Please don't, Microsoft. They've made a royal mess of Skype - and the subsequent deprecation of MSN/Windows/Live Messenger.
They've also got more design talent than they probably know what to do with.
I do think that they should find something to do with the Xbox/media centre platform where some of your suggestions might apply.
As much as Microsoft have pissed off game developers and failed to lower the entry bar compared to iOS, console competitors like Nintendo and Sony are struggling a lot, which could put Microsoft in a much better position.
How is Skype a royal mess after the acquisition? Also Skype is run pretty independently even now with Microsoft. Their entry badge IDs even say Skype and not Microsoft. Also, deprecation of MSN/Windows/Live Messenger is good. Why have two different platforms which basically do the same thing thus wasting resources within the company and confusing consumers? I can't imagine they've been making too much money from Messenger.
They've also got more design talent than they probably know what to do with.
I do think that they should find something to do with the Xbox/media centre platform where some of your suggestions might apply.
As much as Microsoft have pissed off game developers and failed to lower the entry bar compared to iOS, console competitors like Nintendo and Sony are struggling a lot, which could put Microsoft in a much better position.