Filed under: Freeware
Gizmo Project hits 1.0
If I had to name my favorite VoIP client (that's Voice over IP) I would have to give the nod to Project Gizmo. I have only used it a few times but each time I have had the pleasure of launching this app it has impressed me with its polish and Mac-like experience and that was just the beta.Project Gizmo has just announced version 1.0 for Mac, Windows, and Linux (hear that Google? Repeat after me: cross platform is a good thing). One of the new features is a promise to integrate Google Talk into Gizmo, though details are unclear exactly how they are going to do that (just a simple Jabber implementation, or something more robust).
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mike said 6:54AM on 8-25-2005
I entirely fail to see how the app is at all Mac-like. It uses completely non standard widgets, it uses the Zoom button in a very strange way, it's frankly pretty damned ugly, and - the big one for me - you can't actually close the window without logging out of the service.
Compare it to Skype, and, well, there's no comparison. Skype's interface is very Mac-like in my eyes, it's attractive, it's been well thought through, and crucially, it keeps things simple. Everything you need to make a call is there in the main window, unlike Gizmo where you even need to bring out a drawer to access the keypad.
Put it this way, there's only one green icon for internet telephony in my dock, and it's emblazoned with a big S. I can't see that changing any time soon.
Reply
brian said 1:07PM on 8-25-2005
You can only take a half-point off for the zoom button--it's strange, period. Panther's own help only says of it "Click the rightmost button to expand or contract the window"--no rhyme or reason given, and it's not an obvious binary thing like "open or closed" or "minimized or not." Does iTunes lose points for using the green button to switch to a different *view* of the app *and* re-arranging the buttons from horizontal to vertical?
Truth be told, I haven't used Gizmo, so I don't know what it does with everyone's favorite little green dot, but I've thought the zoom button was badly implemented since OS 7. Out of all the great things in the old OS that got dropped in the transition to OS X, I was sad to see this always-unpredictable feature remain. I've even got a video of it cycling among THREE sizes here:
http://apple.newbox.org/pics/zoom640.mov
So, really, I have nothing worthwhile to contribute here. I just think the zoom button is dumb.
Reply
Brady J. Frey said 12:27PM on 8-31-2005
I used them both -- and while I liked skype, I LOVE Gizmo -- it gives me power features that Skype lacks.
Besides, who in the hell would lovingly support Skype, when we all know it's going the route of Google -- put out a lot of PC user additions, then update the mac/linux version a long time later.
I would rather support a company that puts us all first, I'm the one spending the money aren't I? They get my support, and my praise for it's Open Source solution.
Reply