My Love Hate Relationship With Skype

Since switching to Mac I've developed a love hate relationship with Skype. When on Windows I dumped Skype completely in favor of Google Talk, but, since there is still no native version of Google Talk for Mac (that supports voice) I'm forced to use Skype. (Jabber is of no help.)

My biggest issue with Skype is how it uses my network connection and processes to route network calls. Skype is a fat, gross, selfish pig the way it abuses so many cycles! No other program has any noticeable affect on my Mac's performance.

I do love Skype's video conferencing and if it wasn't for it, I'd uninstall Skype and switch to the Gizmo Project in a heart beat. In the meantime I've removed Skype from my startups and only open it when someone first pings me via instant message and there is a need for it.