On Wed, 2009-11-11 at 21:27 +1000, Geoffrey wrote: > Evidently (?) Skype is different and doesn't communicate with > Ekiga. I've learnt too that there is Skype for Linux. > This is a bit of a disappointment. What happened to standard protocols? > Incidently I have not yet upgraded to 9.10. I think I saw a comment on > Ubuntu-AU that Ekiga is not part of the upgrade. If so what has taken > its place? > My questions of members are, in relation to Ubuntu: > 1. Where do I go from the present position cited above? > 2. How is the Ubuntu softphone-Skype matter resolved?
Yes, Skype uses its own proprietary protocol, and has gone to great lengths to protect it from reverse engineering, so that nothing can work with the Skype network other than Skype clients. SIP is the open and industry standard for VoIP (Voice over IP, the technical term used for "making a phone call over the Internet"). Ekiga is one such client that implements SIP. As Ekiga is a stinking piece of shyt, it's been removed from 9.10, and replaced with Empathy. Empathy is a nice client, and shows lots of promise, but at the moment its rather immature and its support for SIP is rather shaky. To my knowledge, no good open source softphone implementing SIP exists on any platfrom. If you need VoIP for the occasional use, then Skype is fine, and will do the job. If you are thinking of using VoIP for serious use, like for your business, then you need a good client, which supports the G.729 codec. They are all proprietary, and they all cost money. CounterPath makes decent softphones, Bria and EyeBeam, but AFAIK they only run on Mac OS X and Windows, no Linux. Or alternatively you can use a hardware VoIP phone. Snom is a very good German brand, and is highly recommended. Of course, if you go that route, you then also need a call termination service. There are many decent aussie companies offering such services, have a look at whirlpool.net.au for more info. Cheers -- Aryan Ameri -- ubuntu-au mailing list ubuntu-au@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-au