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I couldn't agree more. We've been using Skype for internal communication for a very long time. Back then it was the only option that worked on all the OSes we

I couldn't agree more. We've been using Skype for internal communication for a very long time. Back then it was the only option that worked on all the OSes we need (Linux, Windows, Mac), had all the features, and it just worked. But the Electron app is just damn terrible. The message layout is super inefficient - it can display maybe half the messages compared to the native client. If you click somewhere, it un-expectecly moves you somewhere else. And it just stopped delivering new messages some time ago (I've tried to downgrade to 5.2, but that made no difference). Interestingly enough, the web skype delivers messages just fine (it still sucks for all the other reasons). And it also does not drain the battery that much. The devs apparently had the bright idea to render the messages window as canvas, and refresh it at 60hz no matter what. Because of emoticons. The web skype does that too, but if the tab is inactive Firefox suspends that. The only thing that mostly works for me is the Android client. I wonder how they'll break that one. In any case, we have lost all hope Skype will get better again. Also, there are other options nowadays.

stryk 9y ago
What reliable alternatives would you suggest?
- baldfat 9y ago
  This will sound crazy but with the Discord or Twitch App are rock solid, but they are gamer focus and also they are electron apps (I have mostly positive experience with electron apps myself, VS Code and RStudio). I do like mumble and ran my own server for years, but client wise it is not as easy.
  - Filligree 9y ago
    I use Discord for all sorts of things, not just games. What features do you find it's missing that would be useful?
    - half-kh-hacker 9y ago
      The main complaints that I have seen are with video calling and screen-sharing. These should be added soon™, though.
      - Filligree 9y ago
        Ah, fair enough. That's what I've been using Hangouts for, and I don't think it'll change, but more competition is always welcome.
  - RUG3Y 9y ago
    I was introduced to the Twitch app through some gaming friends and I was surprised at how solid it is. It's actually really good.
  - kuon 9y ago
    Did you try riot.im ?
    - baldfat 9y ago
      That UI. I rather just use my IRC with Weechat on Freenode
      - mynewtb 9y ago
        You can choose from a whole catalog of alternative clients.
- derjames 9y ago
  Ekiga
- pgaddict 9y ago
  That very much depends on what are your requirements. If you need all the stuff skype supported originally - chat, voice, video, screen sharing etc. then I don't have a solution I'm afraid, particularly if you need support for various operating systems. What we need for the internal communication (within the company) is a simple IM, integrated with ticketing system (a bunch of generic rooms, per-ticket rooms, linking from tickets, ...). We're pretty much set on using Mattermost for that, which has the advantage of being self-hosted. For voice (typically group calls with other engineers) we'll probably stick with Skype for now (I the Android app on my phone for that). For meetings with customers we usually use a regular service with dial-in anyway. We don't do video, and I don't think I've needed screen sharing in the last few years.
  - problems 9y ago
    For voice I can highly recommend Mumble, it's trivially self-hosted too and feels well integrated on all platforms. For video though your options are definitely more limited, keep an eye on Riot, I'm not sure that it's ready yet, but when it is it will present an extremely good option. If you only need mobile, Signal does it today and is probably one of the most stable and secure products around, can't vouch for the video quality though personally.
  - btym 9y ago
    >If you need all the stuff skype supported originally - chat, voice, video, screen sharing etc. then I don't have a solution I'm afraid, particularly if you need support for various operating systems. Google Hangouts.
    - eric_the_read 9y ago
      My experience with Hangouts is that the screen resolution is incredibly low for a very long time, and it's super-laggy on big updates (switching virtual desktops, etc.). While appear.in is still somewhat laggy, and occasionally requires one or more participants to quit and re-join, its screen sharing is much better.
      - 9y ago
- johnnyhead 9y ago
  I would recommend Wire ( https://wire.com/en/ https://wire.com/en/ ). All mobile and desktop OS and web too. In my experience it's reliable and private and the company behind it is extremely open and supportive of its users. I am not affiliated, I just like it.
- AdamN 9y ago
  I really like https://appear.in/ https://appear.in/ Web-based, supports notification, Slack integration, custom urls.
  - marmaduke 9y ago
    WebRTC is its main drawback, some browsers e.g. Safari don't seem to support it completely.
    - erk__ 9y ago
      They announced support for WebRTC in Safari at WWDC this week
- z3t4 9y ago
  If you just want to talk, SIP via Asterisk (server) is OK. Most phones have built in support and there are apps (Jitsi) that works on most OS's. You can also connect it to land-line for calling those without Internet access.
- jannes 9y ago
  TeamSpeak https://www.teamspeak.com/ https://www.teamspeak.com/
tracker1 9y ago
For a while, I really enjoyed hangouts.. but the past 2 years, google has systematically removed or obscured features, and it's just a bit of a mess now. These days, for skype, I typically just use the web version, as it's "good enough" for my needs, but none of them are really great anymore. I've worked in one office that had Skype (for business) properly integrated, and it was very nice. But, like so many other things, they couldn't just fix bugs, and make sure to keep it working on new OS versions.

stryk 9y ago

What reliable alternatives would you suggest?

baldfat 9y ago
This will sound crazy but with the Discord or Twitch App are rock solid, but they are gamer focus and also they are electron apps (I have mostly positive experience with electron apps myself, VS Code and RStudio). I do like mumble and ran my own server for years, but client wise it is not as easy.
- Filligree 9y ago
  I use Discord for all sorts of things, not just games. What features do you find it's missing that would be useful?
  - half-kh-hacker 9y ago
    The main complaints that I have seen are with video calling and screen-sharing. These should be added soon™, though.
    - Filligree 9y ago
      Ah, fair enough. That's what I've been using Hangouts for, and I don't think it'll change, but more competition is always welcome.
- RUG3Y 9y ago
  I was introduced to the Twitch app through some gaming friends and I was surprised at how solid it is. It's actually really good.
- kuon 9y ago
  Did you try riot.im ?
  - baldfat 9y ago
    That UI. I rather just use my IRC with Weechat on Freenode
    - mynewtb 9y ago
      You can choose from a whole catalog of alternative clients.
derjames 9y ago
Ekiga
pgaddict 9y ago
That very much depends on what are your requirements. If you need all the stuff skype supported originally - chat, voice, video, screen sharing etc. then I don't have a solution I'm afraid, particularly if you need support for various operating systems. What we need for the internal communication (within the company) is a simple IM, integrated with ticketing system (a bunch of generic rooms, per-ticket rooms, linking from tickets, ...). We're pretty much set on using Mattermost for that, which has the advantage of being self-hosted. For voice (typically group calls with other engineers) we'll probably stick with Skype for now (I the Android app on my phone for that). For meetings with customers we usually use a regular service with dial-in anyway. We don't do video, and I don't think I've needed screen sharing in the last few years.
- problems 9y ago
  For voice I can highly recommend Mumble, it's trivially self-hosted too and feels well integrated on all platforms. For video though your options are definitely more limited, keep an eye on Riot, I'm not sure that it's ready yet, but when it is it will present an extremely good option. If you only need mobile, Signal does it today and is probably one of the most stable and secure products around, can't vouch for the video quality though personally.
- btym 9y ago
  >If you need all the stuff skype supported originally - chat, voice, video, screen sharing etc. then I don't have a solution I'm afraid, particularly if you need support for various operating systems. Google Hangouts.
  - eric_the_read 9y ago
    My experience with Hangouts is that the screen resolution is incredibly low for a very long time, and it's super-laggy on big updates (switching virtual desktops, etc.). While appear.in is still somewhat laggy, and occasionally requires one or more participants to quit and re-join, its screen sharing is much better.
    - 9y ago
johnnyhead 9y ago
I would recommend Wire ( https://wire.com/en/ https://wire.com/en/ ). All mobile and desktop OS and web too. In my experience it's reliable and private and the company behind it is extremely open and supportive of its users. I am not affiliated, I just like it.
AdamN 9y ago
I really like https://appear.in/ https://appear.in/ Web-based, supports notification, Slack integration, custom urls.
- marmaduke 9y ago
  WebRTC is its main drawback, some browsers e.g. Safari don't seem to support it completely.
  - erk__ 9y ago
    They announced support for WebRTC in Safari at WWDC this week
z3t4 9y ago
If you just want to talk, SIP via Asterisk (server) is OK. Most phones have built in support and there are apps (Jitsi) that works on most OS's. You can also connect it to land-line for calling those without Internet access.
jannes 9y ago
TeamSpeak https://www.teamspeak.com/ https://www.teamspeak.com/

tracker1 9y ago

For a while, I really enjoyed hangouts.. but the past 2 years, google has systematically removed or obscured features, and it's just a bit of a mess now. These days, for skype, I typically just use the web version, as it's "good enough" for my needs, but none of them are really great anymore. I've worked in one office that had Skype (for business) properly integrated, and it was very nice. But, like so many other things, they couldn't just fix bugs, and make sure to keep it working on new OS versions.