Choices

Skype's advantage was convenience; it was a one stop VoIP solution. Of course, it was always a deal with the devil and it looks like he is getting ready to collect. Windows users have nothing to worry about: they are using the devil's OS already. ^_^

The free (as in speech) option offers choices. Lots and lots of them. First you have to choose a SIP provider from dozens and dozens. If you only want VoIP, comparing them is not too hard. If you want to call POTS numbers, it becomes more complicated because then you have to compare pricing and the fine print. If you want an incoming number (DID), it's yet another level.

And then you still have to find a soft phone you like. Or how about a hardware solution, instead?

Having choices is great. Sorting through them is not, but freedom isn't free. SIP provider recommendations are most welcome.

Microsoft Acquires Skype

Microsoft is paying over US$8 billion for Skype. First question: are they nuts? Yes, they are most definitely nuts paying that much for a company that is basically on life support. Their reasons for acquiring Skype are a mystery.

But the more important question is: how long before they kill the the Linux client? Of course, Microsoft is promising to continue supporting Skype on non-Windows platforms, but I'm not convinced. Linux being a competing OS has nothing to with it. The Skype Linux team will likely fall with the employee cuts that are SOP when you acquire another company.

I will be looking more seriously at other options. Perhaps this will be the wake up call that provides the impetus to develop a good free VOIP client. I can only hope.

Skype Post-Mortem

The official Skype post-mortem of the outage was posted yesterday. It's an interesting read because there is more detail than you usually get from large companies, who generally prefer not to air their laundry in public. Here is some commentary on the report. The US$1 credit was a nice gesture, too.

I wish events such as these would encourage people to seek alternatives to Skype, but there are two reasons why that won't happen. First, Skype is deeply entrenched and it will take much more than a 24 hour outage to rip Skype from everyone's psyche. Skype would have to be totally non-functional before my family would switch. Second, most of the alternatives suck in the client department. Find me a usable SIP client for Linux, please. Anyone? Didn't think so.

As much as I dislike the proprietary nature of Skype, it's one of those deals with the devil I've learned to accept. I'm going to hell anyway, so what difference does it make? ^_^