Re: Skype access cancelled for Debian versions before 7
On Sun, Aug 3, 2014 at 7:42 AM, Bret Busby <bret.busby@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 03/08/2014, Andrew McGlashan <andrew.mcglashan@affinityvision.com.au> wrote:
>> On 3/08/2014 4:39 AM, Brian wrote:
>>> On Sun 03 Aug 2014 at 01:29:57 +0800, Bret Busby wrote:
>>> There is no substitute for Skype (either the software or the service)
>>> whether it be open or closed source,
>>
>> What about Google Hangouts? That might be a reasonable substitute....
>>
> Google? That is even more sinister than the NSA, isn't it? The NSA
> doesn't drive around suburbia, filming everyone in their yards.
Google has too much money and is out of control.
The NSA has too much money and is out of our control.
There is a difference. Sometimes only minor, but mostly not so minor.
>> I haven't used Skype for a number of years, I was against the way it
>> worked .... super nodes, anyone? Since M$ took ownership, well, that
>> just made it a more bad idea.
>>
>>
>> There must be an alternative to Skype.
Microsoft has been out of our control since it started, and the too
much money part goes back at least 20 years.
If I couldn't trust google, I wouldn't trust Microsoft.
In fact, I still, at this time, use google's free stuff. That won't
last, I know.
>> http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/fed-up-with-skype-here-are-6-of-the-best-free-alternatives/
>>
>
> And, how many opf those, work with Debian Linux 6? And, how many (if
> any) that work with Debian Linux 6, interface successfully with other
> operating systems, such as MS Windows?
>
> With, as an example, Ekiga, on the Ekiga list, a response was
> something like"if you want a working version, you need to be running,
> for Debian, Debian <testing or unstable, when Devbian 6 was Debian
> stable> - no working version would be released for Debian 6".
And the reason I decided to respond was to ask your reason for not
wanting to use wheezy. Or, rather, if your reason is more important
than your need to communicate cheap.
> With the Skype 2.2 (beta), running on Debian 6, I was able to connect
> successfully, and, successfully make videocalls, with people running
> Linux, and, with people running MS Windows.
>
> It worked, so Microsoft broke it.
> [...]
And you knew that was going to happen. Or you should have known.
Anyway, you definitely know now.
So, you can build your own chat application if you want, including
video and audio. The entertainment and communication industries are
trying their hardest to prevent you from getting hardware that isn't
roped and tied to IP-laden standards, but you can still do it. All you
have to do is convince the people you need to communicate with to use
your application.
Or update your OS or get a separate machine to dedicate to an
"ordinary user" level OS or something.
(I don't use skype, in spite of my sister's hints, because, as much as
possible, I don't want anything Microsoft touches on my stuff. When
wheezy goes unsupported and the only upgrade path contains systemd,
I'll have a hard choice to make. Hopefully, I'll be ready to use
openbsd on a daily basis by then. If not, I may decide to use skype
after all.)
--
Joel Rees
Be careful where you see conspiracy.
Look first in your own heart.
Reply to: