At Computex held in Taipei, Taiwan, communications platform provider Skype unveils UVC 1.4, a new standard interface for communication to H.264 cameras. It will become Skype’s unofficial standard for video calling as it gives silicon vendors the chance to develop cameras compatible with Skype applications via Skypekit.

The new standard interface will contain generic solutions for real-time communication, easing the burden of partners as it eliminates the need for additional processing by the computer or television running Skype. It also give vendors the freedom and flexibility to develop cameras for a wider consumer base. The Skype UVC 1.4 specs is available for free, found here.

“We are focused on making HD video calling available to as many people as possible, on as many devices as possible,” said Jonathan Christensen, Vice President of Emerging Opportunities at Skype.

“By offering a single standard to silicon vendors, we believe it will speed up the development of high quality cameras that work with televisions, computers and blu-ray players, which ultimately will provide consumers with more device choice for enjoying their Skype video calling experiences.”

Skype was recently acquired by Microsoft for $8.5 billion in an all cash deal, subsequently becoming a new business division within Microsoft. However, some critics believe that such an amount for Skype is too much.  Microsoft has been known for generous buyouts, such as its attempt to get a hold of Yahoo for $48 billion in 2008, an offer which the latter rejected.

Rumors have it that Microsoft thought that Skype’s acquisition is merely a preparation of a bigger purchase, and that the bigger object for acquisition is the badly slacking Nokia. It does make sense though for the biggest problem of Nokia is operating system. MeeGo and Symbian is lagging behind Android and iOS. At the same time, Microsoft needs to get grip of the mobile market in case the PC arena starts to die. Don’t you just love Microsoft?

“MS&Nokia deal could be closed in 2011. MS want to buy Nokia Mobile division. No info about price/terms/dates,” said Russian blogger Eldar Murtazin.

Meanwhile, ooVoo, another online communications provider launches on the iPhone, presenting itself as a viable alternative for Apple’s FaceTime for free video chat of iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. It has gone ahead, offering the same service on computers and Android phones. It can support up to three people in an audio or video call and has text messaging capabilities as well.

On the other hand, Citrix announced the beta launch of GoToMeeting with HD video conferencing. The upgrade emerged during the Citrix Synergy event, where the personal and enterprise clouds were the event’s highlights.  GoToMeeting and its complementary Receiver app looks forward to aggregating your “personal cloud” which centers on your desktop and collaboration software using the device of your choice. This kind of service is seasoned to dawn Citrix as a grip in both public and private cloud infrastructure.