Puppy alternative to Skype?

Message

Sylvander · #1 Post by **Sylvander** » Thu 26 May 2011, 16:53

I don't want to use Skype when it's owned by Microsoft.

Not if I can avoid it.

irishrm · #2 Post by **irishrm** » Thu 26 May 2011, 17:41

Sylvander wrote:I don't want to use Skype when it's owned by Microsoft.

There is a .pet for google talk but I don,t have the link. It works.

#3 Post by **Flash** » Thu 26 May 2011, 19:38

In Menu -> Internet there is Psip VOIP + IM client. A while back I tinkered with it a bit but didn't have much need so didn't make much headway. Now that Skype is owned by Microsoft, maybe I'll tinker with it some more.

Sylvander · #4 Post by **Sylvander** » Fri 27 May 2011, 07:32

I know next to nothing about such programs...
So it isn't easy for me to look at them all and think "that one is just the very thing for me".
See comparison chart here.
And...
e.g.
1. "There is no video functionality in Psip and there are no plans to include it".
I'd really like whatever program I use to have video functionality.

2. Teamspeak also doesn't include video.

3. "Google talk" is closed source, proprietary; is it FREE?
googletalk-ff.pet was got HERE from a link given in this post.

irishrm · #5 Post by **irishrm** » Fri 27 May 2011, 15:01

Sylvander wrote: "Google talk" is closed source, proprietary; is it FREE?

I have downloaded and used it from time to time. Its free to use. Works well computer to computer anyway. Don't know if you can call private phones, don't think so.
I use skype mostly because the people I talk to all use skype. That may change now.

#6 Post by **BÃ©Ã¨m** » Fri 27 May 2011, 16:54

The competitor of skype is voipbuster.
Unfortunately there is no native linux version.
I use it but have to go to windows.
I think some time ago I tried to install it in wine, but as far as I remember there was a problem.
Even in windows I have a problem when installing the latest version.
Some new dll is needed and I don't have it in my XP SP1.

PaulBx1 · #7 Post by **PaulBx1** » Sun 29 May 2011, 18:45

It would be wonderful if this Skype purchase prompts some activity here.

Not sure why Puppy needs its own client (size, perhaps?), but I suppose now we can just download some app running under Ubuntu, right? I'd like to see a good mainstream app working, along with zfone on top for security:

Zfone is software for secure voice communication over the Internet (VoIP), using the ZRTP protocol. It is created by Phil Zimmermann, the creator of the PGP encryption software. Zfone works on top of existing SIP- and RTP-programs, but should work with any SIP- and RTP-compliant VoIP-program.

Zfone turns many existing VoIP clients into secure phones.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zfone

Woops, now I see a lot of clients have encryption built in...

If anyone wants to dig into this, I probably will be available for you to call and test...

Bert · #8 Post by **Bert** » Sun 29 May 2011, 20:05

Wouldn't Ekiga be a possible alternative?
Open source and multi-platform...

Ease of use with a modern Graphical User Interface.
Audio and Video free calls through the internet.
Free Instant Messaging through the internet with Presence support.
Audio (and video) calls to landlines and cell phones with support to the cheapest service providers.
High Definition Sound (wideband) and Video Quality up to DVD quality (high framerate, state of the art quality codec and frame size).
Free of choice of the service provider.
SMS to cell phones if the service provider supports it (like the default provider).
Standard Telephony features support like Call Hold, Call Transfer, Call Forwarding, DTMF.
Remote and Local Address Book support: Remote Address Book support with authentification using the standard LDAP technology, Local Address support in Gnome (Evolution).
Multi platform: Windows and GNU/Linux
Wide interoperability: Ekiga use the main deployed stantards for telephony protocols (SIP and H.323) and has been tested with a wide range of softphones, hardphones, PBX and service providers.

If only it could talk to Skype clients...

http://ekiga.org/

Sylvander · #9 Post by **Sylvander** » Sun 29 May 2011, 20:10

But no encryption.

I don't like the idea of calls being open to any/all evesdropper[s].

Bert · #10 Post by **Bert** » Sun 29 May 2011, 20:15

Sylvander wrote:But no encryption.

I don't like the idea of calls being open to any/all evesdropper[s].

Ah I see, thanks for pointing this out. Has someone asked them (Ekiga) to add encryption? Often open source projects are all ears when improvements are proposed...

Thanks Sylvander.

#11 Post by **BÃ©Ã¨m** » Sun 29 May 2011, 22:58

As far as I see, ekiga doesn't make calls to landlines as skype and voipbuster can do.

#12 Post by **Flash** » Mon 30 May 2011, 02:47

I can live without that feature. I don't think it's going to happen anyway; it would require too much organization, an actual corporation. I'll be happy just to be able to talk directly computer-to-computer without the need for an intervening server. I suppose the main problem is how to find the other computer's IP address. Also there's the problem of how to connect since the other computer won't normally respond to a connection request it did not initiate.

Bert · #13 Post by **Bert** » Mon 30 May 2011, 08:39

Béèm wrote:As far as I see, ekiga doesn't make calls to landlines as skype and voipbuster can do.

I've never used Ekiga, but from their website I get the impression calling landlines and mobile phones is available:

Audio (and video) calls to landlines and cell phones with support to the cheapest service providers.

Wide interoperability: Ekiga use the main deployed stantards for telephony protocols (SIP and H.323) and has been tested with a wide range of softphones, hardphones, PBX and service providers.

Enum Support: Enum is a standard method to provide a unified numbering system between the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and various VoIP providers. It is officially deployed country wide.

Anyway, for landline to landline international calls, there are nowadays cheap and simple alternatives in most countries I believe.

Shep · #14 Post by **Shep** » Mon 30 May 2011, 11:03

I've not tried voip. I need to wait for a foolproof .pet package.

But for further reading......

the browser-based imo.im seems versatile. http://alternativeto.net/software/skype/

also: http://www.itworld.com/unified-communic ... s?page=0,1

cowboy · #15 Post by **cowboy** » Mon 30 May 2011, 14:33

I don't want to use Skype when it's owned by Microsoft

.

That brings to mind Pa_Mcclamrock's sig, something to the effect that "it is silly to use inferior software for ideological reasons."

Since 2005, Skype has been owned first by Ebay, and then primarily by a team of venture capitalists. It's been "corporate" for quite some time, and yet has continued to meet the needs of its users. Most of the people you know are probably on the service, and will not move until the service truly declines.

The development team is, for the moment, primarily in Estonia, and would probably thank you for your continued support. And while Microsoft's history doesn't contain many examples of successful integrations, one would hope that Skype follows a better path.

If Microsoft does something foolish (such as making all Skype users login through...gulp...hotmail...)by all means move, but these days if you scratch any software company hard enough you'll find they have some truly odd bedfellows. Google Voice through Gmail might be a compromise for VOIP, though I think their free VOIP service is limited to the US. If it is just chat you are seeking, Gmail offers that, and there are other programs like Pidgin.

dogle · #16 Post by **dogle** » Thu 02 Jun 2011, 22:01

Thanks to Sylvander for the link to the to the Wikipedia comparison chart - a very useful starting point.

Although I could probably live without encryption, maybe I would need the STUN network address translation facility .... does anyone here know for sure whether or not STUN is essential if your box does not have a fixed IP address, i.e. your address is allocated via DHCP ?

PaulBx1 · #17 Post by **PaulBx1** » Sat 04 Jun 2011, 16:54

"it is silly to use inferior software for ideological reasons."

True, as far as that goes, but potentially being plugged into the state security apparatus can go beyond mere ideology.

Communication is important, and security is important. We should go open source if we can make it work. I have no incentive to use softphones otherwise; I'll just make a cell call instead.

It may not matter if ekiga has encryption, if zfone can work on top of it.

To me, the main features are encryption, and the ability to call land lines and cell phones, and interaction with other softphone clients as much as possible. I don't care about a lot of other features. I want it to do what I do with my cell phone already, as a baseline.

Sylvander · #18 Post by **Sylvander** » Sat 04 Jun 2011, 17:35

"being plugged into the state security apparatus can go beyond mere ideology"
Exactly!
It was and is nothing to do with ideology.
If it were to be proposed that ALL of our sayings & doings are to be observable and observed...
All the way from those lowest to the highest...
I don't think I'd like it much.
I like private things to remain private.

And history has shown that those in the upper echelons of power are often the lowest of the low in terms of character and behaviour.
It's unwise to trust people just because they are the exalted ones.
[I've been watching TV programs about Adolf Hitler and his "henchmen"]

fratermus · #19 Post by **fratermus** » Tue 07 Jun 2011, 08:28

Bert wrote:I've never used Ekiga, but from their website I get the impression calling landlines and mobile phones is available:

I do use Ekiga on my *buntu desktop, although I actually prefer the lighter Twinkle client much of the time.

Ekiga is referring to diamondcard.us when it mentions outbound calls, although any SIP-to-phone service would work. There is a hook to diamondcard in the Ekiga config and apparently diamondcard kicks back a bit of each ekiga-generated subscription to the project. The diamondcard site is ugly but exceptionally informative for subscribers. Setup was a bit of a pain; they wanted to voicecall me to verify the transaction but I was in museum with spotty cellphone reception at the time they called. I understand that is only necessary with the first fund addition.

I originally had a SkypeOut account ($36/yr unlimited to US) but use so few minutes that I could do it cheaper with diamondcard's per-minute rates ($0.016/min). The breakeven is something like 180 mins/month; more than that and SkypeOut was a better deal.

Then Google Talk came out with free outbound and so my remaining $15 diamondcard balance just sits there waiting for Google to start charging. When they do (and assuming it's more than the diamondcard rate) I'll start using the diamondcard service again.

I will add that I experienced some drops during longer calls with SkypeOut (around 20 mins) but none with diamondcard+ekiga that I can remember.

riccardo · #20 Post by **riccardo** » Fri 26 Aug 2011, 09:56

On my netbook I have Puppy (actually fluppy 013). On my desktop (in a separate partition) I have lucid Puppy ver. 5.2.8. Last time we went away from home I took the netbook with twinkle installed. This allowed me to make nationwide calls to home phones at VOIP rates. The result (even when the link featured wifi and satellite parts) was acceptable sound quality. Sometimes there were brief dropouts.

Now I want to reinstall Twinkle o my desktop ... and I have discovered that Twinkle has disappeared! I could compile Twinkle from source ... but that would require lots of extra bits ... like gcc. However, the twinkle pet I used before is no longer available on this forum Can I request that it be once again made available for voip enthusiasts??

I won't commit to Skype although I do have an account. Something about its modusoperandi worries me ... and I don't want to put more money into Microsoft coffers.

riccardo

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