Re: skype?

[Brian <ad44@cityscape.co.uk>]

On Mon 09 Apr 2012 at 10:09:59 +0200, Tony van der Hoff wrote:

> On 09/04/12 08:22, Scott Ferguson wrote:
>>
>> SIP will currently work with the Skype network - if being able to
>> communicate is your only requirement.
>>
> This is interesting. Do you mean I could install SIP, and communicate  
> with my wedded to skype contacts? Voice, video, text?

You don't really install SIP you use a SIP client (Ekiga or Linphone,
for example) to communicate with a gateway running the Skype client. The
gateway manipulates the Skype client using the SIP messages you send and
can be on your own machine or somebody else's machine. The first will
cost you time and effort; the second will probably cost money. The
gateway will provide voice but maybe not video.

Either way you cannot avoid running the Skype client, or its equivalent,
somewhere. If it is local you may as well use it (have you managed to
set it up yet?) to talk with your friends.

> I was under the impression that Skype was so proprietary that nothing  
> else would co-exist!

Skype (the company) release enough information to allow a limited degree
of interworking with its client.