Now here's a bit of a worrying thought: What if Microsoft decided tomorrow to cease support of the Skype Linux client tomorrow?
I recently had that thought after Microsoft yet again changed their terms and conditions to give them even more rights to store and analyze transactions. Long gone are the days in which Skype stood for a secure system with end-to-end encrypted connections nobody could snoop on. From that point of view one should not use it in the first place anyway and I have reduced it's use to the bare minimum.
I'm sure I could find and use an alternative with friends that think likewise but for communication with most people that's just not an option. If I want to talk to them or see them I have to use Skype and that's unlikely to change.
So coming back to the original question what I would do if Microsoft ceased Skype Linux support? After a worrying minute I came up with the answer that I'd probably just use it on an Android tablet (or an Android smartphone) that I have with me anyway for media consumption and on which I don't have personal data. Perhaps I should even do that now as I am not really comfortable to run closed source software on my Ubuntu system in the first place.
Time to experiment with this option.
I don’t think Microsoft would throw Skype for Linux away – at least it is a service which brings them additional money.
However I’d like to hear your opinion on good alternatives for Skype. Preferably ones which can be audited for the real end-to-end encryption.
Jitsi is one possibility with jabber (through gtalk or independently) as a directory service but my experience so far is that their NAT traversal nowhere near as bullet-proof as skype.
Well, you can use Wine.