Slashdot Mirror
Skype VoIP Software Released For Linux
pmf writes "Skype Technologies has just released a free beta version of their software for Linux. Skype is well known P2P VoIP technology that, according to them: '...is addressing all the problems of legacy VoIP solutions: bad sound quality, difficult to set up and configure, and the need for expensive, centralized infrastructure.'"
Skype is hype...
* Skype is proprietary.
* Skype is using a proprietary protocol that no VoIP carriers/providers will be using.
* Skype has better sound quality? Let me laugh, it just happens that Skype is only able to do audio, so all your upload can be devoted to audio.
OK, Skype is a nice toy for Windows users. For Linux users, there is GnomeMeeting (http://www.gnomemeeting.org) and Linphone.
Always expect spyware. The question is whether we'll be pleasantly surprised.
Not more than you need, just more than you want
If the parent poster is accurate (which I have no idea about), then why is this on slashdot? Just because it's for linux doesn't make it good.
Sounds like this product is only beer-free.
I can count to 1023 on my hands. Ask me about #132.
Now tell us, why exactly should the Linux version sound any different or even better than the Windows version if they're expected to be compatible?
Is it not allowed to make money off p2p ?
It's perfectly fine to make money off of p2p, no one said anything to the contrary.
They have a business plan, in about 10 days they will release a new version where you can call from Skype to a regular phone at competitive prizes. You need to buy a headset from one of their partners. That's a nice service to offer, and could be implemented without breaking the spirit of free-software, but it worries me that they might push advertisement for this service so hard on the free version that it will be not worth using.
Why so many critical posts, there is not any spyware in Skype, at least not yet. I think it's great that there is a native Linux version, and not all programs for Linux have to be GPL. We need popular programs for the Linux desktop, and this is one of them.
On one hand I agree, commercial software for Linux should be accepted and welcomed. It helps promote the operating system and increases linux's overall value to corporate and home customers alike. In this particular case, I worry, simply because the company in question has a bad history of pushing spyware/malware/adware in the past.
The programmers have said that one version of Skype will remain free for ever, but some more advanced features will cost money.
I like this business model with the exception of the fears I've previously mentioned. I have no intentions of using software that are adware/malware/spyware supported, and I have no intentions, but that's just me. I do have a problem with companies calling this free, they should call it ad-supported, because it is not free, you can only have it if you give something in return... (advertisement/cpu cycles/etc).
Jamon
I can count to 1023 on my hands. Ask me about #132.
Linux users have no reason to ever expect spyware. Hopefully this never changes.
This space for rent. Call 1-800-STEAK4U
If they make skype interoperability plugin/module for Asterisk then I might reconsider the usability of this product.
First off, we know you like *nix, but there is not "root" user in windows. Sorry to be surley, but how would you feel if some MCSE told you that you need to be "Administrator" to install a program globally in linux? Just because we don't liked Windows doesn't mean be have to be fucktards.
Thirdly, there is a problem, as i understand it, in the win32 message passing system. This design flaw allows a message to be sent to any running process without it's source being checked. This basically negates any kind of user-level security at the message-passing level. So, yes, any program could theoretically run without any kind of access control on windows. The grandparent's comment that windows is just like Unix if you set up user's and permissions correctly is wrong.
source: here Note also that i just woke up, and i could have made a few errors. In anycase, the site i linked to explains it much better than i.
Vonage actually believes in standards.
Why the hell should we not be expecting spyware? Spyware is indeed extremely improbable in open source software, but here's a great example - Skype - of an application that is not open sourced. Linux does not inherently make spyware impossible - it's just that most software that is used with Linux is open-source, and therefore easily freed of spyware.
Skype could indeed contain spyware. We can and will probably use the flexibility of various firewalling and sniffing utilities to block it.
If it weren't for fog, the world would run at a really crappy framerate.
According to their FAQ - yes. But since they use closed protocol, it is not worth a penny. They can be calling XOR masking an 'unrivaled privacy' for all I know.
They can't claim security unless it's verifiable, and it cannot be verifiable unless it's open. And even if it's open, the implementation can be flawed either accidently or intentionally (!).
So the best bet for an average paranoid is to consider calls going in plaintext unless proved otherwise.
3.243F6A8885A308D313
This is from the same programmers who wrote Kazaa, not the same business that now owns it. There's a big difference. As far as I have been able to tell Skype does not install any spyware (but of course that's not saying they won't).