Skype 1.4 for Linux is here!
Following in the footsteps of the Great Cucumber and The Salad Sandwich comes Panacea, the Greek goddess of cures. That’s the codename for our latest Linux release, which went public today as Skype 1.4 for Linux.
We’re very proud of our shiny new release and highly recommend you give it a shot. We tried our best to create a client that you will enjoy. Which is why it’s been written by long-time Linux users for Linux users. And we had our team of turtleneck-wearing designers work hard on the lovely interface you see today. The latest version took its shape based on the feedback and bug reports we get from you via the blogs, forums and our public bug tracker.
Skype 1.4 for Linux is all about creating a solid foundation on which we can build upon. It’s super-easy to install with packages that are designed and tested for your distribution. We’ve made calling much easier and the interface much clearer. And we’ve introduced some great features such as the new streamlined file-transfer manager, birthday reminders and call forwarding, so you can take that Skype call when you’re away from the computer.
Finally, make no mistake about it: under the hood, Skype 1.4 for Linux has the same great audio quality and solid Skype technology that exists in Skype 2.6+ for Mac and Skype 3.2+ for Windows.
Enjoy!
from an optimistic point of view… sounds great that u have the required foundation for Video on Linux…
When will it be ready?
Hi, Such a great job with 1.4 But where is the video ..
This version works great. My personal wishlist for 1.5 beta:
1. GROUPS!
2. Some polishing of Drag&Drop (I was unable to drop a file onto person in the main skype window. I have had to open chat first, for example)
3. Video support (we all want it
I am using Debian and I am getting strange error when I am trying to use scim input method.
skype: symbol lookup error: /usr/lib/qt4/plugins/inputmethods/im-scim-bridge.so: undefined symbol: scim_bridge_client_imcontext_imengine_status_changed
Forgot about that. Yes video conferencing is priority.
Don’t know if that’s just my setup, or not. I upgraded my Ubuntu to 7.10 a few days ago, and now Skype started to misbehave for me. Basically, it starts, but then it freezes and I have to wait quite a lot of time (10 minutes? 15?) for it to unfreeze. Perhaps a separate binary for Gutsy would solve this problem?
Darn, seems like this is actually a sound-related problem. Is it possible not to make Skype freeze when someting’s wrong with audio?
any chance to see video ever?
Hiya, I’m really liking the new Skype, the call quality has dramatically increased since the previous release, though I do have one quibble about a feature that has been removed. I really liked being able to have the history generated as a html file in my web browser, any chance of it making a comeback?
Is this a joke ?
How long will it take to add video support ? Another 5 years ?
I’ve been using (and paying for) Skype for years on my Windows machine. Like MANY others, I jumped on the Linux Train when Feisty came out. I maintained a dual-boot for the sole purpose of accessing a Skype app with video support. Now that Gutsy is here, I am happy with and convinced by all that Ubuntu/Linux has to offer and will be completely removing Microsoft from my computer. Since Skype cannot provide what so many fervent and dedicated users are demanding, I have been forced to look elsewhere for my VOIP needs. Ekiga comes pre-installed and does what I need. If only the simple requests for a developmental timeline were answered, I could possibly wait for Skype 1.5 (or 1.6, etc.). But I have been uncomfortably left in the dark. I want to wait and continue using Skype but I have been waiting for too long already.
@joshzam: although the wait for video has been long, the next alpha release should be released this year and it will have video capabilities. I am saying this based on my readings of the developer’s comments made on the subject.
Hi there, I’d translated this version at catalan, but I cannot add it to my skype, what’s wrong?
http://213.98.143.33/projectes/skype/skype_ca.tar.gz
here you have the file.
Whilst I appreciate all the work that goes into these releases I can’t help but feel its a step back.
Really sad to see now Grouping and am not keen on the interface at all.
I liked the Contacts, History and Dial tabs.
Is there anywhere I can download the old version from ?
Actually, the concept of split contact list and history hasn’t really changed all that much. You can even toggle between them with Ctrl-E, and use Quickfilter on both, so this is somewhat an improvement.
Not having a dialpad tab is a bit of a change, but it fits with our new call window layout, and is easily accessible by clicking the Call ordinary phones button which is on the main screen.
The new interface grows on you, but I agree, the change is pretty dramatic. It took me a few weeks of usage to really get comfortable, but now I can’t go back.
The grouping feature will be back in future. However the very functional Quickfilter helps a lot in the meantime, and you can also enable a quasi-groups feature if you check out my forum links above.
I’m afraid for licensing reasons, we can no longer distribute the old version.
Andy.
I feel that I have just been mugged. I want to send sms messages to someone and I don’t want to get a mobile. So I purchased some skypeout credits and tried to send an sms message from skype. After a lot of mucking around I emailed the support desk asking for help. What did I get “The current version of Skype for Linux does not offer sms feature.” Now they tell me after happily relieving me of £10. No signs on the credit purchasing screen, oh sorry, my ESP must be switched off. Bah! Pity I can’t seem to get Java working either or I would use Cardboardfish instead.
andrewstreetiw: Please see the above posts with regards to SMS support. There are a couple of 3rd-party utils which run over the API to offer you access to send SMS’ from Skype.
Andrew.
VVVVVIIIIIDDDDDEEEEOOOOO !!!!
The linux version of Wengophone (a skype similar software) has the support for video and sms.
Just do it.
It’s really disappointing to have no video
i bought a webcam because i thought that it was sure that skype for linux has webcam support
Video Support?????
Still no Video support. Video calls is one of the few things that could make me run Windows. Please add Video soon.
NO video again??
Ok, let’s let it clear and stop cheating on us…
The amount of costumer using linux is minimal comparing with others O.S.
They just don’t care about Skype development when is concern on linux, definitely is not a priority market for them!!
Revising these posts above im paying attention to different alternatives… Wengophone, Ekiga… anything else?
I’m using Debian Etch with an AMD64 and am not happy so far!
The pre-compiled version is for i386 so I -can- install it using force but it complains about QT4. If I use the static copy it complains about libsigc-2.0.so.0. The latest stable version for Debian Etch AMD64 is libsigc-2.0.17-2 while Skype 1.4 requires libsigc-2.0.2.
I’m not willing to install unstable/testing packages on my system, nor do I think I should have to, just to get Skype working. I would prefer to use an old version but there’s no link to archives on the download page.
Not impressed…
Having done a smidgen of development myself, I can empathize with the development team and the challenges that they face.
That said, skype for linux appears to be the skype’s red-headed stepchild – destined to be long neglected and not supportive of the features that skype’s legion of users have come to expect.
I for one am flabbergasted – not to mention seriously dismayed – at the lack of contact groups – I have over 400 contacts in my skype contact list – do you seriously expect me to group them only alphabetically? As my windows groups classify users into discrete customer groups, this is ****** SERIOUSLY F’ING IMPORTANT ******
And no SMS. Huh? This one certainly isn’t rocket science.
Skype should take a cue from other multi-platform apps such as VLC (runs flawlessly on Windows, Linux, and Mac) as well as Firefox, Opera, etc. and release a product that offers the exact same feature set no matter which platform it’s running on.
Sadly, until that happens, skype for linux will remain an “also ran” application – promising, but certainly not ready for prime-time use.
Are there any plans to release power-pc architecture binaries? Or just i386?
(debian lenny on an older mac mini)
Thanks,
mike