At 16 May 2008 04:28:02 +0000 Larry wrote:

> I'm just curious and this isn't any kind of jab, but why are you so anti-
> Skype, which is 95% free? You come across as really hating it for some
> reason. I always find it hard to trash free stuff....


I'm not anti-Skype. As I've said, I use it for certain things- video calls
to the kids when I or my wife travel, for VoIP calls on "VoIP-hostile" WiFi
networks (due to it's ability o sniff out open ports) etc.

I _AM_, however, anti-Fanboy. Replace "Skype" with "iPhone" an your posts
read just like Oxford's or Vic's. Skype is a useful enough tool, but
you've "suggested" it many times where it simply doesn't apply to the
situation. If someone asks about a cheap cellphone plan, you suggest Skype
on a portable device- if someone specifically asks about a competing service,
you suggest they use Skype instead. I swear if someone posted they were
hungry, you'd suggest they grab two slices of bread with a thick slab of
Skype in the middle.

You're so very quick to point out the flaws in "sellphone" plans, or tell
all of us how overpriced something is- until it's Skype. If someone points
out that the they're the ONLY VoIP with a "connection fee," you'll tell us
it's "only four cents" and wander off into a Cute Story (tm) about how you
and a goat-herding friend in Outer Mongolia chatted for two hours yesterday
for free. If a cellphone company added a four-cent connection fee to any
calls, however, you'd be calling for the CEO's head on a pike!

Point out that international calls are 40-50% higher on Skype vs. other
VoIPs, you'll say how cheap they are vs. AT&T, yet when someone ELSE points
out Vonage or whoever is cheaper than AT&T you'll tell them how Skype is
only $x/month vs. Vonage's $y.



So, do I hate Skype? Not at all- on the plus side, Skype's free services
are fine, and the software works well, and their unlimited plans are
reasonably priced.

On the downside, their international rates are higher than their competitors,
often higher than just using a calling card or dial-around service. Their
system is non-standard, requiring either a PC to run, a proprietary phone,
or their software to be installed on a portable device. They aren't E911-
compliant (and I STILL haven't figured out how they offer US phone numbers
without being forced to be E911 compliant.)

So, for example, when I said Skype is unsuitable (for me) for landline
replacement because it can't run on my RJ-11 jacks without a PC running
24/7 and because it lacked E911, you gave the typical Oxford-like Fanboy
response- shove your favorite product/service down my throat anyway, and
tell me to ignore it's shortcomings I specifically objected to (i.e. don't
use my home wiring/home phones, and who needs 911 anyway when you already
have cellphones, etc.)

Does that answer your question?

Well, time for breakfast. Should I have my Skype poached, fried or
scrambled, Lar?