I’ve always had a difficult time with Skype. Sure, it is a fine service if you use it frequently. However I began losing interest as I kept forgetting my needed login information. See, if you purchase Skype-In minutes but then forget your Skype login info, you are out of luck. If you do not remember what you used for the username, there is no recovering your lost info. Very convenient — NOT.

Then there is the ease-dropping routine that took place with a company eBay (Skype’s parent company) has opted to do business with in China. The joint venture, known as Tom-Skype, has a history of logging what the Chinese government might deem as “politically sensitive” natured communications. Speaking for myself, that alone made me rethink my use of anything relating to Skype. It may not affect me here in the states, but to be totally honest, if eBay is feeling this fancy free with the privacy of its users, I will spend my time and money elsewhere.

So discovering today that Skype is seeing an increased usership did nothing to excite me personally. As a user of the open source program known as Ekiga, I have begun the switch to VoIP in a much safer way than trusting Skype is not going to bundle its services with something like it did in China. Considering I am not using the app to call other Ekiga users, it has been a good fit for me. As a household that has not bothered with a landline in a very long time, Ekiga is looking to be a great supplement to my ever-growing mobile phone plan. Not a replacement mind you, but a nice backup to be sure.

Truth be told, I do not think I could go back to a landline anytime soon. You simply become used to being tethered to your mobile to the point where trying to juggle yet another phone does not seem all that practical.

What, say you? Are you a Skype user? If you are and have some thoughts on where you see Skype among other VoIP services as people continue to cut back, hit the comments and share your thoughts. Perhaps you believe it can even replace that trusty old landline?