Garage & Updates

Today we have released a new version of Skype for Windows.

We recommend for everyone to update to this build now.

The new release is a bugfix release which resolves many of the problems you have been telling us about.

In this build, links are not clickable in contact authorization requests – it’s another way we’re tackling spam (and there’ll be plenty more improvements like this in future releases). Secondly, we have resolved a full bunch of video issues which managed to sneak into previous builds, so if you had issues with webcam detection by Skype or the video froze from time to time then this build is definitely for you .
Last but not least we have resolved a issue which made Skype to crash on start-up for people who have really old computers, which did not support SSE technology.

In addition to these fixes we have also updated our web browser plugins and fixed many smaller issues.

In case you see that Skype is not behaving as expected then please let us know about it. Post on our forums for discussing things and file issue reports in our public issue tracker.

Full list of fixes and known issues for the newly released build 4.1.0.166 is here:

]]>Known issues:

Calling
* When a user has multiple USB audio devices plugged in, and removes the active device, they will see a message for a couple of seconds informing them that no devices are available.
Workaround: This is rectified automatically within a couple of seconds if another device is found.

Audio devices
* Some types of Broadcom Bluetooth audio hardware need to contact Skype in order to operate – in which case the following message is displayed: “BTSTAC~1.EXE wants to use Skype”
Workaround: If you have a Broadcom Bluetooth device and experience this issue, then you should try to update the drivers for that hardware. Otherwise, it is safe to Allow access. The issue has been reported to the manufacturer.

Audio devices
* If a participant in a conference call is using a Bluetooth enabled device from Broadcom, the conference call will be terminated when they hang-up the call.
Workaround: Disable btstack.exe (Tools > Options > Advanced > Manage other programs’ access to Skype).

Video
* Digital video cameras cannot be used to make video calls on Skype.
* Using YouCam to change special affects on a Skype video call will cause Skype to freeze.
* Skype may freeze when starting video if the Creative Webcam NX Pro (VFW) normally used is not plugged in. Workaround: This is a third party software issue and users are advised to ensure the webcam is plugged in before selecting the option to “Start video”
Workaround: Known Third Party issue

Busy hard disk
* Skype can become unresponsive when the hard drive is busy.
Workaround: Users are advised to wait for a few seconds for the hard disk activity to reduce.

Busy hard disk / startup
* Users with a large amount of Skype history may find that Skype takes longer than normal to start.
Workaround: Reducing the number of items in the Conversations tab helps alleviate this problem slightly – our engineers are currently working on further solutions.

Conference calling
* Conference calls, which include one or more landline or mobile participants are not placed on hold correctly. The call host and the users on their landline or mobile are not placed on hold – however all other users are.

Installation
* Users cannot uninstall the Skype browser highlighter for Firefox (Vista only).
Workaround: Users are advised to install a patch provided by Microsoft. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/951847

Upgrade
* When upgrading Skype, and installing the Skype plug-in for Firefox, users may experience a crash in Firefox if it is running during the upgrade
Workaround: Close Firefox before attempting to install Skype.

Screen sharing
* Resizing selected area (constantly dragging mouse for more than 20 seconds) causes the system to freeze
Workaround: This is resolved by Microsoft Hotfix #954436, and included in Vista Service Pack 2. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/954436.

Miscellaneous
* Certain graphical components may be misaligned when running Skype with a high graphics DPI setting.

Fixed issues:

Instant Messaging
* Text moved on screen when something was added to conversation while user was scrolling it.
* Users were unable to copy and paste text from instant messaging (IM) text field into another application

Audio / Video
* Some webcams were not detected by Skype
* Video froze with some webcams
* A long delay occurred when a user opted to start video during a call
* Skype occasionally froze when selecting video options.

Accessibility
* Skype crashed when focusing, with alt+tab, communicator message in compact view
* Some controls were inaccessible via keyboard navigation

Miscellaneous
* An incorrect informative message appeared when selecting the option “Make a test call” from the Welcome Screen
* An incorrect informative message was displayed when creating a Skype account starting with a numeric symbol
* Users were not able to enter a password which contained the same characters used in their Skype name
* The Link “Learn more about SMS” was pointing to an incorrect help page.
* Users were advised incorrectly of the Password length.
* Skype froze when selecting the option Ctrl+Alt+Delete followed by Task Manager.
* When editing a phone number on an existing landline or mobile contact, the entry was deleted and replaced with the new number
* Skype crashed on startup on CPU’s which did not support SSE technology

Authorization Requests
* URL Links are no longer clickable within authorization requests

Toolbars
* The Firefox Add-On would slow down page rendering even when highlighting was switched off
* The games Mafia Wars http://www.myspace.com/zyngamafiawars was not available when Skype plug-in was installed
* Account Names which contained two characters or less were not recognised.

Localization
* All localization files associated with the abovementioned fixes have been updated