I have installed Skype but, despite the recent updates, it still seems to have bugs. Anyway, I am looking for an alternative for it, and I saw from internet that there are plenty of Open Source alternatives to Skype: Ekiga, Linphone. Blink, Jitsi, Empathy so on.

Anyway, I did not installed and tried any of those, except for Empathy which looks promising but it was a big disappointment to me and I will unistall it.

So, the idea is: What other app should I use in order to keep contact with my Skype friends? I don't wont to install, let's say, Ekiga, and then ask my friends to create IDs on Ekiga. I don't think is polite from my part to ask/force people to change their software just because it doesn't fit my taste.

As a Windows user, I did used Yahoo Messenger and Gtalk app. Now, when I'm on Linux, I use Pidgin to chat with my friends from both these accounts. Well, I need something like Pidgin, but for Skype. I need an app which I can use with my Skype ID and I can add my Skype friends to it, without having to ask them to join the new app. In extremis, I am willing to create an ID for the new app, but I still need to add my Skype friends to it in the conditions mentioned above.

Is there any such app where I can import my Skype friends (just like I did with my YM and Gtalk friends in Pidgin)?