SIP vs. Skype, Making the "Open" Choice

techie34290 writes "If you were to make the choice between SIP and Skype for Linux, which one would you go for? Matt Hartley from MadPenguin.org says to opt for SIP. Why? "One tidbit of information that most people are not likely aware of is that when you install the Skype client, it will drain system resources by running as a supernode from time to time. Granted, this is not always the case; however, the very idea of my PC having its resources tied up for someone else's phone call is frankly maddening to me."

Comments

Isn't that the point?

[dizzoug]

The sacrifice you make to have a 'free' phone service is your system resources. Without donating your clock cyles, you would have to pay skype to use servers that they would otherwise have to provide. And yes, if your system can handle it, it will act as a supernode from time to time. It is your choice, but very few things are truly free.

Re:Isn't that the point?

[Vihai]

No, it isn't. No wonder there is no "SIP" server, managed by a "SIP" company.

SIP is a technology while Skype is a service, provided by a single company with a proprietary technology.

The difference is absolute.

You could provide the same exact service Skype is providing with SIP. Did you ask to yourself why there is no such service? Because it would be much harder to lock your customers in with SIP. SIP is already peer-to-peer for what concerns audio streams.

Success of Skype

[dyefade]

It's getting to the stage now where I know people who say "Skype" when they mean "VoIP/SIP". Admittedly, it's early days in terms of adoption of the technologies, but this is a little worrying. Seems like very few people in the real world have any concept of open standards etc.

the very idea

[thrillseeker]

of my PC having its resources tied up for someone else's phone call is frankly maddening to me

... but I have no problem with tying up someone else's resources when it's for my convenience ... ?

Supernodes "maddening?"

[cbreaker]

"the very idea of my PC having its resources tied up for someone else's phone call is frankly maddening to me."

Well, boo hoo. It's the way the system works. I seriously doubt any significant system resources would be used up for other people's calls. When you make your calls, it happens to other people. It's a give-pull situation where everyone has to share resources in order for the system to scale with the number of subscribers. Would you rather have nothing?