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KiaoraCD-008 is done. It was done last weekend, but I forgot in the rush of preparing for SoftwareFreedomDay which is tomorrow. The photos will be posted on the SoftwareFreedomDay website. The full set will be in my photos as well.
I've been convinced to keep doing KiaoraCD and am currently building the next version which will be named kiaora-010 if I manage to integrate the k-meleon cd browser, or kiaora-008 if I don't! I'm going to try and push it out a week before SFD so chance are I won't have time for new artwork or screenshots, but I have improved many of the program descriptions and added quite a lot of software. Unlike previous kiaora CD's this one will not contain full sources but will have an offer of source instead; I have reached the point where there was no room for new programs and the sources which very few people will ever use took up more than 2/3 of the CD.
Enough rant. I'd better get on with it if I'm going to make the Sept16 deadline!!
Perhaps, or perhaps not. The future of the kiaora project is still undecided. I want to kill it. Several people think it should continue.
I recently wrote a short article comparing SIP and Skype for the Hamilton Computer Club, but due to a misunderstanding my rough draft was published instead of the final article, so I think I'll post the final article here instead.
It seems almost everybody has heard of Skype but not as many people know about the more flexible alternative, SIP. Here's a comparison and a short list of Links to SIP-based equipment, software, and service providers. All of these products are compatable with Windows and Linux, most probably also work with Mac.
Skype uses a peer-to-peer design to get around some types of firewall. The practical result of this is that if you have a good connection your computer will occasionally (perhaps even frequently) pass traffic for other users who are not able to connect directly to each other. This happens any time skype is running, even if you think it's only waiting for a call, and if you're paying per megabyte this can end up being quite expensive. SIP is able to pass calls through your SIP provider's servers if necessary to get around particularly restrictive firewalls, but this is only a last resort. SIP calls never get routed through other SIP users and if your firewall is properly configured all calls should connect directly from one user to the other giving you the best possible connection.
Skype also uses encryption, while SIP is unencrypted. Many people cite encryption as a 'must have' feature of Skype but there are arguements for both sides. Skype occasionally gets passed through other end-user's computers while SIP travels more directly, so encryption is essential to Skype and probably not as important in SIP. Don't forget that the ordinary phone system, email, and almost all web traffic is unencrypted. And if encryption is really important to you there are still ways to 'tunnel' SIP over a virtual private network so it will be encrypted.
Skype is a closed standard. Only Skype (or companies that have agreements with Skype) can make Skype-compatable software and hardware so the range of equipment available is quite limited. And if you buy a standalone Skype phone you can only use it through Skype. SIP is an Open standard, there is already a wide range of equipment and software that uses the SIP protocol. You can reconfigure any of the SIP hardware to connect to any of the SIP-based service providers, and in most cases you can also reconfigure any of the software phones to use a different service (although a few softphones, like Gizmo, are locked to their own provider)