[Discuss] Skype Replacement

[omegahalo at gmail.com (Chris O'Connell)]

Check out this rather timely article:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20072845-264/google-building-skype-alike-software-into-chrome/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

On Tue, Jun 21, 2011 at 1:52 AM, Tom Metro <tmetro-blu at vl.com> wrote:

> Mark Woodward wrote:
> > ...is there a practical replacement for Skype...
>
> SIP for the protocol and Jitsi for the client have already been mentioned.
>
> SIP is far more open than Skype. If you set up the correct DNS entries,
> you can even have people use your email address as your SIP "phone number."
>
> SIP generally requires a server in the cloud to connect up the two
> parties, and thus isn't quite as distributed as Skype, but you can run
> your own server (such as Asterisk).
>
> I'm not sure what the SIP answer is for encryption, which Skype
> supposedly provides. (Though see prior mention that variable bitrate
> voice encoding can be largely decoded. Same principle would apply to
> using a VBR codec with SIP sent through a VPN tunnel.)
>
> I listened to the same podcast on Jitsi that was mentioned, and I have
> it installed, but it is largely a multi-protocol IM client plus a SIP
> softphone. I already have both of those, so I haven't been motivated to
> try it out further. Jitsi also provides desktop sharing (as does Skype)
> - I believe via VNC, or at least the same underlying protocols.
>
> Lately I've been using the Twinkle SIP softphone in conjunction with a
> free VoIP account from Callcentric. Seems to work well. (Twinkle isn't
> very flashy, but it has a handy feature where it can launch a script
> (CGI-like) on various events, such as an incoming call. I have a talking
> caller-ID rigged up to it.)
>
> Also, because SIP is open, you can easily find hardware, such as phones
> and analog telephone adapters (ATAs) that speak the protocol. One
> interesting ATA is OBi110 (http://obihai.com/), which I've heard from a
> few people works well.
>
>  -Tom
>
> --
> Tom Metro
> Venture Logic, Newton, MA, USA
> "Enterprise solutions through open source."
> Professional Profile: http://tmetro.venturelogic.com/
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