Skype and F9

[Patrick O'Callaghan]

On Wed, 2009-03-04 at 09:54 -0500, Dave Feustel wrote:
> I have become interested in using Skype on F9. I know next to nothing
> about Skype, so I read the wiki entry which is an eye-opener. The Skype
> software for linux is for F7. How well does that software work on F9?

IIRC audio works OK, video not so much.

> How much does it cost?

Nothing. The "Skype Out" service (for calls to POTS phones) costs money
-- you can use PayPal -- but is very cheap compared to regular phone
service, especially for international calls. Skype-to-Skype calls are
free.

> Are there any open-source alternatives to Skype?

Ekiga (Gnome-based) and a few others. I think none of them are really
competitive with Skype in the market volume sense, but they do use the
open SIP protocol.

> Any other comments?

Skype uses a closed proprietary protocol which free clients can't
interact with, and of course the source is closed so you get to install
a binary and hope it isn't doing anything nasty. If you can live with
that, it works quite well.

poc