For the past few years Skype has been getting progressively worse with each iteration. Skype 5 moved away from the compact 2.X era interface to an interface that's much more wasteful and less usable. Features like videoconferencing went paid-only, and now the latest betas are integrating with Facebook and have ads.
I've been on the fence a while regarding Skype; for all its faults it still is useful, but I've gotten to the point where I don't like the direction the software is taking and I'm looking into potential replacements.
The following is a list of Skype features that I use; I'm looking for a set of software/services that will cover most of these:
- audio calling
- video calling
- audio conferencing
- video conferencing
- Mac client
- iOS client
- Windows client (for family without Macs/iOS devices)
- calling phone numbers
- call recording (I use Ecamm's CallRecorder for Skype)
There are other features, like chatting, sending files, SkypeIn, and voicemail, but the above features are the ones I need. Any suggestions?
Best Answer
At the moment, I am sticking with uninstalling "new Skype" and going back to the old Skype.
But, VBuzzer is also a very good choice. They are based on open standards and can do most of the above, including video conferencing without a download (i.e.; in browser). (No Skype-in type number though). They also have mobile applications for both iOS and Android.
Google Voice + Gchat + Google Plus hangouts is always an option as well