My girlfriend ex-girlfriend complained because we both bought a webcam
(Logitech e350,
cheap and runs well on GNU/Linux), and we're not using them: time to find the right software!
Constraints
- She's got a low-end laptop (Thinkpad X21)
- She likes fancies interfaces
- We're both using Debian-derivatives
- I like crypto
- I like Free softwares
Rejected candidates
- Instabird, Psi and Kopete do not support video.
- Ekiga, Empathy and Pidgin do not support encryption.
- Skype, Trillian and Google Talk are proprietary.
- I do not trust Gajim at all.
- mplayer + gpg + nc is not fancy.
So we decided to give a try to Jitsi.
Jitsi
Positives points
- No funky installation process
- No cryptic mandatory configuration wizard
- No exotics dependencies
- No goats sacrifices and voodoo magic to get the webcam recognized
- Clear interface, straightforward to use
- Opportunistic encryption (Can also be forced, of course)
- Multi-platform
Negatives points
The only real annoyance is the 1990's looking interface (thank you Java).
Usage
- Download and install it
- Add/create an XMPP account
- Add/import some contacts
- That's it: you are using OTR for the chat, and ZRTP for audio and video, by default!
Conclusion
In less than 15 minutes, I was having an encrypted videocall with a non-technical (but still loved) person: this is impressive.