Skype 4.0 For Linux Now Available

An anonymous reader writes "Anyone who uses Skype on Linux will be happy to hear that a new version has been made available today, bringing with it a host of essential updates and new features. Skype 4.0, codenamed "Four Rooms for Improvement," is long overdue, and Marco Cimmino makes a point of thanking Linux users for their patience on the Skype blog. The main improvements Skype is delivering include much improved audio call quality, better video support, and improved chat synchronization. For video specifically, Skype has spent time implementing support for a much wider range of webcams, so if your camera didn't work before today you might be surprised to find it does in Skype 4.0. Visually, Skype has received a new Conversations View, which brings all chats into a single, unified window (you can revert to the old view if you prefer). There's also a new Call View, presence and emoticons have been redesigned, and you can now store and view numbers within each Skype profile."

Comments

Just in time for the Ads

[Anonymous Coward]

Just in time for the Ads

Re:Just in time for the Ads

[Anonymous Coward]

Aren't the ads only there if you want to call for free?

Re:Just in time for the Ads

[artor3]

Yes, but that doesn't matter to the sort of people who have turned hatred of a particular company into a sort of religion.

Re:Just in time for the Ads

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

Heh yeah, they'll be rolling in hundreds of click-throughs!

Re:Just in time for the Ads

[ozmanjusri]

People who have turned hatred of a particular company into a sort of religion.

The foundations of most religions are based on common sense. Some of their beliefs and activities seem ridiculous now because they're responding to events or conditions that ended centuries or millennia ago.

For many contributors here, our distaste for matters Microsoft are based on things that happened during our lifetimes, and are often still happening.

Too late, but hey, thanks for trying Microsoft

[icebike]

Years and years waiting for a decent version of skype for linux drove me to other solutions.
I no longer use skype for anything.

Still I'm utterly astounded that it took Microsoft ownership to finally pry a halfway decent and up to date version from the developers. I presume all the wiretap hooks are now in place, now that all the calls are routed thru Microsoft's servers, and the CLEA people are happy?

Re:Too late, but hey, thanks for trying Microsoft

[Hatta]

Indeed. Why skype when SIP supports video?

Re:Too late, but hey, thanks for trying Microsoft

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

However, it is entirely possible that their house counsel takes a slightly different view of their obligations under CALEA than some Swede with an LLC in Luxembourg and a p2p network...

Re:Too late, but hey, thanks for trying Microsoft

[Gadget_Guy]

Still I'm utterly astounded that it took Microsoft ownership to finally pry a halfway decent and up to date version from the developers.

I think it is interesting how Microsoft didn't get a mention at all in the summary or the article considering that the story is about them release software for Linux. And yet prior to Microsoft aquiring Skype they were directly blamed for Skype dropping other clients. It seems we only want to mention Microsoft when bad things are happening, even if it has nothing to do with them.

That said, it is interesting that the Skype website wasn't immediately rebranded with Microsoft logos. It seems MS are underplaying their ownership of this cross platform service. Perhaps they did some market research and found that their name would make users on non-Windows platforms aprehensive. You only need to look at the predictions of doom and gloom in the various Skype stories here on /. to appreciate that.

Re:Too late, but hey, thanks for trying Microsoft

[guisar]

Well under Linux many solutions such as Ekiga can accomplish this either entirely under SIP or with a bridge to other systems like XMPP. If you'd like a less technical solution, you just open an account with a provider (I use sipgate and voipcheap but there are thousands of others: http://www.moreofit.com/similar-to/www.sipgate.co.uk/Top_10_Sites_Like_Sipgate/?&page=2), configure your client (I use the one built into Android and Yate) and go! Obviously you can't call a phonenumber with video call but SIP has an email like "address" or you can directly call international and national phone lines for voice com. I regularly talk to mobile users in Ghana from the US for around 7 - 15cents/ minute. In the US and to many european countries the calls to landlines are free and to mobiles are virtually free. All SIP to SIP calls are free with my providers.

Re:Too late, but hey, thanks for trying Microsoft

[Guspaz]

Best avoid the Linux kernel, then; there's Microsoft code in it.

Re:Too late, but hey, thanks for trying Microsoft

[Edwin_OS]

What worth Skype alternatives have you found?

Re:Too late, but hey, thanks for trying Microsoft

[humanrev]

Interesting yes, but not totally surprising. For all the legitimately intelligent people here, a lot of them (as well as the rest I suppose) are total hypocrites. There's a reason Slashdot is laughed at by other tech sites.

Re:Too late, but hey, thanks for trying Microsoft

[Gadget_Guy]

Microsoft and Linux go together like gasoline and chocolate. No way am I installing their ware on my stuff.

I think that this was probably meant as a to reply to this post rather than mine.

But seriously, if you really want to avoid Microsoft software (and let's face it, we all know your feelings on that subject) then it is even more important to mention the name of the company in the summary. And even if you do not want to use the software yourself, you can at least become better informed as to what modern Microsoft practices are like so that you don't continue to make the assumption (which was not unreasonable at the time) that Microsoft would drop Linux support for Skype.

Re:Too late, but hey, thanks for trying Microsoft

[jedidiah]

Modern Microsoft practices?

You mean like subverting standards bodies, patent trolling over vfat, and pushing ARM vendors to lock their bootloaders so Linux can't even start?

Those modern Microsoft practices?

Re:Too late, but hey, thanks for trying Microsoft

[Trogre]

As another person dissatisfied with Skype, could you please take a bit of time to describe what other solutions you are using?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Thanks.

Re:Too late, but hey, thanks for trying Microsoft

[ozmanjusri]

Turns out Microsoft is really interested in your conversation with your grandma.

Possibly not. But they would be interested in cooperating with governments for this sort of behaviour.

In 2001, the Australian government refused permission for the Norwegian ship MV Tampa to enter Australian waters because it was carrying 400 refugees who had been rescued from a sinking boat. Prime Minister John Howard sent Australian special forces to board the ship and prevent the refugees from being disembarked.

This created a major controversy in the run up to a general election.

Years later, the inspector general of Intelligence and Security found that in addition to the "extensive-and legal-surveillance of communications" to and from the Tampa, the government used illegal phone taps to monitor the communications between the lawyer for the shipping line and his clients.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampa_affair

Re:Too late, but hey, thanks for trying Microsoft

[jo_ham]

So my grandma uses that too, right?

The point of widespread communication systems is that you can get in touch with people.

The answer to "why skype [on Linux]?" is "because it works". How is the increased number of choices bad? It's almost infinitely more likely that someone will be reachable via Skype than via something that really doesn't have traction beyond geeks using Linux and OSS exclusively. Part of the whole battle to make Linux much more accessible to the general public is having software that people want to use. Up-to-date Skype on Linux is a win/win for all concerned; both from Microsoft's end (more users make the service as a whole more valuable) and for users (since the software is available) and since it removes one more hurdle to Linux adoption for the general public ("I might try it out, but can I run [$piece of common software] on it?").

Re:Too late, but hey, thanks for trying Microsoft

[shutdown -p now]

That said, it is interesting that the Skype website wasn't immediately rebranded with Microsoft logos. It seems MS are underplaying their ownership of this cross platform service

It was actually a demand from Skype to be left alone as a team. Apparently, their CEO even demanded that their office keycards would have Skype logo on them, and not MS.

Re:Too late, but hey, thanks for trying Microsoft

[houghi]

I use http://www.poivy.com/en/index.html to make my international calls.
It is just one of the Betamax VoIP providers. A list can be found here:
http://www.backsla.sh/betamax

What I do is call a fix number, which asks for the line I want to call. Or when I have an Internet connection, I use the Android app.

When I do a payment, I get 90 days free calling. After that it is still extremely cheap. Now it is 2 cents per minute for Spain.

Re:Too late, but hey, thanks for trying Microsoft

[silentcoder]

Doesn't have to - you can configure and compile your kernel with only the pieces you want, and leave the Microsoft code out if you don't want it.

If you use the Linux-Libre builds of the kernel from Gnusense (which are already packaged so they can be installed on Ubuntu-like systems) then there is nothing in there which isn't GPL'd.

Re:Too late, but hey, thanks for trying Microsoft

[Alex Belits]

Actually no, there isn't. It's only compiled for kernels intended to run under Microsoft virtualization. No one but Microsoft and its best friends is stupid enough to do that.

Re:Too late, but hey, thanks for trying Microsoft

[Guspaz]

Microsoft's contributions are GPL'd.

64 bit?

[metageek]

The most important question is whether they made a native 64 bit version? [for those of us who don't want to pollute our machines with 32-bit compatibility libraries]

Re:64 bit?

[metageek]

Great!

Weird times, though: this puts me in a position of wanting to thank Microsoft...

Re:64 bit?

[Anonymous Coward]

No, the "64bit" version is still 32 bit:

$ dpkg-deb -I skype-ubuntu_4.0.0.7-1_amd64.deb
  new debian package, version 2.0.
  size 29342422 bytes: control archive= 4552 bytes.
            32 bytes, 1 lines conffiles
          904 bytes, 21 lines control
        9835 bytes, 137 lines md5sums
  Package: skype
  Version: 4.0.0.7-1
  Section: non-free/net
  Priority: extra
  Architecture: amd64
  Depends: lib32stdc++6 (>= 4.1.1-21), lib32asound2 (>> 1.0.14), ia32-libs, libc6-i386 (>= 2.7-1), lib32gcc1 (>= 1:4.1.1-21+ia32.libs.1.19)
  Conflicts: skype-mid, skype-common
  Replaces: skype-mid, skype-common
  Installed-Size: 34742
  Maintainer: Skype Technologies
  Description: Skype
    .
    Skype is software that enables the world's conversations.
    Millions of individuals and businesses use Skype to make free video and voice calls,
    send instant messages and share files with other Skype users.
    Everyday, people also use Skype to make low-cost calls to landlines and mobiles.
    .
    * Make free Skype-to-Skype calls to anyone else, anywhere in the world.
    * Call to landlines and mobiles at great rates.
    * Group chat with up to 200 people or conference call with up to 25 others.
    * Free to download.

Re:64 bit?

[Ingenium13]

Exactly. The 64-bit version won't even install on my 64-bit version of Ubuntu 12.04. It complains of dependency errors with ia32-llbs and how it can't install it or ia32-libs-multiarch. That said, the 32-bit version installs and runs just fine. It also finally fixes the nasty bug of using 100% CPU while on a video call.

I know people are complaining

[bogie]

But at least they are supporting linux with it vs not. The bottom line is when your trying to use Linux as your desktop OS and need to Skype with someone they don't want to hear "Just download X client and we'll use that instead of Skype". Maybe the people forcing you to run Skype to communicate with them should care about open standards but like most people they probably just want to use something that's familiar and easy to use.

Re:Oh Linux...

[semi-extrinsic]

I don't get this part. Skype should only interface with libv4l, an the kernel handles the drivers. We've had support for pretty much every webcam out there since 2.6.27, so what has Skype improved?

Re:Oh Linux...

[Jorl17]

Exactly. Skype uses an interface, it shouldn't adapt to webcams -- that paart of the implementation. As far as I know, most webcams out there are also supported implementation-side. What *could* happen is a misuse of the interface by Skype. For the record, I never had issues with my 4 webcams in skype, though I really don't videochat that much.

Piss poor distro support

[fnj]

Ubuntu 10.04, Debian 6.0, Fedora 16, and OpenSUSE 12.1 ONLY. Are you kidding me?

Re:Too late, but hey, thanks for trying GV.

[busyqth]

Ok, but I don't need an external device or a foreign landline to do this with skype...

Re:Too late, but hey, thanks for trying GV.

[Guspaz]

You don't need an external device or a foreign landline to do it with pure SIP either...

For example, say you're in the US, but you want calls to a Canadian number to be routed to your PC/cellphone/landline/whatever. You'd pay $1/mth to a company like voip.ms for a DID (Direct Inward Dialing, basically a phone number), and set it up to forward calls to either an existing telephone number (cell, landline, etc) or some SIP software client. You'd pay something like a cent a minute.

The same principal applies overseas; get a DID with a company, set it up to forward to a US phone number or SIP address.

Re:Oh Linux...

[malloc]

Maybe they just fixed their usage of V4L. A lot of cameras didn't work unless you did a stupid hack like :

LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib32/libv4l/v4l1compat.so skype

Common Sense

[dutchwhizzman]

The foundations of most religions are based on common sense.

Show me one religion that can be completely explained by common sense and I'll be a convert.

Re:Common Sense

[Anonymous Coward]

My friend... how do you feel about pasta?

Re:Common Sense

[silentcoder]

The GP only claimed it could be explained by common sense at it's foundation. Practically all of them can be explained by common sense 4000 years ago !

The start of the Abrahamic religions for example may well have been something like this. There was this dude called Abraham - we know he WAS real (there is massive proof) who lived in a city called Ur. Ur's reality is beyond question - we've FOUND the place, part of the old Mesopotamian civilization - one of the first large human settlements. They were a polytheistic culture that set great store by physical symbols of idols (e.g. statue worship and the like) - this too is well verifiable fact (the archeologist found some of the idols and their religious scripture).

Abraham however wasn't satisfied with the fickle gods, they just didn't conform to his experience of the world - as a shepherd he encountered seasons and the way nature worked - regularly, and things weren't fitting.

So he moved out and began to think, clearly there was something bigger than himself out there (up to this point, science says the exact same thing)... then he made one small logical error - he turned "something bigger" into "Someone bigger".
He named that some-one El Shadai - which means "That which is" (in the modern Bible it is translated as "God".
Suddenly everything made sense- this much more powerful being controlled all the things that happened apparently randomly and senselessly yet showed clear patterns. They showed patterns because they were logical and wise, but they were unpredictable because they were the wisdom of a mind far greater than his own. Throw in a bit of the mythology from his homeland (Gilgamesh becomes Noah) and you have the book of Genesis resulting.

All very common sensible - for 6000 years ago. Not so much today.

Re:Common Sense

[kh31d4r]

Show me one religion that can be completely explained by common sense and I'll be a convert.

Scientology, you can even tell from the name that its based on science!

Re:Common Sense

[Aighearach]

Buddhism is based totally in common sense. Guatama Buddha even said not to believe something because he said it, or because it is in a holy book, but only to believe it if it is consistent with your own experience. He also said not to worry what happens after you die.

Re:Common Sense

[Anonymous Coward]

"Massive" proof of the biblical Abraham? Care to make a few citations? Enough to quality as "massive" proof would be a minimum (so I'd guess a couple of dozen of similar strength to a grave marked "The Biblical Abraham" would do it).

Also, Gilgamesh didn't become Noah. Utnapishtim eventually became Noah.

I can give a rational explanation for Islam. A man who one day started to hear voices and have visions? The same man who had headaches of increasing severity? Who eventually had intense pain in his head, that caused him to fall into a coma from which he never woke? Brain tumour.

Re:Oh Linux...

[silentcoder]

There's a major factor here on top - which is that there are two major versions of libv4l - with incompatible interfaces- for a long time skype didn't support v4l2 but I think they fixed that now.

Even that isn't all of it, many webcams (my own logitech for example) require codec-style interpretation to be done by the drivers/apps. For a long time I couldn't get my cam to work with skype despite it being fully supported on Linux. Why ? Because the codec part of the driver was in a 64-bit kernel and skype didn't implement any alternative to handle the job as a 32-bit app.

If they had added a fix to interpret the signal correctly for cams like that (the ovl series for example) that would be a major boon, and my cam would actually work with skype.

I've been using google video for camming for a long time now because of this. Mind you - skype just saw a horrible image, adobe flash can't see my camera at all despite every attempt I've made to adjust settings, I've given up on ever using omegle. ...what do you mean "pervert" ? :P

Re:what the heck ...

[Noughmad]

Wouldn't the devil say "what the heaven"?