Fring, Skype, Cowards and Liars It seems like open networks shouldn't be this difficult... Tipped by ThrowDemsOut 
Last week a company named Fring offered a spiffy new app that allowed users to make video calls over 3G to any Fring or Skype user -- using the Skype network. Unfortunately the fun didn't last long, as Fring quickly posted to their blog that Skype had blocked their service from working because Skype is a bunch of "cowards" who are "afraid of open mobile communication." Skype fired back in a blog post of their own saying that Fring was lying, and that the company was "using Skype software in a way it wasn’t designed to be used" – and violating Skype’s API Terms of Use and End User License Agreement in the process. Some portion of said terms are likely tied to Skype's cozy new relationship with carriers, crafted to protect unprepared 3G networks from video chat (and lumbering monopolies from things like the death of the voice minute). Isn't the new, open mobile ecosystem great?
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 | | lol looks like business people don't get what "open" means. | |
|  | NyNexit
join:2009-11-01
Huntington, NY | Re: lol since when has business ever been open (without gov't regs)? lol esp in the world of telecom. | |
| | | | | Re: lol ah so its just a completely foreign concept. | |
| | | | duranr
join:2006-10-14
Leonia, NJ | Re: lol It's not a foreign concept. "Open" in business-speak is an intentionally vague term. It may mean that they are "Open" to considering a partnership (where money changes hands) or that something (like a software, api) is Open in the sense, that it's published somewhere and to see it, money must change hands.
Or it could mean that they're open for business.
Get it now? | |
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| iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO
kudos:2 | Fring should switch to Google's video chat protocol  | |
| | | | | |  ThrowDemsOutIf you can't convince 'em, confuse 'emPremium
join:2002-03-03
Mullica Hill, NJ
kudos:4 | said by iansltx:Fring should switch to Google's video chat protocol Fring supports many different protocols, including Google. It is just that Skype won't be among them.
But Skype was a big deal because it is one of the only ones supported on iPhone 4.
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Are you happy with your rep in Washington, DC? | |
| | | | iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO
kudos:2 | Re: lol Google Talk isn't supported for video calls, or wasn't when I tried the software recently. | |
| | | | | | | | | | | iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO
kudos:2 | Re: lol Sorry, I meant on Fring. I've used the GTalk video chat service via GMail several times and it's been rock solid. | |
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ThrowDemsOutIf you can't convince 'em, confuse 'emPremium
join:2002-03-03
Mullica Hill, NJ
kudos:4
1 edit |  Apple, AT&T cripple Facetime competitor
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Are you happy with your rep in Washington, DC? | |
| |  AlcoholPremium
join:2003-05-26
Climax, MI
kudos:3 | Re: Apple, AT&T cripple Facetime competitor ATT knows their network can't handle 3g video calling. The network is already crippled.
Pretty sad, since 3g video calling has been around for years.
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I found the key to success but somebody changed the lock. | |
| | | | | Re: Apple, AT&T cripple Facetime competitor said by Alcohol:ATT knows their network can't handle 3g video calling. The network is already crippled. Pretty sad, since 3g video calling has been around for years. And its funny because it costs a premium, yet if I bought it they only person who I could video call is myself :\. | |
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| | Maybe the EU will help The EU wants open standards. Maybe they will require skype to document their protocol?
- 2.2. Interoperability and standards
We need effective interoperability between IT products and services to build a truly digital society.
The internet is the best example of the power of technical interoperability . Its open architecture gave interoperable devices and applications to billions around the world. But to reap the full benefits of ICT deployment interoperability between devices, applications, data repositories, services and networks must be further enhanced.
•»eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/Lex···5:EN:NOT | |
| zolcos
join:2010-05-19
Houghton, MI
1 edit | Fring was great This is the most upsetting news I've seen here in a while, albeit not very surprising. I've been using Fring since way before this new feature -- the selling point for me was that with a cheapo Skype subscription (and Fring's free app) I could have unlimited voice calls to and from landlines, using my smartphone, that only go over my WiFi. I didn't even need a SIM card, thereby avoiding the need for expensive things like voice minutes or a wireless data plan.
On one hand, it kills me that the introduction of a feature I didn't even have a use for is the reason my phone now doesn't work. On the other, Fring was just innovating, and Skype has a history of being evil, especially since their relationship with eBay. (Funny how "innovation" is often used as a magical defense for evil rather than something to be demonized.)
The kicker for Skype is that unless this decision is reversed, I'll have no reason to continue my Skype subscription. This isn't just a halfhearted "disgruntled customer" situation -- Skype really is useless to me now. Part of me is glad to be forced into an alternative due to the fact that I've lost so much information because of their shoddy unreliable voicemail system, but the other part raises an important question:
Is there another cheap, unlimited (or practically so), landline-capable VoIP service with an S60 client? If not, I guess I'm SOL. | |
| | psikic
join:2009-03-29
Conway, AR | Re: Fring was great I am in a smiliar situation. I was just about to subscribe to SkypeOut so I could use Fring over Wifi to call landlines while I am out of the country. I will not buy a subscription now.
Blocking fring == lost revenue for Skype. | |
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 AVDRespice, Adspice, ProspicePremium
join:2003-02-06
Onion, NJ | openSKY(pe) does this affect openSKY specifically as it operated on gizmo5?
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standard disclaimers apply. | |
| | | fring out, nimbuzz in I have tried nimbuzz on android to make wifi calls using my skype account. so far it is working. i wonder for how long after seeing this. | |
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