The GNU Project has announced a new project called GNU Free Call, an open source Skype alternative that will offer anonymous VoIP and will use the GNU SIP Witch server as the back end. GNU SIP Witch requires a minimum of system resources so it can be used on cell phones too so it seems the goal is to provide a cross-platform application, the immediate target most probably being Android.
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Member since:2008-04-07
Exactly. It is like everybody using MS Office and your OpenOffice exchange is broken.
Everybody uses skype because it works, it passes through routers and works even inside big firewalled company networks.
What would be needed is a skype-compatible implementation.
And, to complete the rant: The latest skype versions are really terrible, they have an indecent UI that looks like iPhone stuff brought to your workstation.
Member since:2011-01-28
spidermain,
"The problem is not SIP, it's IPv4. IPv4 is obsolete since more than 20 years now. We just can't seem to get rid of it. We will have to deal with NAT and hacks around NAT until the end of time or until the Internet implodes."
Yes and No.
NAT is useful even if address space wasn't a problem. For example, I routinely forward SSH and SMTP connections using simple iptables forwarding. (Side Note: it is extremely disappointing that Linux IPv6 stack hasn't even implemented this port forward functionality).
Even if NAT is out of the picture, you ignored my point about SIP being impossible to firewall without custom code (an ALG). Presumably firewalls will have greater importance once (in the distant future) NAT gateways are gone.
There is no technical reason that SIP requires more than one (static) port, it is a design decision that will make SIP forever difficult to use.
Take note how relatively well P2P apps work behind NAT considering the limitations.
greygandalf,
"Everybody uses skype because it works, it passes through routers and works even inside big firewalled company networks."
Yep, AIX has that property too, but it hasn't seen much uptake, obviously due to the fact that it's incompatible.
"What would be needed is a skype-compatible implementation."
Skype has a tons of DRM in the protocol/client to make this impossible (when it's broken, they change it). They don't want to become a standard. This was a large reason most skype to telephone line converters need a computer, whereas SIP to telephone line converts are a standalone device.
"And, to complete the rant: The latest skype versions are really terrible, they have an indecent UI that looks like iPhone stuff brought to your workstation."
You're not the only one who thinks that: it sucks.
Member since:2005-07-11
Everybody uses skype because it works, it passes through routers and works even inside big firewalled company networks.
*AND*, Skype works through an HTTP proxy, something that is both a blessing and a curse in a school setting.
Blessing because it allows for video-based tutoring through our web proxies.
Curse because it allows for video-based chat through our web proxies.
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Member since:
2007-11-06
Good luck getting all your contacts in Skype to use GNU Free Call.