Skype Client XMPP Support for Facebook

Skype released a beta version for Windows with support for Facebook Chat. They are doing it through XMPP directly from Skype BETA Client.

Packet Trace with the proof that Skype Client now connects to Facebook using XMPP.

Once again XMPP moves forward in becoming the universal bus for 'realtime' communications.
Companies that are not understanding the importance of being 'realtime' will soon realize that their time is gone.

Hopefully in the future we also have support for other open alternatives for Audio/Video Communications on Skype like Jingle and Jingle Nodes. Like Google did adopting the Standard Jingle.

XBox Skype 3D Video Call Support

Right after Skype acquisition by Microsoft, I already have sources talking about Skype native support on XBox 360. That will be great as it is quite handy, well positioned camera in millions of living rooms around the world.
Besides the comfort of having Video Calls sitting in your couch, you also need to expand the possibilities of the experience, as XBox Kinect Camera has much more than just lens. It is equipped with:

• Multi-Array Mic
• Dynamic Motorized Tilt
• 3D Depth Sensors

Put it all together and the result will be an awesome:

Video Call with 3D support

If Microsoft is smart enough to foresee all those possibilities, they have a great and vast ground to explore with Skype.

2011 OpenSource Stuff

A lot of things going on at the same time, and also a lot of work to be done. So brief post with updates I consider important for OpenSource, XMPP and VoIP.

Some announcements worth mentioning:

• Cisco Launches All-In-One XMPP Solution for Messaging/Presence/Voice
• Openfire 3.7.0 Released - Including Full Support for Jingle Nodes
• Skype Open Codec OPUS started to get robust
• VUC - Interesting Weekly Conference Call with VoIP Gurus
• SIP Communicator Fully Supports Jingle and Jingle Nodes and now it is called "Jitsi"

Skype Down, the Closed P2P Issue

You may be wondering why Skype is Down if it is a P2P network. That is not hard to answer, it is a closed P2P Network which the Fallback Servers and Main Nodes are entirely dependent on Skype itself. So if something goes wrong with them, there is no real fallback like you would have in a distributed regular P2P network like BitTorrent, UseNet or Jingle Nodes.
The main issue is that only Users from within Skype can share the Routes, but not users on different Networks and Domains like you can do with Jingle Nodes.
Skype official response was that they were creating "mega-super-nodes"? I don't know what does that mean, but I'm sure it still have same single point of failure of the current system. Until Skype don't come up with a Federated System, where providers, services and users can share Routes, they will always suffer from outages. And of course the most affected are the users and business that depends directly on them. Nearly 20 Million Users are suffering from the outage.

Open Standard Free alternatives that can provide reliability and superior quality:

Clients with Jingle Nodes Support:
* Nimbuzz (Mobile and Desktop)
* SIP Communicator (Jitsi) (Desktop)
* OneTeam (Desktop)

Services with Jingle Nodes Support:
* Nimbuzz (Free)
* Talkr.im (Free)

Don't wait for Skype to come up with "hyper-ultra-mega-super-nodes" to migrate to reliable software.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Skype have closed one more third-party this week. Nimbuzz announced that, like Fring, they were forced by Skype to stop supporting it in their Clients.
It is even more evident now, that the good signs about Skype Openness we saw beginning last year are completely flushed now, probably due their eagerness of pursuing an IPO and new management.
Although, what they did not count is the bad impact in their own user base and public image effects of such blocks. It proves once more that companies should not rely on Skype as something solid to build product features. Not only that, according to Skype, third-party MUST not build product features based on their services.
Skype also claim they have an API. Really? Not exactly, they have a Client SDK/API. And why it matters, is that if a client or device want to make use of it, they need to have exclusive granted privileges for a black box piece of software to be embedded and shipped within your product. Yes, if you want to support Skype, you need to build your product on top of that, and also make sure the product is exclusively Skype friendly. If that wasn't enough they also say that they do not guarantee for how long the piece of software will be valid.
Skype wants to do what AOL did, trying to force their users to install their Software and only use their own Browser/Client to access Internet. 
The Bad.


SIP is widely adopted worldwide specially among technical people, geeks and behind the curtains, even used as base landlines telephony like in Netherlands.

• The interoperability is something achievable theoretically, meaning that several different SIP Clients can talk to each other
• SIP release the Telecom from the "Dark Ages" to the "Modern Times", showing that Telephony could be done using IP and good software
• Vast majority of Communication equipments and platforms have support for it.
• It enabled the possibility to create huge portfolios of Value aggregated Services based on Legacy Telecom Centrals
• It is responsible for the cheap VoIP as we know it
• Most terminations that Skype buys, are provided via SIP
• Estimated numbers of SIP Providers worldwide is bigger than 50.000
• SIP Providers can sell termination minutes not only to end users, but also to other Providers

Although there are some not pretty facts about SIP:

• SIP Protocol is not as practical and simple as it should be by 2010
• SIP is not extensible, the current attempt of extending it (3GPP) is failing badly, taking more than 10 years of pure specifications, without any success to reach mass market. The current result is a HUGE stack of workarounds badly described and full of contradictions
• SIP Calling is great and almost straight-forward, but Messaging, Presence, Contacts and Extended Services are way too complex for current Market Status
• SIP is always backed by big corporations that tries to mystify it, trying as much as possible to postpone the life-cycle of the protocol.
• The current Market needs and demands extra features than only Calling. There is no such thing as a mass market SIP based service with extensive features like: Presence, Contacts, Whiteboard, Video, File Sharing etc.
• Apple Facetime is a frustrated attempt to use SIP for extended Video Call service ( Why frustrated? A service that works based on "trial-error" and does not have interoperability support in 2010, is a failure by default ). Apple end up implementing a half-SIP, half-XMPP, half-STUN solution. Which is completely closed for interoperability. It claims to implement it ALL, and supports NONE.
• The complexity of the protocol makes it hard and restricted to highly specialized developers, which have their jobs lifetime guaranteed, but decreases the potential mass adoption of the protocol. The Ugly. 

Skype API Available for Beta

This story was commented in this blog several times. And so far nothing significant really happened. Why Skype keep trying to fill the gaps of its solution on leafs and not in the root of the problem?

Skype understand the importance of standing as a Service provider and no longer a simple Client provider. Something that cannot be accomplished without massive adoption in different devices, platforms and software.
Although we can reflect once again about the approach that has being used by them.

• Skype API is something that will work only for Skype Network. The flexibility of the service goes immediately to the ground. So if you implement it, make sure you know you won't be to re-use the code somewhere else.
• They are claiming some openness based on an old client side SDK API model. Which dismiss all potential of the currently heavily deployed solutions like SIP, which is everywhere, from Servers, Platforms, Hardware, Gateways etc... I'm not a SIP fan, although strategically would be wiser for them.
• Skype shares bandwidth without user concerns. Would you be up to risk embedding such black box into your own application or Product?
• Most IMPORTANT! Latest Skype IPhone client mention about not being free anymore from certain date. So if you are looking forward to implement Skype, bare in mind they can actually start charging for their services or clients at some point, which may turn your "FREE" application useless.

I'm glad they are moving forward towards Openness, but I still think they have a long way until having it done properly.

Apparently they may need to speed it up since Apple announced that Facetime on IPhone 4g, will use Open Standards including SIP, STUN and ICE. Which is a mature P2P technology heavily used and deployed and of course the same as we are using on XMPP Jingle Specifications.
Open Standard P2P already won this 'battle' which Skype still persists to fight.

Why Skype UI OpenSource?

When legacy proprietary companies start all of a sudden OpenSourcing their software, a lot of questions are raised. Of course they have their own explanations for the facts, although frequently are not the whole true about the fact.
Since Skype announced their OpenSource UI, I received some email asking why would that happen and what are the reasons behind the curtains.
Here is a personal explanation based on some facts:

Background Story:

• Skype started their business in a market almost empty of competition. VoIP indeed existed, but was NOT directed to end users, neither mass market.
• OpenSource would not make sense as it usually (for big companies) takes way more time and money to build solutions on top of standards then creating your own black box with the solutions of your own problems and challenges inside. And the lack of demand for a standard format was about 99%.
• Another reason is the "secret" factor, as the first ones, they have to create all the buzz around their holly grail and of course ensure the domination.
• That is why(among other reasons) Skype made their business on top of proprietary routing algorithms and proprietary protocols and encryption.

Early VoIP Market:

• In the other hand for very small VoIP services the picture is different as they started on top of OpenSource platforms, even in a time that most of them were experimental. The reason is, the target market was massively smaller than Skype targets. And of course the money to invest was way smaller as well.
• SIP adoption was adopted in almost 99% of the rising small providers that started popping up everywhere in the world.
• Interesting fact is that most pioneer small VoIP providers started with virtual PBX system, not even SIP routers and big platforms. Basically "grow on demand" strategy was adopted as well.

Current VoIP Market Snapshot:

• VoIP is way more spread in the world since Skype started the massification. We have large number of companies building equipments, client soft-phones, VoIP platforms etc...
• We have a ridiculous huge number of VoIP providers which anther ridiculous range of different prices and quality.
• SIP is the main driver for major market. It is used on landlines in Europe and US, it is massively used in company PBX and telephony of big companies. Which are the main source of PAYED VoIP services.
• Skype is smaller in amount of users and revenue, if compared to all SIP Providers together.
• Google acquires Gizmo5 a medium VoIP provider fully operated over SIP. Yes it has direct relation.

Consequences to Skype:

• Skype ubiquity is restricted by their Desktop Client or their very limited IPhone client.
• Skype still growing the amount of Desktop users. But the amount of paying users is still and tends to get lower.
• Skype interoperability is null, as it is based on proprietary system and specifications.
• Competition makes more money and the migration from old Skype users to new VoIP alternatives is big. As educated users knows now how to change and why to change to cheaper and flexible services.
• We have more SIP enabled equipment and computers than Desktops with Skype client installed.

Skype Strategy Turn:

• OpenSource their SILK codec as already mentioned in this blog.
• Open SIP Gateway for Business Users. In order to start competing in a very profitable market slice.
• Bought the patent of their VoIP routing solutions. In order to prepare for an interoperability round.
• Aim for alternative and relatively "virgin" markets like mobile, Linux, netbooks etc:
• Release more usable mobile clients.
• OpenSource as much as possible for Linux as current client is really crap and also Linux users in general don't use closed source applications.

The Reason in Resume:
Skype wants its ubiquity and revenue back, and for that they are investing huge resources in Openness and Standardization, as it is what their market needs and demands nowadays.

In a mash-able hyper-connected world, who is closed and not interoperable will fade.