well, enough people use proprietary software *now* - but there's still choice ... in fact, a big reason why people would use proprietary software over open-source is because there *is no choice* the thing with skype is, there is no free alternative (the ones mentioned in this thread are useless in any context i've tried them in) ... so anyone with programming skills who thinks we shouldn't be using this software should be writing an open-source alternative ... there is no point having a discussion on whether one should be using open or proprietary software (the answer is bleeding obvious) when clearly such a choice is not available in this case. it's really stupid to expect people to forgo doing something *just because* there is not a free alternative. i mean, i'd write an open-source application that did what skype does if i knew how to program - but i don't, so i'll keep using skype till someone does. shayne