OT - Skype alternative?

I just went through a maddening session
of Microsoft sleaze for a friend. Skype said
her account "had problems". It turned out
they were trying to force her to set up an
outlook.com account without admitting that
was their plan. They pretended there was a
mixup and then pretended there was a security
issue. But once she set up outlook.com, presto,
the mixup and the need for a new password
magically disappeared. Skype came up, but not
before showing a window that said:

"There have been no recent purchases from
this account. Let's go shopping!"

Maybe people are used to this kind of thing. I
was amazed at the bald-faced sleaze of it all.
Anyway.... I don't use Skype or anything like
it. I wonder if there's some other alternative
that works well and isn't so slimy. What do people
like? What about if some friends are on Mac
or Linux? Do other programs work on those?
What is this class of program even called?

On Thu, 27 Jul 2017 20:45:26 -0400, Mayayana wrote:

I just went through a maddening session
of Microsoft sleaze for a friend. Skype said
her account "had problems". It turned out
they were trying to force her to set up an
outlook.com account without admitting that
was their plan. They pretended there was a
mixup and then pretended there was a security
issue. But once she set up outlook.com, presto,
the mixup and the need for a new password
magically disappeared. Skype came up, but not
before showing a window that said:

The price you pay to be an MS user.

"There have been no recent purchases from
this account. Let's go shopping!"

Maybe people are used to this kind of thing. I
was amazed at the bald-faced sleaze of it all.
Anyway.... I don't use Skype or anything like
it. I wonder if there's some other alternative
that works well and isn't so slimy. What do people
like? What about if some friends are on Mac
or Linux? Do other programs work on those?
What is this class of program even called?

I would suggest ICQ, but, like Skype it is only
free when used with other ICQ users.

On Linux I would use Pidgin. Don' know about Mac.

--
Wildman GNU/Linux user #557453
The cow died so I don't need your bull!

Mayayana wrote:
I just went through a maddening session
of Microsoft sleaze for a friend. Skype said
her account "had problems". It turned out
they were trying to force her to set up an
outlook.com account without admitting that
was their plan. They pretended there was a
mixup and then pretended there was a security
issue. But once she set up outlook.com, presto,
the mixup and the need for a new password
magically disappeared. Skype came up, but not
before showing a window that said:

"There have been no recent purchases from
this account. Let's go shopping!"

Maybe people are used to this kind of thing. I
was amazed at the bald-faced sleaze of it all.
Anyway.... I don't use Skype or anything like
it. I wonder if there's some other alternative
that works well and isn't so slimy. What do people
like? What about if some friends are on Mac
or Linux? Do other programs work on those?
What is this class of program even called?



On Linux, there were a couple Skype replacements,
but... they're no longer under development.

I don't understand why there isn't a vibrant market.
It costs nothing to make mesh virtual networks, and
have "PogoPhone" users talk to one another, with no
connection to the telephone network.

It's the connectivity to the telephone network, and
the usage of CCS7 that costs money.

If calls could be kept totally on the Internet,
there'd be no support cost (other than the
Internet connection of course).

That's why the original Skype had SuperNodes, normal
user machines that carried traffic. This role was
reserved for users stupid enough to connect their
Windows PC *directly* to the broadband modem, with
no NAT router. That's how Skype decided candidacy for
the role. Now that Microsoft owns Skype, SuperNodes
are no longer used, and the protocol is "centralized
for easier snooping". The spirit of Skype was not
preserved when it was bought. Skype was a marvel of
encryption before it was bought out, as well as distributed
function. Then Skype didn't need a "big computer room"
to run it.

No researcher dare reverse-engineer Skype now, for fear
of DMCA. I've not seen any work on Skype, since the
original reverse engineering and analysis by academics.
And even back then, the web site alluded to them seeking
legal advice as to how much danger they were in, by
even describing how it works. There was DMCA overhang
even back then, but now I don't think anyone has the
balls to touch it (and publish the results).

Paul

"Mayayana" news
Maybe people are used to this kind of thing. I
was amazed at the bald-faced sleaze of it all.
Anyway.... I don't use Skype or anything like
it. I wonder if there's some other alternative
that works well and isn't so slimy. What do people
like? What about if some friends are on Mac
or Linux? Do other programs work on those?
What is this class of program even called?

The buzzword may have changed, but, it used to be known as VoIP, video
conferencing, video teleconferencing, video chat, etc. I'm not a
skype user myself. except when configuring it to run for clients.
It's not something i'd ever personally subject myself to otherwise.

http://www.informationweek.com/softw...d/d-id/1323986
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/fed-up-...-alternatives/

Good luck!

--
https://tekrider.net/pages/david-brooks-stalker.php

I used to have an open mind but my brains kept falling out.

Mayayana wrote:
I wonder if there's some other alternative that works well and isn't
so slimy. What do people like? What about if some friends are on Mac
or Linux? Do other programs work on those? What is this class of
program even called?
There are alternatives, but the problem is that they don't interconnect.

The general class is VoIP. The subclasses are the various protocols,
which must be the same for each end, eg SIP & EMPP.

Consequently, if you are 'something else' and your protocol is
different, then you don't skype (proprietary protocol), which is what
most everybody is.



--
Mike Easter

On 28/07/2017 02:10, Wildman wrote:
The price you pay to be an MS user.



Microsoft never calls anybody so whatever you hear is a scam by
professional scammers. It is up to you to fall victims of scammers
lurking on these newsgroups.

Let me repeat once again, Microsoft never phones anybody. Only the
idiots receive calls and they believe everything they hear on the
phone. No wonder I call them idiots and nutters.

My signature tells you everything you need to know about satisfied
customers.

--
With over 500 million devices now running Windows 10, customer
satisfaction is higher than any previous version of windows.

Il giorno Fri 28 Jul 2017 02:45:26a, *Mayayana* ha inviato su
alt.windows7.general il messaggio news cosa ha scritto:

Skype came up, but not
before showing a window that said:

"There have been no recent purchases from
this account. Let's go shopping!"


if you want software for free, you shouldn't go to microsoft

--
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http://www.bb2002.it
............ [ al lavoro ] ...........

Il giorno Fri 28 Jul 2017 02:45:26a, *Mayayana* ha inviato su
alt.windows7.general il messaggio news cosa ha scritto:

I wonder if there's some other alternative
that works well and isn't so slimy.

http://filehippo.com/software/messaging/voice/

--
/-\ /\/\ /\/\ /-\ /\/\ /\/\ /-\ T /-\
-=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- - -=-
http://www.bb2002.it
............ [ al lavoro ] ...........

On 28/07/2017 1:45 am, Mayayana wrote:
I just went through a maddening session
of Microsoft sleaze for a friend. Skype said
her account "had problems". It turned out
they were trying to force her to set up an
outlook.com account without admitting that
was their plan. They pretended there was a
mixup and then pretended there was a security
issue. But once she set up outlook.com, presto,
the mixup and the need for a new password
magically disappeared. Skype came up, but not
before showing a window that said:

"There have been no recent purchases from
this account. Let's go shopping!"

Maybe people are used to this kind of thing. I
was amazed at the bald-faced sleaze of it all.
Anyway.... I don't use Skype or anything like
it. I wonder if there's some other alternative
that works well and isn't so slimy. What do people
like? What about if some friends are on Mac
or Linux? Do other programs work on those?
What is this class of program even called?



I've just tried Google Duo, which is ultra-simple and seems to work
quite well for video calling. Whatsapp is good for voice calling too,
and messaging, of course.

--
Bob
Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England

A slug is just a homeless snail.

"Bob Henson" wrote

| I've just tried Google Duo, which is ultra-simple and seems to work
| quite well for video calling. Whatsapp is good for voice calling too,
| and messaging, of course.

You seem to be talking about phone apps. This is
for Windows, and hopefully Mac/Linux.

"Diesel" wrote

|
|
http://www.informationweek.com/softw...d/d-id/1323986
|
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/fed-up-...-alternatives/
|

Good find. Thanks. I couldn't get the actual
list at the first link. Maybe it requires script. But
the 2nd link provides a detailed, clear list of
possible alternatives to look into.

"Wolf K" wrote

| AFAIK, the people you want to call must have the same software on their
| machines, right?
|

Yes. That's why I was also interested in support
for other OSs.

| PS: I still don't know how MS got in touch with your friend about Skype
| "problems." We have had no problems, and no phone calls about any.

You might want to reread the original post. It went
like this:
Start Skype. Skype window comes up for login. Login
doesn't work. Message says there's "...a problem with
your account. Please visit the website with a browser."
Visit website. Log in. Message says something like,
"Forgive us for our extra caution. You need to change
your password and add an alternate account." After
some fiddling it turned out the only thing that would
work was to create an outlook.com account. The
password wasn't changed. The user name wasn't changed.
It was all just sleaze to make her create an outlook.com
account and hopefully get her to hang around at their
website.... live.com or whatever it is.
Once the outlook.com account was created, the next
window wanted her to go shopping. It had logged her
into the MS shopping mall. Close all that. Open Skype.
Skype now works.

I'm half expecting to start seeing Microsoft employees
hanging around on street corners in trench coats, trying
to sell me a Rolex.

On 7/28/2017 8:18 AM, Mayayana wrote:
"Wolf K" wrote

| AFAIK, the people you want to call must have the same software on their
| machines, right?
|

Yes. That's why I was also interested in support
for other OSs.

| PS: I still don't know how MS got in touch with your friend about Skype
| "problems." We have had no problems, and no phone calls about any.

You might want to reread the original post. It went
like this:
Start Skype. Skype window comes up for login. Login
doesn't work. Message says there's "...a problem with
your account. Please visit the website with a browser."
Visit website. Log in. Message says something like,
"Forgive us for our extra caution. You need to change
your password and add an alternate account." After
some fiddling it turned out the only thing that would
work was to create an outlook.com account. The
password wasn't changed. The user name wasn't changed.
It was all just sleaze to make her create an outlook.com
account and hopefully get her to hang around at their
website.... live.com or whatever it is.
Once the outlook.com account was created, the next
window wanted her to go shopping. It had logged her
into the MS shopping mall. Close all that. Open Skype.
Skype now works.

I'm half expecting to start seeing Microsoft employees
hanging around on street corners in trench coats, trying
to sell me a Rolex.



Windows 7
Skype 7.36.0.101

I just now logged-in to my Skype account. It prompted me to update, but
I declined. I did not get any request to create an outlook.com account.

I plan not to update Skype any time in the future.

--
David Ross

http://www.rossde.com/
President Trump now denies there are any tapes that
recorded his conversations with ex-FBI Director Comey.
Between when Trump hinted there might be such tapes
and his denial, there was sufficient time to destroy
any tapes.

On 28-Jul-17 1:45 AM, Mayayana wrote:
I just went through a maddening session
of Microsoft sleaze for a friend. Skype said
her account "had problems". It turned out
they were trying to force her to set up an
outlook.com account without admitting that
was their plan. They pretended there was a
mixup and then pretended there was a security
issue. But once she set up outlook.com, presto,
the mixup and the need for a new password
magically disappeared. Skype came up, but not
before showing a window that said:

"There have been no recent purchases from
this account. Let's go shopping!"

Maybe people are used to this kind of thing. I
was amazed at the bald-faced sleaze of it all.
Anyway.... I don't use Skype or anything like
it. I wonder if there's some other alternative
that works well and isn't so slimy. What do people
like? What about if some friends are on Mac
or Linux? Do other programs work on those?
What is this class of program even called?

FYI https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FaceTime

I just 'works'! :-)

--
David B.

On 28/07/17 07:45, Mayayana wrote:

{snip/edited}

I wonder if there's some other alternative
that works...

https://www.maketecheasier.com/best-...i gn=26072017