I have skype - had it on my Windows 2000 box - put it in a Tiny Core installation (took awhile to get it to run) and then in Puppy (ran almost instantly - nice job).
Skype hogs memory in all platforms.
Skype's credit card database is unsecure - I got burned TWICE - once when a hacker hit my card from Europe for a series of skype charges - that took 9 hours to clear up with my bank and even after we had turned the card off - again 2 months later - that took 2 months to clear up. Danger Mr. Robinson - warning. DO NOT use Skype except in free mode or with a "throw away credit card" purchased exclusively for skype. DO NOT link Skype payments to a bank account through any channel/acct#/method. I wasn't the only one burned.
Skype is a virus magnet - be very careful about file transfers - I don't use them or allow them.
And if this wasn't great news get this: Microsoft is buying skype - so that's the buzz anyway - maybe its already over - who knows.
What is known is that skype works - mostly - although about 50% of the messages people send me don't arrive until 8 - 24 hours later - some weird latency there - yes, the calls are often better than a land line, however folks with a satellite connection often can't use skype - its blocked - and folks with any sort of "other aps" running are going to find that keeping skype in background is a real disaster. I read that Magic Jack is even worse and have a friend with that - he often has memory/performance issues with Magic Jack.
Also skype and magic jack don't play well together on the same box.
What is evident here is that between Magic Jack - a poor performer (though a great price), and skype - aka MS Skype soon to be - and Google Phone/Voice - whatever - which has a ton of performance and privacy issues - there would appear to be a wide-open niche market for a good solid Linux Application - perhaps using TOR
(that would be sweet) for a peer-to-peer VOIP/CHAT application that was also capable of conference calling.
Let's face it: the features aren't that tough - especially in any sort of reasonable high performance box.
You have to stream voice/audio - and once semi-developed, video
You have to store contacts - generally an ID - that needs to be linked to a central repository so when you log in it nails your IP address - or keeps a link alive - so if someone "calls you" or "sends you a message" you get notice and "connect" directly to their IP address or through a central switchboard. Peer to Peer would be the most efficient to be sure. Central switch board architecture is inherently flawed for any popular application. Never forget the folks who started skype were the same folks who did kazah or whatever that "peer to peer share MP3" service was that got shut down - I forget - but they had the skills to do it and it really isn't that tough to create a socket. Perl does it easily, and I am sure someone like Barry could as well (Hey Barry - ya lazy bum - ya need more work on yer plate - get to it man!)
Actually if Barry designed it a lot of the problems with "Skype" would probably go away. From what I have seen Barry designs some slick stuff that works and we'd probably find not only would Skype and Gphone get a kick in the crotch as folks switch to the "Barry Phone", but if he built it into Puppy - the inevitable choice - then the user list would grow like wild fire.
So - based on the fact that Barry made the Cadillac of Linux (my opinion, though I could be wrong and often am), and based on the fact that current "FREE" VOIP technology is failing to provide either a robust platform or isn't hosted by firms we really "trust" that much, and based on Barry's capability evident thus far, I am gonna go out on a limb and suggest it would be the best thing to happen to both the world of VOIP and Puppy and in short order, darn near everyone would be using it and switching out of Windows to do it.
YES - you could make a "Puppy Phone" (I said it first - remember that when yer rich Barry) for Windows too - and probably should - except we can be pretty sure that like Skype, anything you are running on Windows is going to require debugging of so many variants and problems, it would probably be best to just let em suffer until they switch - give em a demo "Here's how Puppy Phone works in Linux - you'll like it" - and that would be the sure and final end of Skype and probably give Microsoft exactly what they deserve for buying Skype out and chasing Linux users away to go either FIND something else or MAKE something else - which is and always will be our style.
