Ekiga 2.0 Released 203
Some Anonymous Coward writes "After about one year of development the former GnomeMeeting team has released Ekiga. Ekiga is the successor of the popular GnomeMeeting. Ekiga calls itself the very "first Open Source application to support both H.323 and SIP". Ekiga is based on the h323/sip codebase, provided by the openh323 project. Also introduced with this release is ekiga.net, a platform to provide the community with free sip addresses."
Ready? (Score:3, Interesting)
Onomotopoea? (Score:3, Funny)
I can deal with some odd-ball names. Heck, I run "Ubuntu" with Gnome and "Sylpheed". But Ekiga - It's not really "Skype" [skype.com] or "Gizmo" [gizmoproject.com], is it?
Gekiga - 'Dramatic Pictures' (Score:3, Funny)
Only if you show it drawn by a Japanese person in the 'dramatic' style. [wikipedia.org]
Re:Onomotopoea? (Score:2)
This must be the open-source answer to marketing-speak: "Ekiga, a world-class provider of world-class solutions to world-class problems, has..."
Re:Onomotopoea? (Score:2)
Re:Onomotopoea? (Score:2)
Re:Ready? (Score:2)
Re:Ready? (Score:2, Funny)
Could you change your sig? For some reason I don't continue reading the rest of the commentaries after seeing it.
ANYTHING has to be better... (Score:5, Informative)
I remember trying NM for the first time several years ago--maybe 1998 or so. I couldn't believe how badly it DIDN'T work.
Flash forward to about three months ago. Our company HR department is having a presentation on the new benefits package. Seems like the SAME OLD PROBLEMS that were "en vogue" eight years ago are still around.
I have asked, and been given no satisfactory answer, why we do not look around for a better alternative. "Well, it's supported by Microsoft" seems to be the only cogent response.
Re:ANYTHING has to be better... (Score:3, Insightful)
the software did.
Now with names like Ekiga in my menus I won't have a clue.
Re:ANYTHING has to be better... (Score:4, Insightful)
Yeah, it's like calling a spreadsheet "Excel". How will anyone know what it does with a name like that. Or calling a retailer "Amazon". In the business world you'd be dead in the water if you used names like that.
Re:ANYTHING has to be better... (Score:3, Funny)
Or maybe both names suck. I doubt the average office worker would pick up on the "cel" thing, especially since a cel [m-w.com] is something completely different than a cell. Maybe Excel is an animation package? Why didn't they call it Excell to be more clear? Of course given how bad spelling is nowadays, maybe nobody would notice.
meaningfull names: exception not rule (Score:2)
Re:ANYTHING has to be better... (Score:3, Informative)
The free service has a 30 second limit on video mail, and only allows one-to-one conferencing.
Ekiga is the first Open Source... (Score:5, Informative)
Depends on what you consider an application. I'm pretty sure http://asterisk.org [asterisk.org] has a few months on you.
Re:Ekiga is the first Open Source... (Score:2)
Yes, but does it run on Windows?
From the Article (Score:5, Funny)
Re:From the Article (Score:5, Funny)
Eresh-Kigal? (Score:2)
Is this compatible with consumer VoIP? (Score:5, Interesting)
Thanks.
Re:Depends (Score:2)
If you have some access to the url's of your speakeasy voip account, you can probably use the same url's to do an SIP call on your linux desktop. I'm making a very generous assumption speakeasy would "play nice" with their sip setup and keep it relatively open.
The h.323 features are a whole other bag though. The average company would see h.323 as an "additional feature" and demand a hefty premium payment.
How much would the voip c
Re:Depends (Score:2)
$27.95 per month - much less than the ~40$ we're giving to Bell right now.
They don't list the 'advanced' features that you're talking about, but still, it looks like you can do a ton more with it than with a standard POTS line:
http://speakeasy.net/home/voip/features.php [speakeasy.net]
So at the very least I'll finally be able to say f-you to the 'big bells' and get voicemails as email attachments.
Re:Advanced Features (Score:3, Informative)
SIP on the other hand, is pretty narrowly defined to voice/video communication. From recollection, conferencing can be done, but it has something to do with number of lines your SIP phone can handle and the number of "lines" your SIP provider allows.
Re:Advanced Features (Score:3, Informative)
http://www.sipquest.com/about/faqs.php [sipquest.com]
Re:Depends (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Depends (Score:3, Insightful)
A resounding NO for most providers. (Score:2)
companies like Broadvoice and others that are not hostile to customers will be able to have this application work with their service.
Vonnage and Speakeasy (and packet8) will never ever allow you to use any device that is not completely controlled by them and locked down tight with their service.
Re:Is this compatible with consumer VoIP? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Is this compatible with consumer VoIP? (Score:2)
Ekiga? What the hell is an Ekiga? (Score:3, Insightful)
I would have no bloody clue what an Ekiga is if the article hadn't mentioned it was the successor to GnomeMeeting. I'm sure it means something really appropriate in Sanskrit or something. How very clever.
And so, another project winds up with a useless name and they get to wonder why nobody uses their product, because folks see "Ekiga" and have no idea that it does exactly what they need, where GnomeMeeting might've hinted that at least.
-F
Re:Ekiga? What the hell is an Ekiga? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Ekiga? What the hell is an Ekiga? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Ekiga? What the hell is an Ekiga? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Ekiga? What the hell is an Ekiga? (Score:2)
Re:Ekiga? What the hell is an Ekiga? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Ekiga? What the hell is an Ekiga? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Ekiga? What the hell is an Ekiga? (Score:2)
Re:Ekiga? What the hell is an Ekiga? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Ekiga? What the hell is an Ekiga? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Ekiga? What the hell is an Ekiga? (Score:4, Insightful)
Seriously, is anyone else getting a little sick of the plethora of "me too" comments about the appropriateness of a software product's name on slashdot?
Re:Ekiga? What the hell is an Ekiga? (Score:3, Insightful)
But in addition to this there is one other major difference - the advertising budget.
Skype has thrown a huge amount of money and resources into turning itself into a 'name' brand and as such it makes sense that they should go with something original and snappy.
Unless we want to put together a community project to fund an advert in New York Times for every open source project it probably makes more sense to pick obv
Re:Ekiga? What the hell is an Ekiga? (Score:2)
I take your point about advertising and brand recognition - however, the flip side of the coin is brand protection.
I know its not a registered trademark - but taking a unique name like 'ekiga' rather then 'openconference or similar means:
Re:Ekiga? What the hell is an Ekiga? (Score:3, Insightful)
Get the point? If it's a good app, help expand its user base. If you really want to help, do that. Anyone can sit around and bitch.
Re:skype? What the hell is a skype? (Score:2)
I would have no bloody clue what a Skype is if the article hadn't mentioned it was VOIP. I'm sure it means something really appropriate in Sanskrit or something. How very clever.
And so, another project winds up with a useless name and they get to wonder why nobody uses their product, because folks see "Skype" a
Re:skype? What the hell is a skype? (Score:2)
Re:skype? What the hell is a skype? (Score:4, Interesting)
Skype comes from a business. They've got money to throw at Madison Avenue, and the advertisements will make sure we all know exactly what they do.
Where, exactly, is Ekiga's advertising money going to be coming from?
-F
Re:skype? What the hell is a skype? (Score:2)
Firefox, or even Opera. Much less descriptive than INTERNET EXPLORER (something you use to explore the internets).
GNOME. KDE. Linux. What the hell are these things? Do they display windows on a computer????
Google? What does that do? Yahoo? What ?
Skype was chosen because the domain was available, as long as the software is solid you shouldn't have a problem with the name.
Re:skype? What the hell is a skype? (Score:2)
Ekiga: vocal communication technique (Score:2, Informative)
I might have been able to guess what GnomeMeeting did. I would have guessed that it was perhaps a collaborative whiteboard tool, perhaps with a dose of voice-chat built in. I'd bet it worked in Gnome.
And you would have been partly right, partly wrong. GnomeMeeting used to provide video/voice conferencing along with text chat. It used to be a NetMeeting clone but it has grown beyond that original aim.
I would have no bloody clue what an Ekiga is if the article hadn't mentioned it was the successor to Gn
Re:Ekiga? What the hell is an Ekiga? (Score:2)
God I am sick of this BS.
Re:Ekiga? What the hell is an Ekiga? (Score:2)
If it was a market leading product with a budget behind it, they might have the luxury of choosing an esoteric name and still gaining acceptance from the average user. The reality is, that luxury doesn't exist for them.
Player in what market? (Score:2)
Ekiga is not competing against anyone else. They will already have the leading market share.
Re:Ekiga? What the hell is an Ekiga? (Score:3, Informative)
And what do Gnomes have to do with Software? (Score:2)
Name Change (Score:5, Insightful)
GnomeMeeting to Ekiga is quite probably the single worst name change I've ever seen in a piece of software, commercial or free aside. They went from a name that clearly communicated the software's purpose to something cryptic that isn't even easily pronounceable. (Yes, I am aware of the new name's origin, that doesn't make it any less terrible a name for a software project).
So the new name fails on pretty much every front. It fails to communicate the purpose of the program. It fails to be something the average person will actually remember. It fails to be something that's not going to scare off a neophyte. As a program that's bandied about for inclusion in Gnome proper, this pretty significant IMO.
Re:Name Change (Score:2)
Excuse me.. (Score:2)
In short... (Score:3)
Re:Name Change (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Name Change (Score:2)
I agree, though, that "GnomeMeeting" make far more sense.
ttyl
srw
Re:Name Change (Score:2)
I've heard skyp (to rhyme with swipe) and sky-pe
completely unambiguous
Re:Name Change (Score:2)
The only piece of free software aimed at end users to really get that kind of marketing push to date is Firefox, and even so, only a fraction of the general public would know what you're talking about if you brought it up.
This is all ignoring that Ekiga isn't going to be a good name to market
Re:Name Change (Score:2)
Re:Name Change (Score:2)
Re:Name Change (Score:2)
--
Gaute
Re:Name Change (Score:2)
Office
Word
Messenger
Re:Name Change (Score:2)
I'll agree with you that "Firefox" and "Thunderbird" are about as shitty as names can get. Interestingly, both are open source projects.
Re:Name Change (Score:2)
Re:Name Change (Score:3, Insightful)
You're basically saying that certain names can be vaguely tied to their purposes after y
Re:Name Change (Score:3, Interesting)
Yes, but once I've heard it once, it just clicks, and sticks, because it makes sense. Besides the obvious Beach Boys reference to surfing the web, a safari also implies exploration and venturing into territories unknown. These are both very good ways the name "Safari" works for a web browser.
My point isn't that the name should tell you, with no preknowledge, what the program does. It's just that the name should fit well enough so
Re:Name Change (Score:2)
Re:Name Change (Score:2)
Wish I could remember the book.
Re:Name Change (Score:2)
Re:Name Change (Score:2)
"Hey, let me google that real quick."
"Ya, I'll skype you in a few minutes"
Those both work well, but try to say "Ok, let me Ekiga you".... wtf?
Re:Name Change (Score:2)
Re:Name Change (Score:2)
Uniqueness is of huge importance for visibilty in text search engines also, i.e., google. When applications are given totally
Re:Name Change (Score:2)
Hey at least it doesn't start with a G or a K.
Re:Name Change (Score:2)
Granted 'Ekiga' is annoyingly Web2.0-ish, but GnomeMeeting isn't exactly the dog's bollocks. Yes, 'Meeting' gives you an idea of what the software does, but wtf does 'Gnome' tell the average PHB, or even a good business exec who came from Finance, Operations, or elsewhere and who just isn't familiar with hacker culture? If hackers want this stuff to go mainstream, coming up with more mainstream names, even meaningless but n
Ekiga - great name (Score:4, Informative)
"When communicating using drums, the sender will identify himself at the start of the transmission with the specific notes corresponding to his personal moto, and those of the other correspondant in order to draw his attention. This technic is also used in another communication language, without drums, called Ekiga, which consists in reproducing the notes, without words, emitting the syllable "ke" in a falsetto voice, and repeating it with the corresponding tones."
Where are the complaints on firefox/ubuntu/debian/gnome/thunderbird/evolution
Gnomemeeting linked the application to much to the god-awful Netmeeting, and needed a change.
Once a brand name is established, no-one bothers anymore. This release is about establishing that brand name.
Focus on the quality of the software instead of useless trolling.
Does it interoperate with... (Score:3, Interesting)
If there's a yes answer to all of those, we'd likely recommend it for work.
So far we're using skype for a lot; but it's not a complete answer to our needs.
Re:Does it interoperate with... (Score:2)
Re:Does it interoperate with... (Score:2)
Windows - Netmeeting [microsoft.com]
As for solaris, I believe it will run Ekiga/Gnomemeeting itself anyways (guessing but very probable)
Re:Does it interoperate with... (Score:2)
Re:Does it interoperate with... (Score:5, Informative)
In my experience, Ekiga is better than Gizmo in that:
- it is open source
- it can register with multiple providers simultaneously
- integrates with your Evolution contact list
- has support for more codecs
- is not tied to a particular SIP provider so you can use it as your Gizmo voice client and access all the features of the Gizmo SIP provider
- has video
- communicates with old and new NetMeeting
Gizmo client is better than Ekiga in that:
- it has built-in Jabber presence and messaging although you can use Gaim as your Gizmo Jabber client
- has a mapping button to see where your caller is calling from
So pick whichever suits your needs.
Encryption (Score:2)
Re:Encryption (Score:2)
I'm not aware of any softphones that have TLS features. Not to mention anyone providing TLS capable SIP service. But, it's been a while since I've looked it over.
Re:Encryption (Score:2)
What ekiga means (Score:3, Informative)
Welcome to the Neighborhood (Score:2)
Re:Welcome to the Neighborhood (Score:2)
Apples to oranges.
Re:Welcome to the Neighborhood (Score:2)
Ekiga is the end client that would connect to Asterisk which would provide the PBX and infrustructure to route your call. Not exactly the same animal and the only comparison that could be usefully drawn is that they communicate with one another.
Re:Welcome to the Neighborhood (Score:2)
Or thunderbird to sendmail?
How about any comparisons on my ADSL modem to a DSLAM?
(pssst... one is a client, one is a server)
Mandriva packages available (Score:2)
Can't use it (Score:2)
Re:Can't use it (Score:2)
Or even better, try to convince them to contribute directly to the open source drivers for their boards.
Ekiga supporting OSS would be a giant leap backwards and I'm glad they don't. Hauling around code to support an obsolete legacy interface is just a drain on developer time and asking for trouble as the code rots.
Re:Can't use it (Score:2)
Bad name, Great product, win32 port available (Score:5, Informative)
Pros
- relatively stable: only has problems when I try to redial before a previous session has properly terminated
- interoperability: I've tested with Sony, Polycom & Tandberg H.323 codecs - flawless. SIP native means it will continue to work with equipment from these vendors.
- Higher speed, more options than netmeeting or openphone (static images, video files, etc)
- It's f**king free (Polycom PVX, Tandberg suite cost assloads and require support fees)
Cons
- relatively stable: see above, could be improved
- adding codecs screws shit up - it comes with H.261 default. I've had mixed success trying to add 3rd party codecs (h.263, h.264)
Microsoft gave up supporting netmeeting years go (and with it, open standard conferencing). They are now dumping all of their money into conferenceXP - a laggy, buggy and mem-leaky alternative which excludes anyone other than XP or win2k3 users. Win32 Ekiga is a godsend to anyone who has to support hardware video codecs in a windows environment.
Here's the slow link to the port info: http://snapshots.gnomemeeting.net/win32/ [gnomemeeting.net]
Re:Bad name, Great product, win32 port available (Score:2)
Does it work with Vonage? (Score:2)
Re:Does it work with Vonage? (Score:2)
"You can use Ekiga with SIP services from Vonage, SIPDiscount and others!"
The FAQ makes it seem like Ekiga will *only* work with services from Diamond.
I'm totally lost here; I was using Skype until Ebay took over and the linux port supporting ALSA was dropped. Then, I moved to Gizmo, dropped $10 for PC to phone calls and the service is 100% unusable (drop outs, really bad delay, echo problems, you name it).
All I want to do is use lin