Ask HN: Best replacement for Skype | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Best replacement for Skype

8 pointsdrallison7 comments

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?

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> 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...

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.

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.

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 ;-)

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

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/

Discord for sure

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

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