Re: The future of Skype for Linux

[Michael M]

Haines Brown <haines@HistoricalMaterialism.info> writes:

> Skype is the principle way that I communicate with my distant wife, and
> so is of great personal interest. However, its acquisition by MS raises
> concerns. Will advertising for MS or third parties be embedded? Will MS
> mine data for my skype name or other information and sell it to a third
> party? While that information is public, MS control of the Skype network
> exposes it to predatory policies.

You can be certain that whatever changes MS makes to Skype, GNU/Linux
will not be included in them. 

> I would like to see a GNU client and network service that does the same
> thing as Skype, but without stings to MS. Is that possible?  China has
> its own TOM network, but apparently had to get permission for it.

I'm hoping that when GNU Free Call is finally released we'll have a
solution that works at the same level or better than Skype.

> then eBay, now MS. This would seem to open the possibility of MS closing
> access to non-MS users, data mining, or charging a usage fee. 

All very likely to happen now. Although I don't see them cutting off
users of clients on Apple products.

As far as the future of Skype on GNU/Linux is concerned, there isn't 
one. I think people need to start looking at the free alternatives that 
are available now rather than locking themeselves in even more with
Skype.