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<p style=" margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;">It took the WPLUG Board of Directors a little while to decide how to hold our monthly meeting earlier this week. We'd prefer to avoid using proprietary services like Google+ Hangouts and Skype, but IRC isn't always conductive to discussion because people type at different rates and it isn't always obvious when someone is done talking.</p>
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<p style=" margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;">We ended up having the meeting over a conference call. It was nice, but then I got to thinking - we can't be the only ones who have faced such a situation! Not everybody has access to free conference calling, and even if you do, I doubt it's private.</p>
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<p style=" margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;">Thanks to prism-break.org, I found out about an open source voice chat program called <a href="http://mumble.sourceforge.net/"><span style=" text-decoration: underline; color:#0057ae;">Mumble</span></a>. Although mainly designed for gamers who need a low-latency chat protocol, Mumble is entirely suitable for general voice chat thanks to its use of the high-quality (and open/royalty-free!) CELT audio codec and <span style=" font-style:italic;">end-to-end encryption</span>. Clients are available for Windows, OS X, Linux, iOS, and Android.</p>
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<p style=" margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;">The way I see it, we'd operate Mumble as a service for WPLUG members and allow them to invite guests. I admit we probably don't <span style=" font-style:italic;">need</span> this, but it might be fun to try since we're still sitting on a truckload of unused bandwidth. </p>
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<p style=" margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;">Is this something you'd use?</p>
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<p style=" margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;">--</p>
<p style=" margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;"><span style=" font-weight:600;">Justin S. Smith</span></p>
<p style=" margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;"><span style=" color:#808080;">Vice chair/secretary, WPLUG Board of Directors</span></p>
<p style=" margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;"><a href="http://www.wplug.org"><span style=" text-decoration: underline; color:#0057ae;">http://www.wplug.org</span></a> </p>
<p style="-qt-paragraph-type:empty; margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; "> </p>
<p style=" margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;"><span style=" font-style:italic; color:#808080;">"Isn't it ironic that the proprietary software developers call us communists? We are the ones who have provided for a free market, where they allow only monopoly."</span></p>
<p style=" margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; -qt-block-indent:0; text-indent:0px; -qt-user-state:0;"><span style=" color:#808080;">-Richard Stallman</span></p></body></html>