The filing also reveals that Skype “users made 95 billion minutes of voice and video calls” during the first half of 2010, with a full 40 percent of those minutes being video. Skype users also sent 84 million SMS text messages through Skype during the period.

Why is everyone burying this awesome lede?

40% (38 Billion minutes) of Skype calls in 2010 are video.

That's staggering. We've all laughed about yester-year predictions of video phones -- and lamented about not wanting to be seen, but the reality is video calling is here, and it's here to stay.

Like it or not -- from the perspective of closed protocols -- 38 billion minutes of video in 6 months makes a very strong argument to manufacturers.

Numbers like this should weigh heavily in any discussion of what Apple's future strategy with forward facing cameras and Facetime might be.