[HacktionLab] Open Source / federated VOIP?

[nmd at riseup.net]

Hi,
I was just wondering what other list members thoughts were on the
current 
state of open source Voice over IP software?

I've tried the range of user end software that are available for this on
linux 
for SIP or XMPP (through the debian /ubuntu repositories) as well as
some of 
the clients that are available for android (through F-droid) - ekiga,
empathy, 
telepathy,pidgin; lumicall, csipsimple, etc... with very little success.
I 
think I managed to get an audio call working only once with my brother,
which 
was an empathy - empathy or empathy - pidgin connection I think). My
brother 
says he's had some success using Pidgin with riseup.net and XMPP.

Have also tried several servers: riseup.net and jabber.org for xmpp, and

ostel.co (guardian project) and ekiga.net for SIP; haven't been
particularly 
systematic in testing these but still little success.

I'm not particularly techie (though maybe more than most of the public)
and 
haven't really been able to fiddle a lot round with settings as I don't 
particularly understand them. However, I get the impression that despite
these 
manuals suggesting fairly simple set up, these technologies are not
really 
ready for general use. Secure video and audio calls are an important
method of 
communication, and ideally there would be some protocols and clients
that work 
satisfactorily out of the box, and that I would feel able to recommend
to 
others, with less knowledge or interest in setting up these things. It
seems 
to me currently that if such protocols and cleints exist, I haven't
found 
them, and so currrently can't recommend anything to 'beginners'. Perhaps
there 
are others I haven't tried, or I have just been particularly
unfortunate?

Has anyone had more positive experiences of using SIP/ XMPP? What, if 
anything, would you recommend for people with less technological
ability, or 
commitment, to try?

Cheers,
Nick
 
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