I'm not a savvy businessman, but I would think that diversifying a business can be too risky if you don't have the free capital to blow. I've personally seen a couple small companies strong core products sunk by risky, expensive, time consuming endeavors in new markets. In Ebay's case, you might argue that they could take the risk because of their size, but in a theoretical world where the economy keeps getting worse instead of rebounding, that $2.5 billion (approx., too lazy to scroll up and fact check) they paid for Skype could be the difference between them floating the operating costs of their core business for a not-insignificant amount of time or failing.

"Is Google gearing up for Beta round 2 with these new number reservations?"

I don't know, but someone should write an article about that if that's the case!

Crappy comfortable headphones, what an obvious design flaw. My headphones pinch me every 30 seconds to remind me that I'm wearing them. Adds a bit to the cost, but you'll save money in the long run.

I think you're mistaken, the Armenian genocides are a figment of your imagination, silly.