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Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client

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Re: Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client

#231

Post by arca_vorago »

cm3 wrote: post #171

For an excellent and disruption-free experience I use Mumble and if I have to WebRTC, but the browser experience isn't as stable, performant and reliable. Nothing beats Mumble if video isn't a requirement. You can join free Mumble servers, host your own or rent a server. It's open source, so you're not at the whim of a company and integration with your operating system is much better. update 1: https://wiki.mumble.in…

I run mumble as well, it really is awesome as long as you dont need video, like you said. I constantly tell people about it, because I refuse to use a non foss app for communication on my pc. (Ventrillo, teamspeak, etc)

I have poked around with Jitsi but its setup is too complicated for normal users.

Re: Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client

#232

Post by chc4 »

junto wrote: post #209
pentae wrote: post #122

What I don’t understand is - Why is there not a serious competitor to Skype? If there was a cross-platform Skype clone that worked on OSX, Linux, Windows, iOS and Android that was stable and secure - the whole world would jump onto it. All it has to do is not be a bloated piece of crap like Skype. Instead, everything else out there is fragmented. We’re all waiting, get on it already!

Indeed. There are lots of apps that cover parts of its functionality, but not all. We keep trying to introduce new alternatives at work, but to date nothing has passed the test. Calls, group calls, chat, group chat, video, screenshare. For one communications client those are the boxes it needs to tick. Any suggestions?

Tox does all of that. XMPP does all of that. WebRTC does all of that. There are tons of shitty proprietary clones of Skype that also do all of that, too. There are plenty of options, people just don't use them because all their friends are on Skype.

Re: Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client

#233

Post by the_mitsuhiko »

gerardnll wrote: post #129
pritambarhate wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the past year, the Mac client has also become very fragile. If I quit the Skype App without signing out, next time login keeps failing unless I go to the library folder and delete my Skype user profile directory. Quite shameful for such a high profile software.

0 problems for me...

I have a hard time believing that.

Re: Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client

#235

Post by kelvin0 »

Under the best of circumstances, Skype on WINDOWS is at best barely functional (I know we use it every day for remote business meetings). So I can hardly be surprised any other OS's client is so broken ... 8.5 Billion! http://www.wired.com/2011/05/microsoft-buys-skype-2/

Re: Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client

#236

Post by eitally »

perlpimp wrote: post #190
rdsubhas wrote: post #102

I've been educating as many people (especially Management and Business people) as I can to switch over from Skype to any other alternative (like Hangouts). Because Skype is: * A memory hog * A bandwidth hog (its really inefficient about network usage, and uses a lot of bandwidth even when idle) * Has much lower call quality (a consequence of the above), just try having a call in Hangouts or Skype and notice that Hang…

altho google hangouts seems better, talking conferencing with a room full of people with mic-speaker setup seems to work better with skype. something to do with AGC and controlling feedback better. maybe hangouts fixed it but it didn't work a year ago.

Hangouts works very well for this now. Well, Chromebox for Meetings (the business version of hangouts group chat) does. It has hardware support for encoding/decoding and generally does a much better job of it than just trying to use 1:1 hangouts via browsers.

That said, it's still far inferior to any commercial videoconferencing product I've ever seen. Literally, the only advantages are cost & integration with other Google services (which is only an advantage if you're already a Google Apps customer).

Re: Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client

#237

Post by dethos »

ElijahLynn wrote: post #161

Stop using Skype. The NSA allegedly collects all Skype traffic anyways. Do you really want that? "The full capture of voice traffic began in February of 2011 for “Skype in” and “Skype out” calls—calls between a Skype user and a land line or cellphone through a gateway to the public switched telephone network (PSTN), captured through warranted taps into Microsoft’s gateways. But in July of 2011, the NSA added the capa…

Yes, there are far better alternatives out there, so if we could stop using skype and switch to something else, would be a great move here.

However, the network effect is strong with this one, so it is impractical to make the switch.

Re: Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client

#239

Post by spost »

taejo wrote: post #141
lnalx wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I recently saw how all my friends moved to Telegram, and this is nice. All my friends are on Whatsapp, and this is not nice... I'm going to try to convert them to Telegram., not easy.

I don't understand why people on HN are still recommending Telegram. It's not open, the crypto is highly questionable, and messages are not encrypted end-to-end by default (and not at all in groups). Use one of the apps that gets a full score in the EFF's Secure Messaging Scorecard [1], like Signal. [1] https://www.eff.org/secure-messaging-scorecard

If you've got a better suggestion for secure group chats on iPhone, Android, Windows Phone, OS X, and Windows, please let me know! My family uses telegram extensively, but I'd love to replace it with something better if there's anything with similarly good UX on all of the platforms we use.

Re: Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client

#240

Post by notwhereyouare »

TheHippo wrote: post #200
anon4 wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Skype is shit, but Hangouts is not even a contender * No desktop client * Connected to your google account meaning I'll need to juggle several google accounts to keep my personal and business chats separate Just the fact it doesn't have a native desktop client makes it unusable. I know there are workarounds I can use like nativefier but it's still not as smooth as a desktop app. Running in the browser: - Gets grouped…

> No desktop client Seeing the level of shitty ported Linux programs I see this as a pro. > Connected to your google account meaning I'll need to juggle several google accounts to keep my personal and business chats separate This would be easier with Skype if you have 2 Skype accounts? When using Chrome: > - Gets grouped with my other browser windows in my taskbar, making it hard to find Menu -> More tools -> Add to…

>> Connected to your google account meaning I'll need to juggle several google accounts to keep my personal and business chats separate >This would be easier with Skype if you have 2 Skype accounts?

to some extent. depending on how you start a hangouts, you have no idea what account it's going to start under. The number of times I've gotten on a work call on my personal account because google felt it should use that one

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