> Why would they remove the Linux version? That would mean > less people will use and pay for their software.
As soon as their protocol has penetrated all corporate VOIP networks, the few linux users aren't of any interest. Maybe they will keep the Linux client available, maybe for free, but as always in the commercial software world, it is not guaranteed. It even can happen that they stop the free linux client and change the protocol at the same time - and exclude linux users from their network. Companies then will think "Linux cannot be used on the desktop, because there's no Skype client for it.". I can also think about other scenarios. > > So, if you like your freedom, search for free > > alternatives, and if there are none, help building them. > > There already are alternatives like linphone, SFLphone or > > KPhone. > > Do those alternatives let you call normal phone lines? > It's hard to tell from these: > > http://www.linphone.org > http://www.sflphone.org/ > http://www.wirlab.net/kphone/ That's the problem. You can easily use the software mentioned to call a friend who gave you his IP address. But you cannot call into the classical phone net. To do so, you need a service provider who has gateways all over the world. And this is something which cannot be solved by the open source community. Lets talk about further advantages of Skype: * Real-name "Telphone numbers" * Bandwidth saving (=> ISDN) * Ease of use * Possibility to call into the classical phone net The last one can be provided by any provider who has some servers. But as in the instant message world, the providers often make their protocols incompatible not for technical, but for customer gagging :( . Best regards ce -- gentoo-user@gentoo.org mailing list
