How To Stay In Touch With People When Using Linux ?

[Magic Sam]

Hi,

I'm using Linux (Debian "Lenny" 5.0.4), what kind of free and open source software would you advise me to use for:

- VoIP
- sending short messages to cellphones
- Instant messaging...

I'm thinking about getting rid of my cellphone at the moment

PS: I can pay a monthly fee for this.

Bye and thanks for your help !

Magic Sam

 

[Pickle]

Hi,

I'm using Linux (Debian "Lenny" 5.0.4), what kind of free and open source software would you advise me to use for:

- VoIP
- sending short messages to cellphones
- Instant messaging...

I'm thinking about getting rid of my cellphone at the moment

PS: I can pay a monthly fee for this.

Bye and thanks for your help !

Magic Sam

Pidgin works for at least instant messaging (thats what i use it for) and its included on the current image

 

[WizardStan]

Skype is available for x86 linuxes, and I can vouch for it's voip capabilities. Pidgin keeps saying they're adding voice features (compatible with gtalk) and for a while I thought it was working, but apparently it is not again. Or something.
I am not even aware of any windows programs that can send a text message to a phone, let alone a Linux one. If you have one of those google voice numbers, I think there's a web interface you could use to send and receive text messages.

 

[lulzfish]

If you have an AIM account, there's a way to text-message a phone and hold a conversation, but I'm not sure how it works.
Since it all happens server-side with AIM, you can use Pidgin or Kopete or whatever. The important part is the AIM account.

 

[Magic Sam]

I am not even aware of any windows programs that can send a text message to a phone, let alone a Linux one.

My girlfriend used to send me (paid) text messages with Skype, so I think it should work, but...

From Skype wikipedia page:

Skype uses a proprietary Internet telephony (VoIP) network, called the Skype protocol. The protocol has not been made publicly available by Skype and official applications using the protocol are closed-source. Part of the Skype technology relies on the Global Index P2P protocol, belonging to the Joltid corporation. The main difference between Skype and standard VoIP clients is that Skype operates on a peer-to-peer model (originally based on the Kazaa software[61]), rather than the more usual client-server model.

Skype offers no interoperability with SIP-based VoIP networks.

In an interview with Kurt Sauer, Chief Security Officer Skype, he said, "We provide a safe communication option. I will not tell you whether we can listen or not."[67] Skype's client uses an undocumented and proprietary protocol. The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is concerned by user privacy issues arising from using proprietary software and protocols and has made replacement for Skype one of their high priority projects.[68] Security researchers Biondi and Desclaux have speculated that Skype may have a back door, since Skype sends traffic even when it is turned off and because Skype has taken extreme measures to obfuscate their traffic and functioning of their program.[69] Several media sources have reported that at a meeting about the "Lawful interception of IP based services" held on 25 June 2008, high-ranking but not named officials at the Austrian interior ministry said that they could listen in on Skype conversations without problem. Austrian public broadcasting service ORF, citing minutes from the meeting, have reported that "the Austrian police are able to listen in on Skype connections".[70][71] Skype declined to comment on the reports.[72]

Since September 2007, users in China trying to download the Skype software have been redirected to the site of TOM, a joint venture between a Chinese wireless operator and Skype, from which a modified Chinese version can be downloaded.[78] The TOM client participates in China's system of Internet censorship, monitoring text messages between Skype users in China as well as messages exchanged with users outside the countryIn October 2008, it was reported that TOM had been saving the full message contents of some Skype text conversations on its servers, apparently focusing on conversations containing political issues such as Tibet, Falun Gong, Taiwan independence and Chinese Communist Party. The saved messages contain personally identifiable information about the messages senders and recipients, including IP addresses, usernames, land line phone numbers, and the entire content of the text messages, including the time and date of each message. Information about Skype users outside China who were communicating with a TOM-Skype user was also saved. A server misconfiguration made these log files accessible to the public for a time.

I think Skype is a NO-GO for me, but thanks for telling me about it

EDIT: What about Ekiga ?

 

[PokeParadox]

Empathy is relatively similar to Pidgin and seems they are further along in supporting voice and video.
I don't believe there is any way to send SMS messages, but there is a SIP component for VOIP calls.

 

[Magic Sam]

Empathy is relatively similar to Pidgin and seems they are further along in supporting voice and video.
I don't believe there is any way to send SMS messages, but there is a SIP component for VOIP calls.

I've just installed Empathy 0.23.3, and it seems it doesn't support as many protocols as Pidgin does (only Jabber, Salut and Google Talk in this version)
EDIT: version 2.30 seems to be much better

 

[Magic Sam]

Pidgin keeps saying they're adding voice features (compatible with gtalk)...

Is gtalk widely used, because it's the first time I hear about it...?

...but there is a SIP component for VOIP calls.

Could you please tell me more about SIP, as I don't fully understand (yet) what it is and how it works ?

 

[PokeParadox]

Pidgin keeps saying they're adding voice features (compatible with gtalk)...

Is gtalk widely used, because it's the first time I hear about it...?

...but there is a SIP component for VOIP calls.

Could you please tell me more about SIP, as I don't fully understand (yet) what it is and how it works ?

GTalk is active by default on the sidepain when you check your gMail. So in that sense it's relatively popular.

SIP is basically the standard open protocol for VOIP telephony. I'm not really the expert in how to use it, and I haven't made the effort to get it working using Empathy, but basically you can call users using the SIP service or actual phone numbers and usually for cheap cheap rates.

 

[fischju2000]

Google Voice is great for SMS and voicemail, I can give you an invite if you want one.

 

[Magic Sam]

Hi

SIP is basically the standard open protocol for VOIP telephony. I'm not really the expert in how to use it, and I haven't made the effort to get it working using Empathy, but basically you can call users using the SIP service or actual phone numbers and usually for cheap cheap rates.

I think I'll have to read more about that SIP protocol, it seems widely used in open source software, even my cellphone (Sony Ericsson C510) supports it !

Wikipedia article about SIP

Google Voice is great for SMS and voicemail, I can give you an invite if you want one.

Thanks a bunch, I'll PM you if I decide to give Google Voice a try

Do you guys know about QuteCom ? (formerly know as WengoPhone in France)

EDIT: what about SIP/SIMPLE and XMPP/Jingle (Jabber) ?

Bye and thanks, Magic Sam

 

[lizard808uk]

You probably need a Java Softphone of some sort? I use a CISCO one myself, but there must be an opensource one around somewhere.. I do know that you can make and receive SIP calls from a Nintendo DS hooked into a WLAN (not tried it yet)