Actually, no it isn't. With a VOIP client, or any other software actually, everything comes down to the coding. Period.

Again: Gizmo video works. Googletalk video works. Why is that? Simple answer: SIP. I.E., openness. Skype is closed. Ebay owns it, not Nokia. If you want improvements, it's helpful to focus your energy at the proper party.

It is Skype's and Skype's responsibility alone to get video working on the tablets, I don't care how loud and long anyone protests to the contrary. Nokia isn't writing their code for them. Nokia provides devices, APIs, and technical specs. That's really all they are obliged to provide to any developer. Anything above that is gravy.

As for "official messages", kindly read my disclaimer, thanks.

EDIT: your claim that Skype is part of the base product simply due to bundling and/or advertisement is fatally mistaken. As long as you cling to that error, I'm wasting my time arguing. Try thinking it through, John. There is a distinction here.

And a bundled Skype experience. Therefore, they have responsibility wrt to Skype that they don't have with other 3rd party apps.

If they don't like Skype anymore, if they don't want to be responsible for customer complaints about Skype on the NIT, then they should remove that bundled installer/icon, and drop mention of Skype from their literature.

Again: the bundling is not as important as you surmise. But as long as you persist in that flawed notion, I'm done. That's a big axle.

Not to mention Skype video on Linux machines is just in beta. It'll be months to years before we see it. They have to first get it working completly on Linux before running it on Linux internet tablets is even considered.

Bingo.

And I wish I could comment in more detail on what a ___ _____ it was to ___________ bundle Skype with the tablets in the first place, but I still like my job.

As far as i can remember..... Gizmo(link) was also included in os2008.

Indeed in communications it clearly says gizmo video and Im.

Better get your basics right before arguing.

You know..just releasing a H.323 client would solve so much if this...yeah, I know SIP is standards based too, but H.323 is all set, ready to go...hell, MS NetMeeting is friggin bundled with the most popular OS on the planet (notice I didn't say the best) and it supports H.323!

The real issues is being standards based and standards complient..a lot people try to have a goofy proprietary SIP thing going on..

AND..H.323 will do multi-point calls now (provided you call a H.323 MCU or endpoint with embedded MCU)

Wow. You're right. I don't use that sub-menu, ever, because I don't use the built in email/IM clients. I'm sorry I hadn't noticed where Gizmo was in the state of things.

So, my examples of Gizmo being compared as a non-bundled (vs Skype being bundled) application aren't valid. But I still think that my point about Skype being bundled (as opposed to the examples I gave for pidgin and clawmail) meaning that there is a higher level of obligation on Nokia's part, has merit.

But, yeah, texrat is right that the back and forth has gone past its usefulness. I'll stop beating this dead horse now.

I'm not meaning to beat the dead horse, but consider this: who does bundling truly benefit?

That's a very important question that leads to understanding of why this is MUCH more Skype's responsibility than Nokia's.

An excellent point, which I was just riding in to bellow at people. Even if Nokia were porting Skype themselves, they'd be going from the Linux version. So they would barely have gotten hold of a copy to start with right now...

But one possible solution to the whole "I have Gizmo, they have Skype" problem: Now that Skype for Linux has video, someone needs to set up Gizmo and Skype on the same machine, with clever loopback video and audio drivers. (Actually, the audio could just be a loopback cable, that won't do it for video though.) Gizmo to that, which Skypes to $SKYPE_ADDICT. Cumbersome, but maybe, eventually workable.