Ask HN: Best replacement for Skype

Posted by drallison on Thursday January 18, 2018 @12:35PM
from the ask-hn dept.

Skype just announced a significant (67%) increase in price for a SkypeIn number. The price increase together with a nearly non-functional user interface, a buggy Linux application and poor sound stability, suggests that it may be time to move on. What other suppliers have products that can be used to replace Skype?

( 7 comments | 8 points | on HN )

Re:Ask HN: Best replacement for Skype by app4soft on Sunday January 21, 2018 @10:01AM (#16198268)

> a buggy Linux application and poor sound stability, suggests that it may be time to move on

Be hacker! Just "fix"[0] good-oldyie Skype 4.3 for Linux[1][2] after install it:

  sudo sed -i 's/4\.3\.0\.37/8\.3\.0\.37/' /usr/bin/skype

[0] http://www.opennet.ru/tips/info/3039.shtml

[1] http://download.skype.com/linux/skype-ubuntu-precise_4.3.0.3...

[2] http://download.skype.com/linux/skype-debian_4.3.0.37-1_i386...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Best replacement for Skype by XDASyndicate on Friday January 19, 2018 @05:28PM (#16190470)

Use http://textnow.com if you need an incoming/outgoing phone number. It's free also. If you just want calling, and you care about open-source and security, use Riot. http://riot.im/app and if you want something a little more simple I suggest ooVoo.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Best replacement for Skype by gesman on Thursday January 18, 2018 @03:01PM (#16180779)

Since MSFT touched Skype it was a slow and accelerating downhill.

I was super impressed by sound quality and stability of Telegram app talking friend from europe over average wifi.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Best replacement for Skype by eb0la on Friday January 19, 2018 @06:09AM (#16185390)

If you run your own voip software (asterixt, freebpx, etc), you can get a DID (Dial-In) number from $2 per month (depending on the country).

Just google {country} did number ;-)

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Best replacement for Skype by black-hole on Thursday January 18, 2018 @12:47PM (#16179342)

Wire. Its end-to-end encrypted and has applications for all major platforms (electron though)

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Best replacement for Skype by indescions_2018 on Thursday January 18, 2018 @02:19PM (#16180376)

This actually looks pretty cool. Thanks for the link ;)

I can also recommend Cyclops for group video conferencing. Chrome only. But WebRTC based so its as easy as distributing a URL!

https://www.cyclops.io/

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Best replacement for Skype by karma_daemon on Thursday January 18, 2018 @03:30PM (#16181075)

Discord for sure

I switched and never looked back. They have pretty slick apps for desktop and mobile too.

[ Parent | on HN ]