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GNU Free Call has been announced (Skype-like software)

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Re: GNU Free Call has been announced (Skype-like software)

#31

Post by aaronbrethorst »

jerf wrote: post #27
pclark wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

neither of those have network effects, they can thrive in oligopoly markets, I think that communication is a winner takes all (ironically why you want it to be an open standard, but such is innovation from startups)

"I think that communication is a winner takes all" Which cell phone manufacturer has "taken all"? You seem to be basing your statement on the impossibility of interoperability, which is an odd position to take, at least if you actually think about it.

Regarding cell phone manufacturers: that's not really the same thing.

Phone numbers are universal. It's not like an iPhone user on AT&T can only call other AT&T users[1], or that T-Mobile customers can only call other T-Mobile customers. Skype limits me to reaching out to other Skype users. FaceTime only works with people who have bought into the Apple ecosystem.

[1] Although one might suggest that these iPhone users can, in fact, call no one.

Re: GNU Free Call has been announced (Skype-like software)

#32

Post by mootothemax »

chadaustin wrote: post #11
pclark wrote: post #7

The sad fact of the matter is most people do not give a hoot about software being open. I honestly do not think you stand a chance competing against Skype, it is so insanely great and wide spread. I'd be impressed if they can actually make the UI/UX better than the latest (horrendous) Skype client. It's like the Diaspora of VoIP.

Maybe true, but give them a chance at least... See firefox, inkscape as successful examples.

See firefox, inkscape as successful examples.

Yes, but do you remember surfing the web in the days between Netscape 4 and Mozilla being launched, and quite how horrible it was for anyone with a technical mind who just wanted to be able to, e.g., debug some Javascript in a timely manner?

If FF was only available for Linux it would never have taken off. Attempting to challenge an already hugely successful product that's works excellently on Windows is every bit as pointless as writing yet another office suite.

The real tragedy is the engineering effort that will go into this, when it could be spent on parts of the Linux system that really matter to the average user, e.g. sorting out the mess that is sound.

Re: GNU Free Call has been announced (Skype-like software)

#33

Post by nathanb »

Real hackers ship. Developing a project under an open source license should never be an excuse for vaporware, but unfortunately it often is. If GNU Free Call turns out to be any good--and the bar for being better than Skype on Linux or Android is low enough to be subterranean--I'll gladly use it, but I'm having a lot of trouble getting excited at this point.

Re: GNU Free Call has been announced (Skype-like software)

#34

Post by tghnjtghn »

thisisfmu wrote: post #18
pclark wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

neither of those have network effects, they can thrive in oligopoly markets, I think that communication is a winner takes all (ironically why you want it to be an open standard, but such is innovation from startups)

skype alternatives do have a (small) chance despite strong network effects. 1/ policy makers do not like running a third-party closed-source obfuscated binary with undefined behavior aggressively evading firewalls inside their business or country (in the case of China). 2/ the network effects are not nearly as strong as, for instance, ebay's. i do not care about being able to call random strangers on skype, only abou…

>only about my contacts

So Alice has to install Google talk to call you, skype to call Bob and SIP to talk to Carol

Meanwhile Bob has microsoft phone to talk to ....

Re: GNU Free Call has been announced (Skype-like software)

#35

Post by jasonkester »

pclark wrote: post #7

The sad fact of the matter is most people do not give a hoot about software being open. I honestly do not think you stand a chance competing against Skype, it is so insanely great and wide spread. I'd be impressed if they can actually make the UI/UX better than the latest (horrendous) Skype client. It's like the Diaspora of VoIP.

Why is it sad? Your tone makes it sound as though most people should care about such things.

The strange thing I notice about this submission is that it's not actually a software product. It's not even a prototype "weekend project, try it out" thing. It's just a announcement that somebody intends to build some software.

I'm surprised to find it at the top of HN.

Re: GNU Free Call has been announced (Skype-like software)

#36

Post by jerf »

aaronbrethorst wrote: post #31
jerf wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I think that communication is a winner takes all" Which cell phone manufacturer has "taken all"? You seem to be basing your statement on the impossibility of interoperability, which is an odd position to take, at least if you actually think about it.

Regarding cell phone manufacturers: that's not really the same thing. Phone numbers are universal. It's not like an iPhone user on AT&T can only call other AT&T users[1], or that T-Mobile customers can only call other T-Mobile customers. Skype limits me to reaching out to other Skype users. FaceTime only works with people who have bought into the Apple ecosystem. [1] Although one might suggest that these iPhone users…

Ah, you got my point.

Re: GNU Free Call has been announced (Skype-like software)

#37

Post by woodson »

aaronbrethorst wrote: post #31
jerf wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I think that communication is a winner takes all" Which cell phone manufacturer has "taken all"? You seem to be basing your statement on the impossibility of interoperability, which is an odd position to take, at least if you actually think about it.

Regarding cell phone manufacturers: that's not really the same thing. Phone numbers are universal. It's not like an iPhone user on AT&T can only call other AT&T users[1], or that T-Mobile customers can only call other T-Mobile customers. Skype limits me to reaching out to other Skype users. FaceTime only works with people who have bought into the Apple ecosystem. [1] Although one might suggest that these iPhone users…

Well, that's due to rigorous standardization. Think about the speech codecs etc. used in mobile telephony. It's not like a phone number gives you anything more than an IP address does.

Re: GNU Free Call has been announced (Skype-like software)

#38

Post by slug »

mdaniel wrote: post #21
slug wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ekiga is great, I actually prefer it to skype, as I can more easily set video/audio quality and it uses an open and standard protocol. They have binaries for any major linux distro , mac and windows, and it's fairly easy to compile from source if needed. The NAT traversal improved tremendously by the transparently use of stun, no configuration necessary. Give me my SIP IPv6 address and ekiga would work just fine for…

As an aside, I haven't had a similar experience as you have with Ekiga. I would not recommend it for my family members, for example. Don't forget that Skype's UX is only one fraction of why people like or don't like Skype. The codec they use is often vastly superior for "normal people" situations than even commercial SIP clients, or the WebEx-es of the world. I don't doubt that the Skype network topology has somethin…

Well, http://ekiga.org/ekiga-softphone-features#audio_codecs and http://ekiga.org/ekiga-softphone-features#video_codecs might change your mind. You can choose between these codecs and speex is particularly good. Not only that, it uses less CPU than skype.

I often find audio and video quality of ekiga superior to skype. It's understandable that it might be difficult to convince someone to switch, as the other side must have a sip account and skype account creation is particularly easy, but in terms of audio and video quality, I think ekiga wins, specially the latest versions.

I also run a private mumble server which uses speex and the audio quality is amazing, only limited by the available bandwidth.

Re: GNU Free Call has been announced (Skype-like software)

#39

Post by loup-vaillant »

For those who think it won't work: wait for the Freedom Box. It could do wonders if it happens, and the odds look good.

The Freedom Box can happen with current technology, yet I often feel people treat it like they do the Singularity. Are we so poor at rationality, or did I miss some reason why the Freedom Box should fail?

Re: GNU Free Call has been announced (Skype-like software)

#40

Post by nandemo »

pclark wrote: post #7

The sad fact of the matter is most people do not give a hoot about software being open. I honestly do not think you stand a chance competing against Skype, it is so insanely great and wide spread. I'd be impressed if they can actually make the UI/UX better than the latest (horrendous) Skype client. It's like the Diaspora of VoIP.

How can Skype be "insanely great" if its latest client is "horrendous"?
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