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Skype VoIP Software Released For Linux

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the skype-fi dept.

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.'"

9 of 251 comments (clear)

  1. Spyware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Seeing as how this is from the Kazaa people, are we to expect spyware in this product?

  2. skype == spyware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    please read the EULA.

  3. Does anyone know if they have a business plan? by jamonterrell · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The most information I've found is that the software is made by the makers of KaZaa, who is notorious for trying to make money off of P2P. Does Skype have a business plan? Is there spyware/adware/malware? Anyone know?

    --
    I can count to 1023 on my hands. Ask me about #132.
    1. Re:Does anyone know if they have a business plan? by andymar · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Is it not allowed to make money off p2p ? 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. 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. The programmers have said that one version of Skype will remain free for ever, but some more advanced features will cost money.

  4. Uhhh.... by Asprin · · Score: 3, Interesting


    Sez on the linked page this is from the same folks that brought you KaZaa!

    Great. The folks that introduced spyware EULAs to file sharing now want to handle your phone service. OSS or not, can they be trusted to provide any more free downloads?

    --
    "Lawyers are for sucks."
    - Doug McKenzie
  5. They have versions for ... by burgburgburg · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Windows, Linux and Pocket PC, but nothing for OS X. Where's the logic in that?

    I guess Amiga is next in line.

  6. linux86 ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Where are binaries for other than x86 archs?

    Linux is more than just x86...

  7. Connection hijacking by panurge · · Score: 3, Interesting

    In my limited testing of Skype it's managed to suck out all my bandwidth...on one occasion it appeared to be using about 80% of processor (AMD64-3000). Since when I have given it a miss.

    --
    Panurge has posted for the last time. Thanks for the positive moderations.
  8. Re:None of these concerns is valid. by jtn · · Score: 3, Interesting

    So? So were most cablemodems until recently. VoIP is a new technology to the consumer market, it will take a while for one or two standards to settle, and when they do, just like most things like DVD formats and Cable modem protocols and such, firmware gets upgraded and no one cares. Besides, so their proprietary, what di you want to do, take your hardware and move to some other linux-native VoIP provider? Wait...there aren't any.

    No excuse, sorry. There exist OPEN standards, PUBLISHED standards out there that are supported by hundreds of hardware and software solutions.

    As for "Linux-native" VoIP provider, that makes no sense. Who cares? There are hardware and software solutions available for Linux and utilize existing open and published standards. Do some research on Google to find them.

    Who cares what protocol you speak from your headset unit to the 'Net, once it gets to the 'Net it's IP. When it gets to the phone system, it's converted to proprietary digital forms that Sprint or AT&T use, and when it reaches another VoIP carrier, it might convert to another protocol. It doesn't matter though, the frmat is meaningless to the data.

    Propretary digital formats? You mean, u-Law? Nice try. Even the larger nascent VoIP providers don't resort to such foolishness because they are able to leverage EXISTING solutions. What is important is to be able to transit between providers easily and seemlessly. Consumers have been asking for this from cellphone providers for YEARS (i.e., locked-in phones) and the FCC and courts have finally taken notice.

    There are no pictures in Voice. If you want videoconferencing, use another service. But if you want good audio quality, use a service that utilizes all of your available bandwidth for audio (go figure, a specialized service works better than a general one).

    VoIP has been somewhat generalized lately. Packet8 provides a videophone now to customers. Moving from a circuit-switched environment to a packet-switched environment allows all kinds of new things to be done that could not be easily accomplished before across the same infrastructure. SIP, one commonly used VoIP signalling protocol, even includes support for multiple data streams to be handled at once, voice, video, and even text and application data (for IM or whiteboarding, for instance). Don't be so limited in your view.