Skype 2.8 Beta for Mac: Skype Access and Screen Sharing
As announced over on the main blog, we’re finally ready to pull the wraps off Skype 2.8 Beta for Mac, our latest release for the Mac platform. To make up for the wait, we’ve included two exciting new features which aren’t currently available on Skype for Windows.
Download the new Beta now – and read on for more details.
]]>
Skype Access
Ever been in a café, airport or on a train, wanted to get online and had to fiddle around with credit cards and login details for WiFi networks? Or been in a situation where you want to make a quick Skype call or send a couple of emails, but didn’t want to fork out for an hour’s WiFi access?
Say hello to Skype Access – pay by the minute for WiFi access using your Skype Credit with a single click.
Where can I get Skype Access?
Skype Access is available in over 100,000 places around the world – and our partner Boingo (who actually make the WiFi bit work) have a hotspot finder so you can hunt some out ahead of time. You’ll know you’re in a Skype Access area when you open Skype, connect to a public WiFi network, and a pop up window appears informing you that WiFi is available via Boingo.
How does it work?
Click Start in the Skype Access window to kick things off – and that’s it. You only pay per minute for what you use, and there are no sneaky hidden charges. When you’re finished, click the Stop button in the Skype Access window.
Skype Access provides full access to all internet services – no nasty blocking or filtering, though you’ll have to comply with Boingo’s Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy just to make sure you’re not getting totally out of control 
How much does it cost?
A very reasonable €0.14 / $0.19 / £0.11 per minute (€0.16 / $0.22 / £0.13 including Luxembourg VAT at 15% where applicable). You can keep tabs on how much you’ve spent by signing in to your account on the Skype website. When you stop Skype Access, the amount will be deducted from your Skype Credit balance. Simple.
Screen Sharing
I’m sure you’ve been talking to someone on Skype and wanted to show off something you’ve been working on, or explain to them how to do something in iPhoto, or prove to them just how many unread emails you have. Well, if you’re using Skype 2.8 Beta for Mac, you can.
How do I share my screen?
During a call, choose Share Screen from the Share button in the call window – and away you go.
You can share your screens with Skype for Windows and Skype for Linux users too, but you won’t be able to see theirs (yet)
So long as your Mac meets the system requirements for Skype, you should be able to share your screen. However, it may not work on some Panther (Mac OS X 10.3) installations.
Other new features
Improved chat management
If (like me) you’re in loads of Skype chats at the same time – my current count is 192 – you’ll welcome this one. You can now sort chats in the drawer and set priorities to chats, so you can deal with the most important messages first.
Quick Add
It’s now much easier to add people to chats. Click Add in a chat window toolbar, and the Quick Add window appears. Start typing and it’ll search your contact list. To add someone to the chat, click their name in the Quick Add window.
Mood message chat
You can use the mood message chat to keep up with your friends’ updates, and also update your own mood message. It’s a bit like Twitter, but don’t tell them we said that.
To switch on the mood message chat, check Show buddy mood messages in chat in the Advanced section of the Preferences window.
Large profile pictures
Just like Skype 4.0 Beta 2 for Windows, you can now use images of up to 256 x 256 pixels. No more screwing up eyes.
Hidden avatars in incoming contact requests
A small minority of Skype users have profile pictures which others may find unpleasant, and so they’re now hidden by default in contact requests.
Add notes to contacts
You can add notes to a contact in their profile window – handy for keeping track of who’s who.
Do let us know what you think of these new features – your feedback will help us make the final version of Skype 2.8 for Mac even better.
Looks great. Keep up the good work. The cross-platform screen sharing will be huge.
Thankss!!
Congratulations on the new beta! It’s only been 8 months. I sincerely hope that the extremely useful new features, such as Skype Access (the safer, easier way to pay for Boingo) will make you a lot of money.
I would like to make a two tiny feature requests, however. They are both about video calls.
Could we have an option to hide the local video during a call (like in iChat or any other version of Skype that supports video calls, including Skype for Linux)?
The other is about the aspect ratio of the video: since 2006 all Macs except for the Mac Pro and the Mini ship with widescreen displays. Would it be possible to make the video calls widescreen so that they fill the display when we switch to full screen mode? (Even if the webcams/built-in eyesighs do not support a wide video mode, couldn’t you crop the image, similarly to the Fill Screen option OS X provides for desktop backgrounds, or how the new Gmail voice and video chat plugin handles video?)
Thank you again for the new version and good luck!
One Question… when are we going to get skype for iPod Touch??? seriously.. this is ridiculous!
Sadly, this is too little, too late. With around 8 months of *zero* communication on this blog, I gave up and considered Skype on the Mac long dead.
I’ve switched to using iChat on Mac OS X with a private Jabber server.
How about a video call function with multiple contacts? That would be really nice. Thanks!
I just downloaded and started playing with the Beta software. I am in agreement with an earlier comment regarding having the desk top sharing available for Windows. I also believe it should be supported on Linux. I use skype with an international team of designers to converse on Linux, Mac, and PC. It would be great to have this capability across platforms. One enhancement would be to allow application selection as part of the desk top sharing. This would greatly improve the performance as there would be less graphical data to render across the internet when working in applications not being shared. Every time your mouse moves on the desk top will result in slow rendering. For International communications this is a huge deal.
Skype you are heading in the right direction. Keep up the good work. I’m excited to see what your working on next. Do you have another release in Alpha with additional cool stuff?
Did a little more testing. The desk top sharing I’m not sure why you have to actually engage the audio features of skype in order to do desk top sharing. It would be nice to be able to select weather you want to engage the audio features. I also got a lot of noise when the desk top sharing was engaged. I tested from US to India so its a real long distance.
you need to add the “fun factor” into skype please we need the “iglasses” application as part of skype with more features even if you make one as a plug-in
also like on the ichat some way to replace backgrounds ..I know the skype to skype calls are free and there seems to be no gain from those calls but if you get the kids hooked then it becomes the natural product of choice and so more income from the landline calls..I too think these improvements are very little for an 8 month wait also msn is coming to Mac in a few weeks so it will be interesting to see what bells and whistles they add to their video facility’s…
come on guys put a team on this full time its a great idea and could be the new way to make calls? but your not really supporting it when compared to the competition…
Also make a video mobile version of this and your onto a winner i’m using the netgear mobile and if I could transmit video mobile on n wireless it would be untouchable!!!
regards
mark
@metatext @robert.sadler2 those are good ideas – I’ll make sure our Mac engineers see your comments
Screen sharing is a great plus, since it has Mac-to-PC.
I could help my grandmother do things on her PC, from my Mac over the air.
But I think it would be a HUGE plus, if the option to “Share my screen” and sending a “Request to share the other persons screen” would make it more user friendly.
In my case, I could send a request, my grandmother could click on the green button to accept. and done!
It would make it harder if they had to send the request.
Wow… that’s gotta be a first. The Mac version has something the Windows doesn’t?! I guess pigs DO fly! What’s next? The sea is boiling hot, or the sun is shining in the middle of the night?
Anyways, I like it. Very much. The one thing that bugs me, and I don’t remember if it was in the old version or not, but the ability to change your saved phone numbers while you’re offline. Completely unrelated, I know, but annoying.
Than
I totally agree with s_a_e_i_d, adding a “Request to share other user screen” would be a very user friendly in cases of need to help some newbie friends and family.
My question is, when you see other peoples’ computer screen, can you actually control their mouse&keyboard like in iChat? For me is very usefull that option.
And yes, markdawnskype, for me the “fun factor” is also a lack in Skype. Again in iChat, you have the option to change backgrounds that make video calls a really new experience.
Finally, I have to recognize that skype’s audio&video quality is a lot better than its competitors I’ve tested.
Congratulations for the new features, and keep improving this great software!
Is this based on the VNC (X) protocol, as is Apple’s screen sharing? If so, that’s great, it is a widely implemented open source system, but I’d hope to see you acknowledge the broad shoulders you’re building on.
Under 2.8, I could see myself from my cam. The other person on Windows couldn’t see me, nor could they send their video to me. Changed to 2.7 again, and it worked fine again.
Could them using an older version of Skype cause this? They’re using 2.5 on Windows.
My skype phone cannot hang up on Skype 2.8 beta for Mac!! What is going on?
my wifi phone cannot work with the skype 2.8 beta for mac, it cannot pick up the second incoming call, and….I cannot hang up the phone call!!
@afuchang @ccyeh53 could you let me know which phones you’re using?
I second that vote for Skype for the iPod Touch!
Thanks for asking, I am using Keyspan’s vp-24a Cordless VoIP Phone, it works well until I downloaed the Skype 2.8 beta for Mac, I do not know why!!
I am on MAC system 10.5.6 and using the new Skype beta system. My voicemail does not work. Skype tech support has been useless. It is definitely not something I’ve overlooked or not set up properly. It just doesn’t work. Calls coming in on my skype-in number fall into a black hole if i don’t answer them. Had to just purchase Gizmo and abandon Skype but i would prefer to use skype if the voicemail worked. Anyone else having this problem?
I agree with most of what’s been requested already, especially the aspect ratio adjustment for widescreen displays while in full-screen mode.
I would like to see some games added where you can have video chats and/or audio chats while playing a game to have fun with friends and family.
Also, my biggest request right now is multi-user video conferencing. It would be nice to chat with my scattered family “face to face” via skype!
@ dovida108 – check that you have Voicemail switched on: go to Skype > Preferences > Calls and check ‘Send unanswered calls to Skype Voicemail
The beta is great, especially Screen Sharing. However, it does not seem to integrate with the latest stable Firefox…intentionally?
@ heilwagen – what sort of problems do you have with Firefox?
Problem with technical window during a call. This window is impossible to close …
@jcvanel – agreed and noted; thanks for your feedback
I really like the latest version of Skype (2.8 Beta) and in particular have seen a HUGE improvement in Video Quality in the most recent version, which have now surpassed iChat by a long way IMHO.
One feature which I would really like to see however, is the ability to open a seperate video window showing MY VIDEO STREAM (equivalent to VIDEO PREVIEW in iChat). I find it very useful to see exactly what the other person is seeing from my iSight Camera and find the inset picture just way too small to get a real impression. Is this something which could be included in future versions ??
Otherwise, what can I say. Great Job !!!
@craghopper60 try Skype > Preferences > Video
Thanks for the new Mac beta. I realize that Windows is a huge install base, but still…8 months?
Appreciate you making available screen-sharing asymmetrically, unlike the iChat client requiring Leopard on both sides to share.
Nice redesign with the groups easier to open/close, without the old tiny triangles.
(Haven’t tried video-calling yet on v2.8b but did you add video mirroring on your own video window, like iChat? It’s more natural, I think, for video participants.)
As brandon mentioned above, I too just installed the new beta, and found that someone using an older version of Skype is completely disabled from the video calls. They get a black video screen, and their own cam doesn’t even show up on their screen. I can see my cam onscreen, but nothing else. I’m not sure which version of Skype on the Windows side. (Brandon’s post above mentioned 2.5)
Switched back to 2.7 Mac, everything worked fine again.
Ok,
Great, Some good ideas. But what would be really cool is some way to use my skype out number to send faxes. I know its old technology, but still so man people use it and it looks like it is not going away for a while. So, please, on a Mac, if I can add my Skype Out number to the fax preferences in System Preferences, or use some other app that I can use my number, and send a file, even if I have to print and scan it, would be awesome.
One less thing to have on my desk.
Cheers.
Frederick
Aw, man! I’ve been waiting for screen sharing capabilities for ages and you decide to give the feature to the Macin-toy people first?! (Just kidding, Mac fanatics! Don’t stone me to death!)
Is there at least a ballpark estimate on how soon the Windows folks will be able to have a screen sharing feature on their version?
Thanks!
evrybody pretty like advanced function “Show my iTunes song in my mood massage”, i think it share interests with buddies
aand what if we made “Show my safari (or etc) links ” its new level of sharing!
I am using 10.5.6 on a Macbook Pro 2.53GHz I have downloaded Beta 2.8 and it worked fine.Then after about 4 days it just started to Quit constantly I have had to dowgrade to the previous version do you have any Idea what could be doing this I am using Growl 1.14 as well
How do I change how long skype rings before it goes to my voicemail. Right now when I have my voicemail clicked on and someone calls it goes straight to viocemail. I’ve searched in the help section found how to change it on Windows but not with a Mac. Preference, Calls, Voicemail doesn’t have an area to change how long it takes to go to voicemail like the windows version. Any help?
One emoticon in open chat eats 2% of CPU a little bit too much I would say Other than that – I really like new beta, screen sharing is great, sound has also improved.
@leszoxy does it quit on startup, or when you perform a particular action?
ir seems to quit when it starts 98% of the time but on the occasion that it opens up as you try to do anything it quits
My 2.7.0.330 works just great it is only the 2.8 Beta that is a dog
@tehben4real:
If you feel like paying 10 bucks in iTunes, you can get the “Skype for IM+” app which is a (most likely only iPhone compatible) version of Skype on iPod Touch/iPhone.
But only if you have $10 iTunes credits to burn.
I have yet to see any free skype client in the App Store.
I was excited to see the new screen sharing feature in Skype. However, each time I launch a session and then click the Start Sharing button, Skype crashes. I was thinking it might be a firewall issue but after looking at the console I don’t see a reference.
Here is the console log:
09/05/09 4:59:41 PM Skype[95215] Error loading /Library/Contextual Menu Items/TI Connect X Menu Plugin.plugin/Contents/MacOS/TI Connect X Menu Plugin: dlopen(/Library/Contextual Menu Items/TI Connect X Menu Plugin.plugin/Contents/MacOS/TI Connect X Menu Plugin, 262): no suitable image found. Did find:
/Library/Contextual Menu Items/TI Connect X Menu Plugin.plugin/Contents/MacOS/TI Connect X Menu Plugin: mach-o, but wrong architecture
09/05/09 4:59:41 PM Skype[95215] Cannot find function pointer TIConnectManagerXCMPlugInFactory for factory EE9E0B23-6067-11D7-8827-003065ABFF44 in CFBundle/CFPlugIn 0xfac190 (bundle, not loaded)
09/05/09 4:59:55 PM com.apple.launchd[124] ([0x0-0x5a75a7].com.skype.skype[95215]) Exited abnormally: Bus error
09/05/09 5:00:01 PM Skype[95497] SkypeApplication::init called
09/05/09 5:00:01 PM Skype[95497] : the delegate was sent -splitView:resizeSubviewsWithOldSize: and left the subview frames in an inconsistent state:
09/05/09 5:00:01 PM Skype[95497] Split view bounds: {{0, 0}, {225, 475}}
09/05/09 5:00:01 PM Skype[95497] Subview frame: {{0, 0}, {225, 0}}
09/05/09 5:00:01 PM Skype[95497] Subview frame: {{0, 0}, {225, 484}}
09/05/09 5:00:01 PM Skype[95497] The outer edges of the subview frames are supposed to line up with the split view’s bounds’ edges. NSSplitView is working around the problem, perhaps at the cost of more redrawing. (This message is only logged once per NSSplitView.)
09/05/09 5:00:01 PM Skype[95497] Error loading /Library/InputManagers/SIMBL/SIMBL.bundle/Contents/MacOS/SIMBL: dlopen(/Library/InputManagers/SIMBL/SIMBL.bundle/Contents/MacOS/SIMBL, 265): no suitable image found. Did find:
/Library/InputManagers/SIMBL/SIMBL.bundle/Contents/MacOS/SIMBL: mach-o, but wrong architecture
BTW I use Skype to teach Mathematics and Physics. It’s great!
I am using 10.5.6 on a Macbook Pro 2.16 GHz. I have downloaded Beta 2.8 and everything works fine expect that the program quits as soons as I want to use the screen sharing function. Any idea what is wrong?
@randydecker and @milagrotango – thanks for your feedback; I’ll pass it on to our engineers.
I am running the latest 2.8 beta for Mac, connecting to a friend running the latest 4.0 release for Windows. Ever since she upgraded from her older 3.0 version to 4.0, we get disconnected somewhat regularly…most calls lasting less than 15 minutes or so.
Are there any known issues between 4.0 Windows and 2.8 Mac? And where is 3.0 or 4.0 for us?
@mryan69 have there been any changes to her internet setup, e.g. firewall software, ISP, etc?
Peter -
The only thing that has changed is that she installed version 4 over version 3 three days ago. No changes to her computer or network (or mine) took place. I work as a tech consultant, so I do appreciate your question. But the only variable that has changed in the equation is her version of Skype.
@mryan69 Thanks for confirming – I’ve contacted you separately on Skype.
Downloaded latest beta (2.8.0.438) on Mac, and latest version (4.1.0.136) on Windows – initially just testing on our internal network, before trying with a client.
Can IM in both directions without issue.
Attempting to initiate screen-sharing from either direction crashes Mac client, 100% reliability.
Attempting to initiate audio call from either direction crashes Mac client, 100% reliability.
This was on MacBook Pro, running 10.5.7. Is there somewhere useful to send crash logs etc?
Then tried again with a different Mac, a 24″ iMac also running 10.5.7. This didn’t crash (though calling or video to the original Mac still crashed it). However, attempting to do screensharing on full screen sent a screen of rubbish (classic slanted stripey look of misinterpreting bytes per row). Using “Share Selection” however worked – even when I made the selection as large as I could, which was approx 1900 x 1100. Cranked the resolution of the iMac down to 1024×768 – still the same. That is, it wasn’t the quantity of the data that was the problem, but the fact that the app was trying to take the whole screen. This is disappointing, not least because the design means that when sharing a selection, you can never share the bottom approx 100 pixels of the screen, because the selection ‘frame’ always clips it.
Posting bug reports as comments in a blog post seems a bit pathetic; is there a proper place to report and track bugs?
@cogappbenr yes, please head to our bugtracker