GNU Free Call and WebRTC are both building frameworks that stand to make Skype obsolete. Skype has been in the news a lot lately: Microsoft agreed to buy the company, their network has gone down twice recently, and they're threatening to take unspecified action against developers who try to write free software to make calls on their system.

Skype is proprietary software that allows you to make calls over the Internet using your computer. Skype uses decentralized peer-to-peer technologies, so your calls do not go through a central server, but through distributed servers and other users. It uses its own proprietary communication protocol to achieve this.

Free software is definitely going strong in some areas, especially in the server market. However, there are other areas where free software and free protocols have failed. Internet based voice and video communication is one of those areas.

Skype is a simple user friendly software available in different platforms like Linux, Windows and MacOS, which enable you to make free calls(Audio,video and conference ) over the Internet by using VoIP protocol.

Still, Linux users really want Skype, so every now and again, another story starts that Skype is going to go open-source. In the latest Skype open-source rumor, it's claimed that "We are happy to be able to inform you that Skype will from now on be part of the open source community."

Free Software developers fall into two main categories: those that stand by the principles behind free software - patent-free, license-free and unrestricted distribution and those that are simply happy to compromise to some extent, for example to download libdvdcss to watch DVDs, or to install proprietary software such as Skype, on the basis that there is simply no (or no better) alternative

Skype's attitude to Linux desktop users is frankly disturbing. Take a look at the chart of software issues for the Skype client...

Open the skype put your nick, password, give it sign up and go, you're logged into your Skype, you'll see your contacts and all that stuff, if you have balance you can use skype on your phone,

The other day I found that the latest Linux Skype client, version 2.0.0.72, does not include SMS functionality. Frustrated with Skype's treating Linux users like second-rate citizens, I resolved to see what alternatives there are to Skype. I started with Ekiga.