Arch Linux

newcomer008

Member

Registered: 2012-02-04

Posts: 9

VoIP - Linux Client - Are there any alternatives to Skype?

Hey,

I don't like the policy of skype so I stopped using it. But I miss the single-user and multi-user conferences. So I've searched via Google for any alternative and found an article on wikipedia about SIP.

There are many SIP-clients, so I tried ekiga. The test call worked fine, but the output was ... laggy and I heard my echo (I've checked noise reduction).

So... Are there any other alternatives? Which alternatives are you using for VoIP-conversations via Archlinux?

Regards,

John

matse

Member

Registered: 2011-04-27

Posts: 299

Re: VoIP - Linux Client - Are there any alternatives to Skype?

I like Linphone  (although the webpage needs some polishing There are even clients for smartphones.
Greetings
matse

hadrons123

Member

From: chennai

Registered: 2011-10-07

Posts: 1,249

Re: VoIP - Linux Client - Are there any alternatives to Skype?

other alternatives.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_SI … _license_2

Leonid.I

Member

From: Aethyr

Registered: 2009-03-22

Posts: 999

Re: VoIP - Linux Client - Are there any alternatives to Skype?

Hey,

I don't like the policy of skype so I stopped using it. But I miss the single-user and multi-user conferences. So I've searched via Google for any alternative and found an article on wikipedia about SIP.

There are many SIP-clients, so I tried ekiga. The test call worked fine, but the output was ... laggy and I heard my echo (I've checked noise reduction).

So... Are there any other alternatives? Which alternatives are you using for VoIP-conversations via Archlinux?

Regards,

John

There are two problems with skype: (1) it is an amazing  super-crap and (2) it is used by most people out there. Problem (1) is easy to solve: ekiga, pidgin, empathy -- they are all good (personally I had no problems with ekiga). Problem (2) is a real challenge: if your friends/partners are heavy on skype then you have no choice but join them...

Last edited by Leonid.I (2012-02-04 19:30:16)

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Arch Linux is more than just GNU/Linux -- it's an adventure
pkill -9 systemd

skottish

Forum Fellow

From: Here

Registered: 2006-06-16

Posts: 7,942

Re: VoIP - Linux Client - Are there any alternatives to Skype?

Hey,

I don't like the policy of skype so I stopped using it. But I miss the single-user and multi-user conferences. So I've searched via Google for any alternative and found an article on wikipedia about SIP.

There are many SIP-clients, so I tried ekiga. The test call worked fine, but the output was ... laggy and I heard my echo (I've checked noise reduction).

So... Are there any other alternatives? Which alternatives are you using for VoIP-conversations via Archlinux?

Regards,

John

There are two problems with skype: (1) it is an amazing  super-crap and (2) it is used by most people out there. Problem (1) is easy to solve: ekiga, pidgin, empathy -- they are all good (personally I had no problems with ekiga). Problem (2) is a real challenge: if your friends/partners are heavy on skype then you have no choice but join them...

You haven't had problems with Ekiga and echo? It's been a while since I've tried any SIP phones, but echo was a gigantic problem with all Linux clients that I tried for years, Ekiga included. In fact, Ekiga was much worse than Linphone and Linphone was bad enough to be unusable for conversations for me. This included combinations of multiple soundcards, microphones, headsets, and speakers on different computers and Internet connections. Skype worked on every configuration.

For months when I had a need, I used to be able to walk around a large room with a cheap microphone and using speakers and have a conversation half way across the world with someone using Skype. And this was with an old friend that I know like a brother. There was no echo, no delay, and the quality was as good as cell phones. Have SIP phones improved this dramatically in your experience?

venky80

Member

Registered: 2007-05-13

Posts: 1,002

Re: VoIP - Linux Client - Are there any alternatives to Skype?

This topic keeps coming up there is no real alternative to skype period. Google talk plugin is an option.

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Acer Aspire V5-573P Antergos KDE

newcomer008

Member

Registered: 2012-02-04

Posts: 9

Re: VoIP - Linux Client - Are there any alternatives to Skype?

Thank you for your replies.

As far as I can see, there are many alternatives (e.g. Pidgin, Empathy, Mumble) which will work fine under Linux. Unfortunately many friends/collegues/... are going to use Windows instead of Linux, because they are "happy" with it...

However, I'll refuse using Skype because I don't like the policy and I don't like Microsoft/Windows. So, for audio conversations I'll be going to use my mobile instead.

Regards,

John

psychedelicious

Member

Registered: 2012-02-07

Posts: 15

Re: VoIP - Linux Client - Are there any alternatives to Skype?

Give Jitsi a try, it support SIP and XMPP Jingle.  It can also encrypt audio and video and is cross platform.  Look for it in the AUR.