone giants don't already know where we are, what we do, what we purchase, what we own, where we work, where we live, what we like, our likes and dislikes, and our personal information of just about any flavor - - now, they'll know even more. Let's face it. There is no such thing as privacy anymore. In the old days folks talked about Big Brother. Now, we have a family of Big Brothers.

You better know what you're posting online, your surfing habits, what you're texting, or who you're calling, will always be attached to you, in one form or another. It's a reality, and something I guess we've all already accepted.