Re: [dev] [proposal] Suckless Tox-Client as a Skype replacement

From: FRIGN <dev_AT_frign.de>
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2014 12:56:00 +0100

On Mon, 24 Mar 2014 12:36:36 +0100
stanio_AT_cs.tu-berlin.de wrote:

> In general, the XMPP + SIP solution makes sense to me. And since XMPP
> will be around for some time, I guess, it does not require people to get
> yet another account, i.e. it has the potential to be easily adopted

Still, XMPP is a centralized protocol-system and that's what makes it
unusable for me.
Even the Skype-network is barely centralized with most of the
transmissions taking place over the supernodes, and there are good
reasons why a big set of servers for your communication needs is a
critical detail.
Adding SIP on top of it is just an additional rise in complexity.

Discussing these things we really need to put in regard the ordinary
user, who would have big troubles setting up XMPP+SIP (hell, it doesn't
stop at SIP for VoIP!), whereas a solution like tox-core makes it dead
simple to get started (not even a registration is needed).

---
To establish a new solution in an already saturated environment (i.e.
Skype), it has to bring in obvious advantages for the normal user,
or else it is deemed to fail.
---
XMPP+SIP brings the privacy we all want, but most people don't care
about privacy, they care about familiarity and comfort.
Skype is very strong in regard to breaking firewalls, using a variant
of the STUN-protocol. Thus, bringing in STUN to make SIP easy to set up
is a good thing, but not something you would be able to declare as an
advantage over Skype.
The big advantage of the Tox network, as mentioned above, is that no
registration is necessary, which is an advantage easily noticed by
ordinary users.
On the technical side, you don't need extensions for XMPP (libjingle)
or separate protocols (SIP) to build up VoIP- or MoIP-connections
(being integrated into one protocol), dramatically decreasing the
number of possible attack-vectors because tox-core's developers are
able to integrate such solutions very well knowing what's used in the
first place.
Regarding hole punching, read my other mail.
Cheers
FRIGN
-- 
FRIGN <dev_AT_frign.de>

Received on Mon Mar 24 2014 - 12:56:00 CET