[clug] change topic to Skype alternatives from Calling all Linux n00bs

Daniel Pittman daniel at rimspace.net
Sat Jun 13 03:28:22 GMT 2009


jhock <jhock at iinet.net.au> writes:
> On Fri, 2009-06-12 at 21:22 +0000, Felix Karpfen wrote:
>> On Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:19:49 +1000, Alex Satrapa wrote:
>> > On 11/06/2009, at 08:32 , Felix Karpfen wrote:
>> >
>> > Skype is based on proprietary standards, and does wonderful things like
>> > turn your connection into a "supernode" if you have halfways decent
>> > bandwidth. What this means is that no other software can interact with
>> > Skype without the Skype company's blessing, and furthermore Skype will
>> > use your connection to host calls for other people you don't know (ie:
>> > chew up your bandwidth without your permission).
>
> Is this the same with similar products like Ekiga Softphone?

No.

> Do the all internet video telephone products have the same security
> problems?

That isn't a security problem, but a "working as designed" problem. ;)

Anyway, no, most video services are point-to-point, carried over RTP and RTCP,
or over a proprietary-but-direct service.

There is no generic answer to this question, though.

Regards,
        Daniel


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