Yak Launches Free Video and Voice Service

Jamie Garson writes to tell us Yahoo is reporting that Yak Communications has launched their new voice and video calling service, yakForFree. From the article: "In a crowded and competitive VoIP marketplace, yakForFree is distinguished by its free video capabilities and ease-of-use. By downloading the free Virtual VideoPhone, which takes less than a minute, users can make free calls over the Internet using a high-speed connection."

Comments

download?

[Janek Kozicki]

so I clicked download, to see if there is a linux version. But I'm not giving them my email address even before I know if there is a linux version. What the hell they think?

it's not free, the price is your privacy.

PS: if anyone ,,sacrificed his privacy'' to check, please tell if there is a linux version.

Re:Er...

[tpgp]

So, this is a poorly disguised advert, right?

Yes. It is.

Because neither "free video capabilities" nor "ease-of-use" are at all distinguishing features these days.

True they're not - however if you'd bothered to read the link you posted, you'd notice that in the FAQ:

Q.) What are Open Standards and why does it matter?
A.) An Open Standard is more than just a specification. The principles behind the standard, and the practice of offering and operating the standard, are what make the standard Open. yakForFree follows the standards proposed mostly by the IETF.

If true, this is an advantage over most other chat clients (I am talking about video here)

iChat AV probably does both of these things better, actually, and there's a ton of similar apps available. Even for Windows. ;)

Hmmmmn.

I presume the person who submitted this story was paid for promoting this product - I hope you were well paid for your adverisment too.

Re:BroadVoice. VOIP software?

[mikerozh]

Use hamachi and run VoIP over it.

Gimme just one line.

[lukOh]

Hallo?

All I just need is one any-interface, GPL, multiplatform piece of software that roughly:
-supports RSA asymmetric encryption with gpg keys to avoid being listened by the kid next door
-uses any decent combination of patent-free protocols to get just acceptable voice over broadband
-I give it a kindly f'g IP ADDRESS and PORT , I AUTHENTICATE then TALK to whoever is at the other side.

say: a multiplatform slightly improved netmeeting with single-port support to jump through isp portfilters/ proxies/ automatic firewalls with just one port forwarding

Everything is out there: technology, code, codecs, IPv4, broadband connections.
Any clue, ANYONE?

I want not a community to join, no centralized servers to track me anytime I want to say hi to mum, no search capabilities, no calls to fixed or mobile phone numbers, not a PSTN phone replacement, no emergency number reachability, no fixed-location or registration of any sort, no other people's p2p calls killing my 256k upstream, -nothing as such-

Or if that's so hard to grasp just a client-server linux voice bundle I can setup for my own use?

I found hundreds of fancy clients, each with its own server network, community, subscription, "gimme your email or die", "It's free(for now, you s*r)", "I swear I have no spyware" disclaimer and "Best rated" claims all in in 25165824 colors.

AllRight.
`vi myTalk.c`
[..] ..all was so freaking good using gopher..