Finding possible replacements for Skype

Question

I currently use Skype to do video chats with folks that I know across the world, but I've been finding that its performance has been pretty horrible. Dropped connections, horrible video performance, etc etc.. and after narrowing it down, I've determine that for whatever reason Skype's version 5 just isn't liking the computers that myself and others use.

So I was wondering if there are any other video chat programs out there that would be a step up. I've tried others such as MSN and Yahoo but they're not that great quality wise, and don't allow folks that are using Linux to join in. So anything that would work with Windows XP or newer and Linux, and be a step up in reliability would be welcomed.

Answer 1

If you want a web app then you might want to try tinychat. It supports audio and video calls and you don't need to install anything.

Answer 2

We had the exact same problem at the office when going for Skype 5. After some weeks, we all downgraded to Skype 4, which you can still found here and there on the Internet.
You will then still be able to connect to your Skype-friends. You won't have the possibility to do multiple video-calls at the same time (which you will have to pay for anyway) but if you don't use this, you won't lose much and gain a lot on a resource utilization point of view.

Answer 3

Google Chat can do video. It's one-to-one, however; no group video.