MS buys Skype - will it support Linux

[Amos Shapira]

On 16 May 2011 22:24, geoffrey mendelson <geoffreymendelson at gmail.com>wrote:

>
> On May 16, 2011, at 1:44 PM, Amos Shapira wrote:
>
>>
>> Even before that - I've tried some of these SIP-based voice programs on
>> and off for a few years now and they *never* "just work" (let alone "work")
>> where as Skype is just a "plug a play" and voice clear as a whistle from the
>> first time I used it in ~2003..
>>
>
>
> I've used (not on Linux, but they do exist there) X-lite, Zoiper and Voix
> (IAX only) and they work easily.
>
> You can not connect a SIP client to another SIP client, there has to be
> something in the middle. If you have firewalls in the way, you also need a
> SIP Proxy, (aka Stunnel server). SIP uses different ports for setting up and
> controlling a session and the actual voice data, and most people never quite
> get that right. (It's not easy with 2 firewalls, NAT, etc).


I know that that voice stream travels separately from the "signal" (the
"Session Initiation Protocol" is about finding  each other etc). But as you
say - 2 firewalls and NAT is what you have to deal with 99.999% of the time
and it's just not going to work if the other side is my 80 years old mum on
a windows computer. On the other hand she manages with Skype just fine.

Until that gap is closed - I won't consider the alternatives as competitors
and I think so would most of the people in this forum.


>
>  Even more so - guys in my workplace who claim to have experience setting
>> up SIP and none-Skype voip exchanges still have trouble setting up simple
>> connections between our Sydney and San Francisco offices. You can claim that
>> it's their fault but my point is that SIP (which is what all these solutions
>> relay on) is just still too hard to use.
>>
>
>
>
> That's barking up the wrong tree as it were. Asterisk systems with IAX
> trunking will do the job and can be set up easily. SIP is much more
> difficult.
>
> You are right though, if you already have a Skype ID and a copy installed
> on your system, you could call someone in another office in a few seconds.
> You can also do voice conference, video calls and now (if you pay for a
> "premium" account) video conferences. All with a minimum of effort and
> almost no skill.
>

Right. And another point is that you can do that with
iPhones/Android/Symbian phones as well (with video on iPhones to top it off
- e.g. we were on the beach on NSW central coast doing video calls over 3g
with Brazil from our iPhone 4 - how far are ekiga and friends from that?).

For now I just hope they won't cut Linux out.

Thinking about it - Skype is today's killer app, the one which can make or
break a platform for many people (including me).

--Amos
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