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Project Gizmo Challenges Skype
valmont writes "The Register is offering an interesting introduction to Project Gizmo, a new player in the Voice over IP field, poised to challenge Skype with its ability to interoperate with others thanks to the SIP protocol it complies to. Whereas Skype has selectively licensed usage of an API that offers limited insight into a closed protocol, a closed ecosystem solely controlled by one organization, the SIP protocol is open. Free open-source proxy/server implementations are sprouting up, and many developers are actively working on SIP clients. The Gizmo Project is the first to bring a truly-usable, user-friendly, cross-platform SIP client (Mac, Windows, Linux coming soon) to market. Meanwhile, theappleblog.com is already offering a Gizmo Project Wish-List to promote better interoperability between current and upcoming SIP providers, to make it more practical for users of disparate SIP clients to communicate with one another."
Just don't get it wet... or feed it after midnight...
-FL
Ineen is similar to Gizmo but it also has IM and video. It seems like companies are falling over themselves to give away SIP clients these days.
Ineen and Gizmo are still client-server SIP systems, but to truly compete with Skype, the IETF is working on P2P extensions to SIP.
WRONG, NAT was SIP's weakness ONLY until the STUN protocol came out in 2003. Since then, all SIP clients use the STUN protocol to traverse NAT at least as well as Skype does. I've used EarthLink SIP, sipphone.com SIP, FWD through multiple layers of NATs without a glitch.
STUN is a major enabler of SIP
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SIP devices still have the problem of routing correctly through firewalls and the like. True P2P telephony is difficult with SIP, due to this. Skype gets around it by using their proprietary protocol. The much simpler and cleaner and far more open IAX2 protocol (a feature of the open source asterisk pbx) is being used by some devices to get around SIP limitations while still retaining (or exceeding) SIP voice quality. At least one IAX2 provider, firefly, gets it - (https://www.virbiage.com/products.php) calls to their network are automatically switched to the other user, getting the middleman out of the loop, and dramatically improving voice quality. Example - I place a call to a friend a block on vonage via vonage on comcast, and the packets get routed through about 17 routers, with a delay of 80ms - to get up the street. I place the same call via firefly - one router, and a delay of 25ms. Yes, theres windows, mac, and Linux clients. Also clients for most unixen, and several embedded devices....
STUN helps - but only in about 80% - 90% of all cases. E.g. it won't be able to traverse symetrical firewalls. And even if you get the basic call setup right - try to transfer a call between different phones which are behind different NATs - and have fun! While some may argue that broken firewalls are the users fault, just see this from a users view: Skype works - always. SIP works - sometimes. Which one would you prefer?
Skype for all the gripe we may have against it for being closed source and not interoperable with other VOIP providers (FWD, Vonage etc..) does have the most important feature (and holds a monopoly for it too):Encryption
I didn't like having an old fart snooping on my AIM conversations a few years ago and I put an end to it very quick; I've been using Trillian and now Adium with secure IM and OTR encryption.
As much as I like having cheap calls and all I rather my private conversations stay.. well... private.
Skype is the only interplatform secure voice application.
Gizmo can take it's fancy gui and go right back to the drawing board as far as I'm concerned.
If you ask me voip with sip (ala vonage) is just a disaster waiting to happen, sooner or later somebody will write an article in NYTimes or some mass distribution newspaper about how insecure and easy it is for somebody on your campus/office/wifi... LAN to record your conversation and everybody is going to freak out.
Encryption should be built-in NOW before it is too late to change the standards.
Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity
Ok, we admit it's a lame name, but we think the product is solid. Here's why it's significant:
- It is based on SIP so other SIP hardware and software should interoperate. Check out http://www.siphardware.com/ for some of the hardware devices. I have a Call-in-One so a SIP call rings my home phone. Even a wifi SIP phone should work with Gizmo.
- It navigates firewalls and NATS. Skype has done this well, but SIP clients have generally not. Gizmo Project should penetrate just about any firewall or NAT setup. I used it successfully on Boeing's wifi service on flight to Frankfurt 2 weeks ago bouncing calls off satellites.
- It's Mac/Win today and YES, there will be Linux client shortly. No, really.
- We're committed to an open directory meaning that we will interconnect with everyone. We already connect to many big and small networks. See: http://sipphone.com/numbers/. We do enum lookups. We even support the intriguing DUNDI extension for Astericks. I want VOIP world to be like email where one address is reachable by everyone. I hope VOIP does NOT become like IM where AOL can't talk to MSN who can't talk to Y, etc. If you care to read more about why I think this is important, you can go to: http://michaelrobertson.com/.
- All calls on IP network are free as is voicemail, call recording, conference calling, etc. (try calling 1-222-xxx-xxxx and create an instant conference call with unlimited number of callers.) Only have to pay if touching the PSTN. We do give you 25 cents for free to check out the PSTN quality.
- Be nice because it's just beta software! Thx.
-- MR
The license for Gizmo Project software is quite clear, the software doesn't even qualify for the weaker standard of "open source" (weaker than "free software" which requires that the user have permission to make private derivatives):
The company offers what they call "Opensource support", which appears to be little more than name-dropping. But I expect people around here to know better than to take on faith whatever a proprietor says.
At the very least, even if there is no intention to bamboozle users into adopting the software, this is yet another use of the term "Opensource" which shows how people don't understand what that term means. Reminiscent of examples of same from the FSF essay on the differences between the free software and open source movements (examples include Neal Stephenson's writing, the State of Kansas' definition, and a particularly interesting example from a trade show in late 1998).
As a result of a little digging into Project Gizmo, I still see no real competition for GNOMEMeeting. I see one more proprietor asking me to install a mysterious program on my computer so that the proprietor can do something on my computer that I am prohibited from inspecting, sharing, or modifying.
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