I have used Skype for video calling since before it was bought by Microsoft. At the time it was the most widely used video calling service that had a Linux client. Since that time the Linux client has been neglected: the 32-bit-only Linux client is v4.3.0.37, while the 64-bit Mac client is v7.33.306. The Linux client lacks several key capabilities, such as group video calling. Ironically I like the user interface on Linux better than either the Windows or Mac clients. As I write this Microsoft has announced that they are working on a major upgrade to the Linux client. That client is in Alpha development stage right now and the video calling capability has not yet been added. It looks as if Linux will always be a secondary platform (at best) for any Microsoft development.
So I have been looking into possible alternatives for cross platform video calling. Since I already had a Google account, Google Hangouts is an acceptable alternative and in some ways better than Skype and allows group video calls. Hangouts does not have a native client for desktop systems, it is web based and will run on anything that can run Google Chrome (or other modern browsers). There are native clients for iOS and Android. The wide adoption of Hangouts is probably second only to Skype. Most of the people that I video call already have GMail accounts, so that removes one barrier: no new account ID an password to keep track of.
One aspect of video calling that is important to me is privacy. In this regard Skype is a loser, as demonstrated in this Ars Technica story.
Hangouts is probably better, but I really don't know how far to trust Google. So far the benefits outweigh the risks, but I would prefer a system that is more secure. This led me to investigate Wire.com.
Wire.com was started by some of the founders of the original Skype project, before it was sold ultimately to Microsoft. It's primary goals were to establish secure communications: instant messaging, audio and video calling, and file transfer. Wire is cross-platform, it runs natively on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android plus it has a web-based client that runs on modern browsers including those on Linux. Strong, open-source, end-to-end encryption is used with all Wire's protocols. You can read all about it in their "Wired Security Whitepaper".
Oh yeah, another important feature of Wire is that their servers are hosted in Switzerland, where the laws favor the protection of privacy. They take pains in their operation to preserve your privacy, spelled out in their "Wire Privacy Whitepaper".
While the Wire web client's navigation is not what I could wish, I was able to get everything to work without too much trouble. One thing that is missing from Wire that both Skype and Hangouts have is a "presence" indicator for your contacts. You can't tell when any of your contacts are actually on-line. I suspect that has something to do with maintaining privacy, but it means that you may have to arrange a time in which you and your contacts will be on-line and ready to receive calls. Or you can just try ringing them in Wire; like what we used to do when the best form of communication was a telephone call. I have yet to try out group calling, but that is something supported with Wire.
So now I have two useful, up-to-date, alternatives to Skype: Google Hangouts and Wire. Since both have web clients, I can even use them on my Chromebook as well as my Linux Mint desktop. Skype has never been available to Chromebook users, though their Linux client, once fully operational, might allow them to incorporate Linux support into their web service, allowing the Linux-based ChromeOS to finally use Skype (fingers crossed, but I'm not holding my breath).
Now to convince my Skype correspondents to use Wire or Hangouts, or both.
Update (12 Oct. 2016)
Wire.com has just released a beta version of a Linux desktop client app. On Mint it is installed from a .deb file and works pretty well. One quirk: it identifies itself as "Wire for Windows", but it is identified also as running on a Linux desktop. The version number is "newer" than the Mac desktop client (v2.11.2661 vs. v2.10.2652).
