[LINK] Skype beta3, free worldwide conference calls

[Alan L Tyree]

On Fri, 10 Nov 2006 12:18:55 +1100
Ivan Trundle <ivan at itrundle.com> wrote:

> 
> On 10/11/2006, at 10:12 AM, Alan L Tyree wrote:
> 
> > On Fri, 10 Nov 2006 09:46:47 +1100
> > Howard Lowndes <lannet at lannet.com.au> wrote:
> >> <snip>
> >> Perhaps Windows users are far more easily parted from their money
> >> then Linux types.  After all, they normally get stung for
> >> everything.
> >
> > Don't use Skype. Why get locked in to a proprietary format that
> > can't talk to anyone else?
> 
> Because I can use it to talk to all of the people that I want to
> talk to (contrary to your assertion).

Well, I haven't used it for a long time, but I was under the impression
that SIP and Skype could not talk together. Is this wrong?

> 
> I've used others (none of which appear to work very well in the Mac  
> OS environment, though I did like Gizmo - was an early adopter), but  
> it's hard to convince everyone else to use the same product. Skype  
> simply has more traction, and traction wins. Personally, iChat beats  
> them all, hands-down - but what's the point when it only talks to a  
> select few?

I seriously doubt if it has more "traction". It is obviously the
largest single provider, but my understanding is that there are far
more SIP users than Skype users.

Re the Mac: when I used the Mac software I ran an Asterisk server.
Almost anything connects well to Asterisk and then Asterisk connects to
almost anything in the outside world. Except Skype. It's worth having a
look if you insist on staying with the Mac software.





> 
> > Use a SIP based service that is based on open
> > standards: Gizmo, Sjphone, Xten all work with Free World Dialup and
> 
> Xten are now known as CounterPath, BTW.
> 
> > other SIP providers. Better yet, use a SIP service that is open  
> > source:
> > Ekiga which allows multiple registrations.
> >
> > I tried Skype and found that it was frequently using bandwidth for  
> > some
> > purpose that I knew nothing about. Maybe Windows users are happy for
> > that to happen, but I don't see why anyone should put up with it.
> 
> Different issue. Not on a Mac, AFAIK. However, with video calls, all  
> but the latest version demanded 100% of the CPU to deliver good  
> vision. This is now changed.
> 
> For those with an interest in these things,
> http://www.voip-info.org/ is a good place to discover more about
> VoIP. Messy site - but full of gems.
> 
> iT
> 


-- 
Alan L Tyree                    http://www2.austlii.edu.au/~alan
Tel: +61 2 4782 2670            Mobile: +61 427 486 206
Fax: +61 2 4782 7092            FWD: 615662