Posted by
ryuzaki0
on from the open-is-better-right dept.
slackah writes "OpenWengo an open source alternative to skype. It includes features such as sip calls, SMS, video conference, and automatic NAT configuration. It's still under heavy development, but it looks very promising."
Well minus the 500 error I can't tell much about this product. I just hope its extensible. VOIP is huge right now.
I am not sure how the traditional carriers can handle this competition, but what I have noticed is that outside of the non-metro areas it isn't catching on like I thought it would. Being originally from the midwest I still have to explain what voip is.
Try explaining why a street address is not as good as an IP address to a farmer.
I don't want to disparage their efforts at all, it does look like a very interesting and worthwhile project. Perhaps this article will attract more people to it.
However, it seems a bit premature to have this on the front page of Slashdot.
The real power of Skype
by
HateBreeder
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
PC-to-PC calls were available for ages... some software do this very well. But PC-to-Regular Land Lines and Cellular Phones at extremely competitive international/long-distance rates (at least where I live) is the *real* breakthrough.
So until this project supports such services... Nothing to see here, please move along.
-- Sigs are for the weak.
http://www.voipbuster.com/en/index.html
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
Well, as far as VOIP is I'm very glad with voipbuster, it lets me call for free most of the landlines in europe and also in USA.
It's not an opensource solution, but after all the really important thing is what can a regular guy get out technology, opensource or not. If voipbuster let me call for free most of my friends in europe I for one salute our new voip ruler, opensource or not.
interoperatibility?
by
tuggy
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
i think we are starting to see too many VoIP solutions... we dont know lots of competition, we need interoperatibility between them. Google said its trying to achieve that with Talk, I hope the rest goes the same way...
Of course it looks promising at this stage. When a product isn't completed it is always presented as the perfect solution.
This is classic with salesmen. "Will your product do such and such?"
And of course Mr. Salesman says yes in order to close the deal.
I understand this is opensource but the concept is the same. For the project to get attention it's presented as the open source skype alternative.
Let's just see it materialize, let's see it's capacities, limitations. Only then we will be able to claim what it is.
Showcasing 'vapor' as the next super thing is easy.
How about a GOOD softphone?
by
Kerbo
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
Yeah its great that more and more companies are coming out with Softphones that use SIP to talk to THEIR networks. Then why can't anybody make a damned good softphone that will talk to ANY SIP or IAX network? The biggest problem for mobile users who are using softphones to talk through a remote VOIP PBX is that it only works on about 60% of the networks. If someone would code a GOOD softphone for SIP and/or IAX, so our softphones worked on 90%+ networks, it would be worth paying for.
I don't care about protocols and open-source-ness if the product a) works like a charm, b) has a Linux client available which doesn't suck or crash, c) provides a fair-priced VoIPtelephone service.
Re:Open source alternative added value
by
n8willis
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
Baloney. They use the same codecs as everyone else:
Slashdot Mirror
Well minus the 500 error I can't tell much about this product. I just hope its extensible. VOIP is huge right now.
I am not sure how the traditional carriers can handle this competition, but what I have noticed is that outside of the non-metro areas it isn't catching on like I thought it would. Being originally from the midwest I still have to explain what voip is.
Try explaining why a street address is not as good as an IP address to a farmer.
I don't want to disparage their efforts at all, it does look like a very interesting and worthwhile project. Perhaps this article will attract more people to it.
However, it seems a bit premature to have this on the front page of Slashdot.
Best Windows Freeware
PC-to-PC calls were available for ages... some software do this very well.
But PC-to-Regular Land Lines and Cellular Phones at extremely competitive international/long-distance rates (at least where I live) is the *real* breakthrough.
So until this project supports such services...
Nothing to see here, please move along.
Sigs are for the weak.
Well, as far as VOIP is I'm very glad with voipbuster, it lets me call for free most of the landlines in europe and also in USA. It's not an opensource solution, but after all the really important thing is what can a regular guy get out technology, opensource or not. If voipbuster let me call for free most of my friends in europe I for one salute our new voip ruler, opensource or not.
i think we are starting to see too many VoIP solutions...
we dont know lots of competition, we need interoperatibility between them.
Google said its trying to achieve that with Talk, I hope the rest goes the same way...
Of course it looks promising at this stage. When a product isn't completed it is always presented as the perfect solution. This is classic with salesmen. "Will your product do such and such?" And of course Mr. Salesman says yes in order to close the deal. I understand this is opensource but the concept is the same. For the project to get attention it's presented as the open source skype alternative. Let's just see it materialize, let's see it's capacities, limitations. Only then we will be able to claim what it is. Showcasing 'vapor' as the next super thing is easy.
Yeah its great that more and more companies are coming out with Softphones that use SIP to talk to THEIR networks. Then why can't anybody make a damned good softphone that will talk to ANY SIP or IAX network? The biggest problem for mobile users who are using softphones to talk through a remote VOIP PBX is that it only works on about 60% of the networks. If someone would code a GOOD softphone for SIP and/or IAX, so our softphones worked on 90%+ networks, it would be worth paying for.
this is not an alternative to Skype.
I don't care about protocols and open-source-ness if the product a) works like a charm, b) has a Linux client available which doesn't suck or crash, c) provides a fair-priced VoIPtelephone service.
Baloney. They use the same codecs as everyone else:
http://www.google.com/talk/developer.html#codecs
And they didn't create any of them.
-- Watch the REAL Jon Katz.