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Back in the day, I used H.323. Nowadays, I use mostly SIP. Both are open standards that can be used with a variety of clients, such as Ekiga, XMeeting, and Gizmo.

By default, these protocols are unencrypted. I would run them over a VPN (I use OpenVPN) so that all communication is encrypted. This also solves some of the connectivity problems that Network Address Translation creates.

Furikup is a beta quality SIP client for the PSP. It's always nice to see the increasing number of devices supporting SIP. Without the luxury of having a PSP to play with Furikup, but having another SIP device (Nokia E61) I can give some recommendations to new users Voice-over-IP (VoIP).

There are a number of free incoming number DID providers. A few examples:

SipNumber provides Iowa State numbers.
IPKall provides Washington State Numbers.
OrbTalk provides London geographic numbers.

Google's Recent acquisition of GrandCentral is a very tempting prospect even though it is not a true SIP provider. You can get a phone number in almost any locale with GrandCentral and forward the number to the above two US-based providers. You may almost register for a Gizmo account and forward directly to it through GrandCentral. Once the Gizmo SIP account is registered to your device it'll ring when called from a regular landline.

The problem with having this many accounts is finding a service which can aggregate your numbers in one place so you don't have dozens of SIP accounts to register in your device. Voxalot is a nice service but they charge $15/year. Another one is PBXES.org but I would stay away from them. They have a notorious reputation of locking accounts and demanding a 50 Euro ransom to regain access. My personal favorite is MySipSwitch. It's free, does SIP aggregation, and allows simple dial-plans to maximize cheap calling over SIP. It's also an open-source project and the developers directly answer questions from the community in the forums.

Coupling this with services like PhoneGnome, it's possible receive calls from all over the world with some very simple guides (link #1, link #2) out there. Go ahead and give it a try. A big congrats to the coders that are bringing SIP functionality to the PSP.

So say Vonage goes belly up in a few months... does anyone know of similair VOIP solutions? There's no way I'm going back to a telco land line.

I recommend trying gizmo. The most popular VOIP solution, at least in my crowd, is skype. And there is wengo, who has a GPL'd client.

Crappy code or not, it works well on Windows and Mac machines. It's easy to set up. Its SkypeOut rates are extremely cheap and the call quality is pretty good. It also does video extremely well and works easily with most webcams. But it's going to have to clean up its act when it comes to security because there are some alternatives emerging -- like GizmoProject. GizmoProject is great, and uses an open standard, but does not do video nor does it show any intentions of adding it. So scratch that one for me for now, but if it ever adds video, watch out Skype.

Gizmo Project is better than Skype.

Nokia gives out S60 SDK freely: http://forum.nokia.com/. Nokia S60 phones can be programmed with C++, Java or Python.

Nokia N95 supports standard SIP VoIP natively (with Gizmo http://www.gizmoproject.com/, for example). Using Skype/Google Talk/MSN is possible too with fring: http://www.fring.com/

See my other comment http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=23500 1&cid=19176363 for more details.

I'm using my own N95 http://www.nseries.com/n95/ as:

• an IRC client: http://mirggi.net/ (native Symbian software)
• a SSH client: http://s2putty.sourceforge.net/ (Putty is ported to and runs on Symbian natively)
• a podcast player: Nokia Podcasting (http://blogs.s60.com/nokiapodcasting/). I can download new episodes on the fly and listen to them when I want. I don't need a computer to download the episodes. MPEG-4/H.264 video podcasts work too.
• an Internet radio (Shoutcast) client: http://opensource.nokia.com/projects/s60internetra dio/index.html All the Internet radio stations just when I want. Open Source.
• an FM radio and MP3/AAC player. Any headphones with a 3,5mm plug work fine.
• a 5 megapixel digital camera: http://www.flickr.com/cameras/nokia/n95/
• a 640x480 30fps MPEG-4/AAC video camera.
• a modem for my laptop. Thanks to HSDPA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hsdpa) I get about 120kB/s downstream and 44kB/s upstream (yes, kilobytes) with the current 1,8Mbps HSDPA network. 90ms pings. I have an unlimited packet data contract from my mobile operator. The operator is currently software upgrading the base stations to support 3,6Mbps HSDPA, which doubles the downstream speeds.
• a SIP VoIP client: The SIP standard is supported by the device natively. And the Internet call functionality is well integrated to the user interface. I can use the normal phone book to call via the Internet. Instead of normal voice or video call, I just select Internet call from the menu. Internet calls work over 802.11g 54Mbps WLAN at home, and over the mobile packet data network on the go, thanks to HSDPA. Works great with Gizmo (http://www.gizmoproject.com/), for example.
• a web browser and RSS feed reader: RSS feeds are supported by the excellent S60 web browser, which is based on Apple Webcore/KHTML: http://opensource.nokia.com/projects/S60browser/. It's a full featured web browser and not a toy. Web sites can be zoomed in/out to fit the screen. Opera can be installed on the device too.
• a gaming device: I'm not a enthusiastic gamer though. I'm just playing the preinstalled games. btw. N95 has got hardware accelerated OpenGL by PowerVR: http://www.imgtec.com/PowerVR/Products/Graphics/MB X/index.asp
• a Push-email client. I receive email as soon as it is available on the IMAP server. I can open ZIP attachments, Word/Excel documents, PDF files and view them on the device.
• a GPS and a map: N95 has got an integrated GPS receiver. Nokia Maps software is preinstalled on the device. Free detailed maps for over 150 countries are available. And Google Maps works on it too: http://www.google.com/gmm/. I also use N95 to track my work-outs with Nokia Sports Tracker http://research.nokia.com/research/projects/Sports Tracker/.

I can install any S60 3rd edition and Java ME software on this phone. No restrictions. Also the SDK is available freely: http://forum.nokia.com/ Symbian is also fast, and supports multitasking of applications natively. I can program it even with Python (http://wiki.opensource.nokia.com/projects/PyS60) if I want.

Hot-swappable 2GB Micro SD cards work as stora

If you get Gizmo Project and Grand Central, and configure the latter to use the former, you can get unlimited inbound calls for free.

I've been very happy with my Vonage service, and I hope they'll win this one in court eventually. If they don't, I'll reconfigure my Vonage hardware to use another SIP provider (like Gizmo Project): I'll switch back to TPC when heck freezes over.

Sorry folks, but for my time and money, I want total client/server control. So I'll go to Nerd Vittles and download myself a Trixbox (in a CentOS VMware image). It'll do it all, and the docs there are great, including how to migrate to real hardware should you want.

For SIP (etc.) clients, I'll take a Nokia N95 please, which is a fancier version than the nearly 1.5 year old Nokia N80i, but with better specs.: DVD video plus GPS/maps. (Otherwise, the N80i, for about 375 euros) will connect you via 802.11 to your Trixbox, plus offers a 3.2 MP camera, good video, and syncs to Lotus Notes or Outlook (but using Windows software, I have yet try; the N95 is yet-to-be released). For client-side software, go to Project Gizmoand get your SIP client for your little phone.

Notes these phones will not be bundled with any carrier plans.

You can't be ahead of the curve if you're stuck in a loop.

I can recommend Gizmo Project. I've used their SIP-based service without hiccups from my Windows laptop and my Mac desktop for over a year now. It even works with third-party softphone apps, on my WiFi-enabled Windows Mobile device...

http://gizmoproject.com/

http://www.michaelrobertson.com/archive.php?minute _id=177

http://www.petefreitag.com/item/522.cfm

http://www.randomthink.net/blog/2005/07/08/skype-v s-gizmo-project/

http://voip.about.com/od/voipsoftware/a/gizmoproje ct.htm

Try The Gizmo Project. It is comparable to Skype, but it uses SIP, so it's open and compatible. I believe it has all of the same features as Skype, if not more, though I haven't done a detailed comparison myself. But it's definitely worth checking out. From personal experience, I know that their customer service is really helpful and attentive as well.

There was this other service hyped either here or Engadget (or both?) that was supposed to be some Skype-killer, but it wasn't as free as they said it was (I don't think it was money, but you had to do *something* to get the free calling).

Maybe you're thinking of Gizmo? It advertises itself as free, but it's only free between Gizmo users. So, you can call a landline for free if another Gizmo user has that number listed as his landline in his profile, or something to that effect. And they also say that if you use to too much, they'll start charging you for it, but they never say what "too much" use would be.

I tried it out a while back, when it was being hyped. It was fine, but wasn't terribly useful for me (personally) for the same reason other VOIP stuff isn't that helpful for me: I have a cell phone, and I'm pretty much never in a situation when I have internet access but no cell-phone reception. If I wanted useful wireless internet access, I'd have to go through a cell phone company anyway.

There is more for Linux. Ever heard of Gizmo?

http://www.gizmoproject.com/download.php

Tried that, the POTS interface was totally useless (at least to the locale I was calling, in a rural part of Canada). I was lucky to catch two-thirds of what the other party said to to buffering/latency issues. Skype can be a little choppy at times, but is generally quite usable.

Yes there is.

Gizmo 2.0 for Mac and Windows does work with Asterisk. http://support.gizmoproject.com/FAQs/asterisk.php

Are there any linux implementation of XMPP + Jingle?

[..] I have never seen one that was one-click-and-run in Windows [..]

You mean like Gizmo? Skype lets you call US and Canadian landlines for free, at least through the end of this year. Gizmo lets you call landlines and mobiles in 60 countries for free, forever, as long as you both are Gizmo users and use the software a few times a week.

Have you tried Gizmo?
It is a SIP client, supports Linux, Mac and Windows and you can buy credit to call landlines/mobiles and send SMS.
The SMS function works on the Mac but I presume it also works on Linux.

Skype is a closed secretive disaster. The community RANTED when MSN/AIM/Yahoo messenger played games to cut out client choice (Gaim, Trillian, et al.). If you want simple, use Gizmo ( http://www.gizmoproject.com/ ) which has a very economical and functional interface to the regular phone system (POTS). Even cheaper, try http://www.voipstunt.com/ or http://www.freecall.com/
All of these are street-legal SIP, and you can use any SIP-capable device you like, or use your computer if you want to.

And of course you can use Asterisk ( http://www.asterisk.org/ ) which is best of all!

Skype belongs in the shitbin of history. Closed systems suck.

But it doesn't have to work that way. Gizmo Chat functions perfectly well (I think the voice quality if actually much better than Skype), without requiring users to traffic others' data.

Ventrilo and Teamspeak do not allow free calls to landlines but Gizmo Project does. Personally I have made several voice calls to overseas landlines for free. You can get more information about their free VoIP services here.

Gizmo http://gizmoproject.com/ works pretty well too and allows more people in a conference call.

It's also free and works on Linux, OS X, and Windows.

Oh, and it speaks Jabber and SIP too.

As I read this /. issue on my Nokia 770 running Linux I tend to disagree on some points made in this news item.
Yes the Nokia 770 is not a GSM phone but It's a device capable of running many applications (like http://www.gizmoproject.com/ and http://www.google.com/talk/ ). The software is based on debian and the http://maemo.org/ platform.

Try using Gizmo instead of Skype. Gizmo has the built-in ability to record conversations to disk.

Try using Gizmo instead of Skype. Gizmo has the built-in ability to record conversations to disk.

Gizmo project? http://www.gizmoproject.com/

You want Gizmo Project -- it even has SOUND EFFECTS!

SipPhone have a Linux client. http://www.gizmoproject.com/

I use Gizmo. They may not use an opensource client, but they do use OPEN PROTOCOLS (skype...) Their linux support has alsa been much better for me. Oh, look at that freudian slip! Yes, ALSA actually works without glaring issues. I'm even using it with an external usb microphone! They may not be offering free callout, but for 10$ you get 1000minutes that will not expire for two years. Those same minutes can be used anywhere in the world for the standard rates.

Now, sorry that sounds like an advertisement, but a slashdot article on skype a little while back had me interested in this area, though I knew as soon as I saw skype that it wasn't for me. There is another provider that uses an open client as well, and had the same rates as Gizmo, but I cannot remember them from the top of my head.

Gizmo Project Anyone have links for other "open" providers. I really think they would compliment this article quite well.

Funny how even though they were actually capturing voice conversations and full email contents under Clinton, it was totally fine. In fact, the NY Times lauded it as a necessary measure during this day and age. But now that Bush is simply watching the numbers we dial and receive phone calls from it's an impeachable offense. Check THIS out: http://cryptome.org/echelon-60min.htm It's a transcript of a 60 minutes segment on Project Echelon from 2000 - which was obviously before Bush took office in January of 2001. Somehow I imagine that people are going to draw the amazing conclusion that Bush is responsible for Echelon as well as Carnivore during the 90's even though he wasn't President...

So with Clinton it's ok... with Bush it's impeachment and all the while people are allowed to show blatant disregard for the law leaking our national secrets with no fear of imprisonment. Apparently it's our wonderful members of Congress who are above the law (yes I'm talking to you Jay Rockefeller) - not the President. In fact I'd be impressed for someone to prove to me that the powers given to the Executive branch don't allow for the President to approve warrantless wiretaps as a matter of national security. And remember - this is not the first time that the President of our country has chosen to impede on individual privacy for the sake of national security. Ask the Japanese Americans thrown into concentration camps during WWII under Roosevelt. Clinton, Carter, Roosevelt, even Washington and others have taken these kinds of steps.

Don't get your panties all in wad... I've read 1984 too. And believe me, I'm not interested in a police state either. I understand the whole "frog boiling in water" premise in that over time things can be eroded to the point that they are totally gone. But let's not take the slightest movement in that direction as doom and gloom. The President is responsible for protecting the security of this country. Not you. He is the one who we will point to if and when terrorists attack us again. From what I've heard of these programs in the NSA, I think they are the best balance we can hope for between finding terrorists in his country *before* they commit another attack and our individual rights as citizens. It's been almost five years since 9/11. I don't think that the terrorists just gave up. I think they would love to continue to terrorize us and our way of life. And I think these NSA programs and whatever else Bush has been doing have obviously led to these discussions over privacy vs security instead of discussions about the latest terrorist attack and when the next one will come.

For those of you who are so scared about the government listening to whatever you're saying on the phone, I suggest the following: http://www.gizmoproject.com/ coupled with http://www.philzimmermann.com/EN/zfone/index.html

If you really really have a problem with the government doing anything to impede on your privacy you can always move somewhere else. Unlike other countries, you are free to leave this one at any time.

http://www.sipgate.co.uk/ offers a free local number in the UK (and other countries i believe) when you sign up.

http://www.gizmoproject.com/ has a nice softphone application which, from looking at the Mac OS X 2.0 test version, will soon allow you to set it up for 3rd party SIP services. There are other softphone apps out there, but Gizmo's is the nicest cross-platform one IMO.

Looks like gizmo is $3.00/month for inbound calls. Not a bad deal.
The "sipgate" is saying "Customers who sign up with sipgate for geographic phone numbers in the UK, must reside within the UK." Looks like I could get a number in Germany, which could be handy.

But this aim deal sounds like it's free...

http://www.sipgate.co.uk/ offers a free local number in the UK (and other countries i believe) when you sign up.

http://www.gizmoproject.com/ has a nice softphone application which, from looking at the Mac OS X 2.0 test version, will soon allow you to set it up for 3rd party SIP services. There are other softphone apps out there, but Gizmo's is the nicest cross-platform one IMO.

Earlier I used an ATA box and a SIP VoIP from Bredbandsbolaget (sweden, all of the rest aswell) and then I switched to Rix Telecom which I only use together with a softphone, I'm considering switching to Affinity Telecom since you don't pay anything per month and get a free ATA box if you sign up for 12 months (I haven't found the catch in that...)

Anyway, I call with software only and yes it works. For Windows and others gizmo project has a client which seems nice, but I think it only works with their servers. SJlabs SJphone is the client I thought where best in Windows and there is a Linux version aswell. Another client is Xten X-lite which I avoided since the GUI looked so weird (it tend to do on them all.)
Free as in speach clients for the UNIX world has been quite crappy in comparision, the best are probably linphone both kphone might work aswell.

Anyway yes it do works! In Linux with ALSA I would rate the sound quality ekiga / SJphone on first place, then linphone and last kphone. For the interface SJphone, ekiga, kphone, linphone. The bad thing with SJphone in Linux was that it didn't had any calling tones if you didn't set up a command yourself to run when you got incoming calls. But I didn't know if it would kill it aswell or repeat it or anything so I never did and therefor never knew if anyone called ;)

Ekiga is good.

C'mon! "Ekiga?" Is that the sound of a penguin expectorating?

I can deal with some odd-ball names. Heck, I run "Ubuntu" with Gnome and "Sylpheed". But Ekiga - It's not really "Skype" or "Gizmo", is it?

http://www.gizmoproject.com/download.php

... instead of Skype.

Also, Gizmo Project is SIP based (which is a documented standard), not proprietary like Skype.

http://www.gizmoproject.com/

Just goes to show why we need open protocols and open code for the future of VOIP. It's too important to leave to a single company, which is why I prefer SIP and clients like Google Talk and Gizmo where possible.

Skype isn't the only show in town. AMD should check out Gizmo. Eventually we'll have a bunch of incompatible competing VOIP like the way we have instant messaging (Yahoo! AIM, etc). I can hardly wait!

Someone will write a code wrapper that will tell Skype that it is on an Intel when it could be on a Mac or AMD for all i could care. Someone will do it if they get desperate. Either that or switch to Gizmo Project

I bet the program will work on a viretey of platforms, wait Macs have DC Intels never mind.

The Gizmo project already has a STANDARDS based software phone that does this http://www.gizmoproject.com/ on Windows, Mac or Linux. No need to get stuck into a proprietary Skype or Microsoft ghetto.

While I don't like this deal, the article does say it's not permanent - Intel has just bought itself an "exclusive" platform release for advanced features, which may/will be added for all platforms later. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me to see a hack/patch to make the advanced features work on AMD, though that itself may be illegal.

The big problem I have with this deal is that Skype is the dominant player in the PC VoIP market right now, and many people don't know the alternatives like Google Talk, Gizmoproject, GAIM, etc. My wife even knows Skype and she's never used it.

What value does it add? Marketing for Intel.
What does Skype get? A lot of something green.

You just deliberately undercut trust in Skype in order to make a short-term profit! There's no way that Google and its federation partners like the Gizmo Project will be able to take advantage of this!

So the real question should be: are there today any credible competitors to Skype?

Yes. Standards based, and is at least 37% less evil.

HTH.

Gizmo appears to have most of Skype's features (direct VoIP, inbound and outbound POTS calls, IMs, conferencing, call recording) as well as a slick UI and support for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. It may not have encrypted connections (I'm not sure), but it does have the advantage of interoperating with other SIP and Asterisk networks (it uses SIP internally), so you can call e.g. Free World Dialup subscribers from the Gizmo interface, and visa-versa. Outbound calls appear to be cheaper, as well: 1 cents/minute to the continental USA and Canada, 3-5 cents to the UK, France, Germany, Singapore, Hong Kong, and a number of other countries. Somolia, Iraq, Papua New Guinea, Antarctica, and Palestine were the only countries I recognized with rates over $1.00/minute. The highest rate I saw was $2.50/minute to Diego Garcia in Asia, and that was only for landline calls; calls to mobile phones were less expensive. Disclaimer: I only found this earlier program today (I started looking when I saw the story), so I haven't had a chance to evaluate the quality of the program in operation. Perhaps someone else could comment on that point?

http://www.gizmoproject.com/

In some respects, they are better than Skype.
Cheaper calls within US. Standards complaint (SIP) - which means you can plug in third party hardware to hook up your normal phone (can be cheaper than Vonage at some usage rates). Software looks better and does not force itself to startup. Probably does not abuse your bandwidth either like Skype.

On the other hand,
Overseas calls are slightly more expensive as is call-in.

How about the multiplatform Gizmoproject ?

Gizmo Project voice calling and IM is booming on Macintosh, Microsoft Windows, and Linux computers because Gizmo Project works well and connects with every type of device like wifi phones, other VOIP and IM directories like GoogleTalk and even the popular open source Asterisk PBX software. I think people are beginning to understand the difference between Skype who walls their customers in and won't play nicely with anyone and SIPphone who connects to everyone making it possible to have just one address. Next week SIPphone will announce closing of a major venture capital deal which will help the company grow even faster.