[kwlug-disc] Cross platform, cross-protocol messaging client

[B.S.]

If Skype is in the mix, no way around needing multiple applications.

Confusion isn't just different iterations of gtalk -> hangouts, it's 
different availability by platform. e.g. voice / chat inconsistently 
implemented across platforms (e.g. gmail), gtalk only no hangouts on bb 
(iirc), I forget which or both for iPhone, ...

Cranky, you may be as well off looking at voip with jabber/chat 
facilities as pidgin or anything else - if you have to change, may as 
well change to the most functionality possible for fewer apps to master. 
Skype is unavoidable. With time you can move people over (if you have 
VoIP {something} VoIP clients can call you free - they don't need their 
own VoIP service or anything), but you'll never get 100% success. 
Linphone and Ekiga come to mind.

Reading between the lines, you have a high Skype WAF, and I doubt you'll 
ever move her off. As a result, she'll probably add more people to it 
for chat before you'll get her to migrate to something else. (For her it 
ain't broken, doesn't need fixing .. ?)

Good luck! We feel your pain.


On 12/04/2014 08:37 PM, Nick Guenther wrote:
> I've had mixed results with this. It seems that at least if the other
> end is using the old style gtalk web client, I can still add people.
> The confusion probably comes because gmail end-user types probably
> don't notice if they're on Hangouts, old web gtalk, or Windows
> GTalk.
>
> On December 4, 2014 2:12:02 PM EST, Jason Locklin
> <locklin.jason at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Skype is a complete black box. Libpurple, and the various clients
>> that use it (like Pidgin, Adium, Bitlbee, etc) can pretend to have
>> Skype text chat functionality by running Skype in the background
>> and accessing the friend list and chats via an API.
>>
>> Google has also been transitioning away from XMPP/Jabber with
>> their Hangouts. The Jabber interface for the 1-on-1 chat in Gmail
>> is still available, but who knows for how long, and, from what I
>> understand, adding new people now to your friend list may not be
>> possible.
>>
>>
>>
>> On 14-12-04 12:18 PM, Khalid Baheyeldin wrote:
>>> You can interface with Google Talk through many clients, but you
>>> will not have Hangout video/audio capabilities.
>>>
>>> Skype is a proprietary protocol and to my knowledge was never
>>> fully supported for voice on any of the open clients.
>>>
>>> Since the other parties you are connecting to are already on
>>> these services, alternative protocols are seldom an option.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, Dec 4, 2014 at 12:06 PM, CrankyOldBugger
>>> <crankyoldbugger at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> Does anyone out there know of a good cross-platform (Linux,
>>>> Windows
>> and
>>>> Android) messaging client that can import and handle Skype,
>>>> Google Talk/Hangouts, and IRC friends lists?  As it sits, I
>>>> have at least
>> three
>>>> different messaging clients running at any one time, I'd like
>>>> to
>> roll them
>>>> all into one app if possible...
>>>>
>>>> I've used Pidgin before but I found the Skype addons a bit
>>>> flaky..