[Server-devel] [XSCE] [Off Topic] More Linux users facing skype issues

[Adam Holt]

On Wed, Apr 6, 2016 at 1:06 PM, Anish Mangal <anishmg at umich.edu> wrote:

> This will be my last message on this thread, and am cc-ing server-devel
> (as was originally done), *but removing all the quoted text/history. *The
> purpose is to sum all the skype alternatives provided. The server-devel is
> an open mailing list so there will be a publicly-accessible link unlike
> xsce-devel. I didn't know where to put this on the wiki.
>
> Alternatives to skype suggested in this thread:
>
> 1. Tox (https://tox.chat/) - Generally works well, except bad Android
> support at the moment. No browser based client afaik.
>
> 2. Ring (https://ring.cx/) - Is supported on all platforms including
> Android. No browser based client.
>
> 3. Mumble - Widely used, well supported
>
> 4. SIP - Widely used, well supported. Browser client is available.
>
> 5. Jitsi (https://jitsi.org/) - Apps for Windoze, Linux, OSX, but not
> Android. Browser client available.
>
> 6. Firefox hello (https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/hello/?v=b)
>
> 7. Ventrilo (http://www.ventrilo.com/download.php)
>
> 8. BigBlueButton (http://bigbluebutton.org/) - Seems more targeted to
> distance education
>
> 9. Hangouts - Widely used, no native clients, proprietary
>
>
> Apologies if I missed any!
>

A "complete" list is not possible as we know!  The following 3 are
extremely popular serving very similar roles -- community team-building
moving above and beyond just transient anarchist gossip, with human-centric
workflows/pacing/searchability for all kinds of people -- one day FLOSS
communities might even wake up and demonstrate leadership here: (Hope
Springs Eternal!!)

a. http://slack.com reduces the barrage of pointless emails, by refocusing
work on actual collegial teams.  Demonstrates an excellent understanding of
how small teams actually work together (Margaret Mead meets the 21st
century at last?!)  Sometimes used in combination with Trello.com for
larger/distributed project management that truly need to scale.  Slack is
described in an excellent 21min "radio" show yesterday @
http://www.theverge.com/2016/4/5/11368864/slack-app-messaging-how-to --
apparently this is now the fastest-growing enterprise software of all
time.  And as such is now leaving the enterprise, used by all sorts of
civic clubs, non-profits, fraternities/sororities/whatever!  Our good
friends FLOSS group KidsOnComputers.org (who bring many computers to India,
Morocco, Mexico etc) experienced a great increase in productivity when they
adopted Slack.  Slack integrates shockingly well with most other software,
including Skype/irc, upon which some say it is based (similar idea to irc
channels anyway).  http://google.com/nonprofits is no doubt feeling the
heat from Slack's blow-away success at bringing civic-minded doers together
(but cannot say so publicly ;)

b. http://telegram.me used by ISIS and human rights groups, seems it does
not yet support voice or a GUI buddy-list?  Fedora folks seem to love it,
and have good success, being heads-down style workers who have less need
for sociable media?  Recently expanded from a 1000-user limit to a
5000-user limit.  Telegram is definitely going somewhere but I'm not sure
where.  Reports would be awesome from folks who've used it on a long-term
basis?

c. http://whatsapp.com by Facebook that is nearly ubiquitous across the
developing world (but not yet the US/Canada/EU, as a result of SMS being so
cheap) and supports end-to-end encryption since yesterday for those who
care about playing cat+mouse with the NSA (I do, since I believe we must
always watch the watchmen, but I admit the vast majority of the planet does
not give a damn ;)  I could not have been more impressed by teachers who
built their own WhatsApp in-school networks in Ghana completely on their
own (not unlike a mailing list or GHangout) to build solidarity and
exchange lesson plan tips.

I should be using all 3 above, but I confess I am not yet.  Our growing
Haitian team is more than familiar with Skype & GHangouts, and will
probably begin experimenting with all 3 above to see what efficiencies
(more like it, completely different *qualitative* ways of looking at
productivity) we can deliver.  OpenStreetMap mentions even more options
below, if you can sort out the wheat from the chaff: (warning, endless
passive-aggressive bike-shaving / yak-shedding)

https://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/talk/2016-March/thread.html#75792
(March 2016)
https://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/talk/2016-April/thread.html#75832
(April 2016)

--
> Anish
>
> P.S. skype-web is unsupported on Linux. For reference, see the description
> here -
> https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/skype/lifbcibllhkdhoafpjfnlhfpfgnpldfl
>


-- 
Unsung Heroes of OLPC, interviewed live @ http://unleashkids.org !
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