Introducing the new Skype for Mac, now available in Beta
It’s out of beta – read about the latest version!
It was worth the wait – the new Skype 5.0 is now available for Mac today in beta, introducing a revamped look and feel that simplifies navigation and provides a more Mac-like experience. For example, the Skype app has been brought together in one window for ease-of-use, and the Mac address book has been integrated, making it possible for you to call, IM and SMS your contacts when they are online or offline.
The new Skype for Mac also offers our popular new feature – group video calling – which allows you to make video calls with more than two people at a time as long as all participants are on the new Mac beta or Skype for Windows 5.0. Group video calling brings people together like never before, allowing you to do more things together with your friends, family and colleagues whenever you are apart.
The new Skype for Mac also includes the following new features:
- New call control bar — Hang up, mute and more from a mini Skype toolbar that sits on top of any web pages, documents or photos you’ve got open
- Search chat content to easily navigate past conversations
- Offline IM so that you can send and receive instant messages even if the recipient is offline
- Personalise contacts via user profiles
- Quickly rejoin calls if your Internet connection fails momentarily
- Floating Contacts Monitor to see your online contacts and contact groups
Try out the new Skype for Mac in beta and tell us what you think using the Skype > Provide Skype Feedback menu item. And stay posted as we roll out the official version soon.
I use Skype and my Mac A LOT. I have paid skype for it services for a long time and I’ve been very happy with the results until now… The new version for Mac uses has made us wait for so long… and now “THIS” is what you come out with.
This design is just HORRIBLE!! the Mac OS X style… oh come on!!! Have you seen the new FaceTime for Mac????? THAT may be where Mac OS design is heading to… don’t you think? I strongly encourage you to GET TO WORK.
Seriously! What’s wrong with you. All you have to do is just give us to Windows design. I mean if you have want to come up with something really nice for Mac “AND CANT”, then just go ahead a COPY. But please not this! I am downgrading to previous version for now cause I just can’t stand this one on my screen. Maybe it’s called Beta for a reason, so that you come up with a “USEFUL” design….
Really dreadful UI changes. Some things are better – group video chat, small hover window, but the whole experience is just horrible. It’s not like 4.0 was exactly brilliant UI either but it’s head and shoulders above this. I’m going to have to switch back.
Skype Team,
Don’t know how else to say then other then, wow you guys pooched this release, it’s BADDDDDDD!…. IMHO this interface is bloated, I mean it requires a 22″+ monitors otherwise it’s nearly unusable. The other major issue I personally have is that you are forcing power users to use the mouse to be productive, what happened to proper hot key combos (eg Skype 2.8 we could use cmd-1 to load the contact list, and then start searching immediately, however now the equivalent (cmd-opt-f) in Skype 5.0 requires you actually click the results (eg use the mouse)? Any decent UI, especially an OSX one should allow nearly all functionality to be achieved w/o the use of a mouse via hotkeys. This is one tennet of OSX UI Design that you guys dropped the ball on, and big time… Few other items you guys may want to address are outlined below, and I know this is a beta, but I hope you guys take public opinion seriously and make the next revision 5.5, rather then 5.0.1, because these are more then bugs, they fall into the category of flaws.
I hope you guys fix at least the search functions, because until then I will be archiving my 2.8 installer, to make sure I never am forced to upgrade.
-John
Nice try skype, I’m sure once I get used to where everything is in V5 I will feel a lot better. Unfortunately the super-large format totally assassinates my screen real estate. As for the cover flow view, this would be great with some proper physics and easing applied to the movement or lack there of.
Been trying this 5beta for the past week and I just can’t stand the UI, for the same reasons mentioned by other – downgrading back to 2.8.
I don’t need/want a cutsy-poo interface that waste mindboggling amounts of my screenspace, guys. Make it functional. Make it clean. Make it fast.
@Skype 5 beta for Mac OS X:
These are the main annoyances for me:
1. I user keyboard shortcuts to switch between conversations. When I switch conversations using CMD+OPT+R/L-Arrow the textarea (where you tipe the messages) is not automatically focused. This works when switching conversations by mouseclick.
2. Sharing of screen selectionsno longer works. I can share either my full screen (and select a display) or nothing. In the past I mainly shared selections. The reason is that I have a very high screen resolution which cannot be matched by most of my conversation partners. Using only a selection of my screen makes it easier for my partner to see what I’m showing. Right now screen sharing is of no use for me because of this. Changing my resolution just to show s.th. and then changing it back is no solution for me. I won’t do that. It makes me waste time.
3. When s.o. is sharing his screen with me, I cannot detach the sharing from the main window. I have to go fullscreen with skype, hide contacts bar and pull the call area as big as possible. If I want to use the chat, i have to pull the call area again smaller to get the chat. I’m constantly resizing the call area. What a waste of time.
4. The contacts-coverflow is a nice idea, but in the end the contact pics are too low-res. It simply doesnt look good. Also the scrolling isnt very precise. While in Finder’s or iTunes’ coverflow (which I never use) scrolling through and selecting items with my current scrolling speed settings is no problem at all, it’s almost impossible in Skype’s contact-coverflow to stop at the contact I want to select. As long as it is not possible attaching own pictures to the contacts and scrolling though the contact-coverflow is that imprecise, that feature is, sorry, a useless nice-to-have.
5. I Ussualy work with 2 high-res displays, so the waste of space doesnt annoy me that much, but when I’m using only one display, it feels simply to big. You’re wasting to much (white)space. Why doesnt it go globally to compact mode when I choose “compact sidebar”? Or at least a “Compact chat”-option in View-menu causing less space waste would be nice.
6. Why can’t i choose somewhere to use small icons? Do they have to be so huge? There sould be a “Use small icons”-option somewhere or at least automatically use small icons when using compact contact list view.
7. The compact sidebar option shows the sidebar in a more compact way, yes, but it wastes lots of space though. A little more “compact”, please (but don’t exaggerate, huh?).
When I switched from Windows to Mac, I was missing the single window Skype mode, but now that I got used to the lightweight Mac version, I prefer that one. Even on Windows. Mac users ussualy have a different window-workflow. They don’t use fullscreen that much. The new Skype is a fullscreen application. Not very Mac’ish. It may please current Windows-to-Mac-switchers, but i’m pretty sure most experienced Mac users won’t like it.
I don’t know about Skype 5 for Windows, but, as far as I can remember, the last version had an option to switch to the, let me call it “classic”-Mode (the lightweight one). Where’s that option in Skype 5 for Mac OX X??
I’ve used Skype 5 beta for OSX for 6 days. Honestly, I think the one window approach is a very good one, but there is still a lot to do to make that approach, let’s say Mac-compatible. The current beta makes me waste time and (screen)space where the previous version didn’t. As i’m using Skype in a productive way on daily basis, I’m forced to switch back. I simply cannot work with the new version. I tried, as mentioned above, for days to get used to it (I didn’t want to give up too fast) but I had to realize: I won’t.
I have to agree with everyone here in that the screen is WAAAAAAY to big. If there was a way to compact it down to be the size of the old skype that would be better and what I still can’t find is:
New call control bar — Hang up, mute and more from a mini Skype toolbar that sits on top of any web pages, documents or photos you’ve got open
Where is this new control bar that supposed to sit on top of any web pages, documents or photos?
What a huge let-down!
It’s too big – too much White space. Text and buttons are also too big.
I need to see online contacts in one glance.
Screen sharing?
Games?
this version is truly beta….
or more like an alpha version…
but far away from public beta…
I did a “Check for update” and ended up with the new Skype 5.0 on my Mac. Ugly, unusable, unfinished, unreal!
Video is lost during calls every couple of minutes.
please, please, please, get rid of that new user interface. That is totally unusable. Many of my contacts are phone contacts, and I don’t need to see they’re offline with enomous icons. How old do you think the average Skype user is ? 75 ?
And please give us back the option to switch accounts
The 5.0 version has a lot of bugs. Mac users have been waiting a long time and this version is far from ready.
1. Fonts wastes a lot of space. Form factor to BIG! Trying to keep everything together is
a good idea, but this isn’t working.
2. Video quality gets very bad when BOTH sides are in video chat mode.
3. In the old version, changing user IDs was simple and fast.
BRING THIS FEATURE BACK PLEASE!
4. The iTunes cover view view is very bad with low res. images. Dump it!
5. Audio compression is very poor.
6. Look very bad on hi-res monitors
7. Eats up CPU on my Macbook Pro (2009) … 20 – 25%!
8. Chats get lost in the screen.
9. What! No Bonjour!
10. Quick Key stroke functions not working.
12. The contact panel needs an overhaul.
13. Some HD UVC don’t well (Logitech C910, C510)
14.Needs a true compact mode.
15. … many more bugs to list…
The people at Skype should be ashamed to have MAC users wait so long for this poor beta which should be called an alpha version. This version was made in the PC state of mind. Overall bad design.
I don’t how to create a public chat now, were you can be the moderator .
I think that they should call this version Skype Vista for Mac.
What a mess!
This UI is horrible, even worse than the last Windows version!
I thought that even version 2.8 was too obtrusive and space-hogging but this looks like a joke! Everything is cramped in one, huge window which takes almost 1/3 of my screen (a 27 inch iMac!!!) and it looks like a giant Tomy toy!
I just want a very lean contact list with a small symbol showing whether the contacts are online or not (which could ideally be pinned to the desktop), that’s all!
This thing does not respect Mac OS GUI guidelines at all!
Overall like where you are heading, but a couple of problems for me:
1. Skype -> Provide Skype Feedback is not working (oops – I’d use that instead of these comments if it was working).
2. Need the ability to make sidebar and chat more compact (assume chat will be able to be configured through styles).
3. A “mark” feature for chats would be extremely handy like you have in IRC land.
4. New chats sometimes come but they were from a couple of days ago because respective peers where not open at the same time. You get the new message “blip” but you’ll find the message buried in This Week or earlier because that’s when the message was written, not when the client actually received it.
5. Need to be able to collapse Contacts, Favourites, Today, Yesterday and so on and those headings should have the total number of unread messages.
On the plus, fires up much faster, the one window is much better and a lot of links that weren’t really handy now are. Well done overall.
I hate the new interface.
It is so big yet does so little. Such a waste of space. Full of useless chrome.
I cringe every time I use it.
you guys should have made this skype for mac os x 10.4 ppc mac users too. this is a shame. i have been waiting this for a long time, and then i get let down
When I open skype I have to resize the window
I have to agree with the majority of comments here. What is this? 1994? One bloated window? Avatars?! Seriously!
Give me the option to revert to minimalism – it just looks like you completely misunderstand your target audience …
“A more Mac-like experience”?! FAIL.
I’m not interested in apps that shout “Look at me!” A good app is functional and gets out of the way when not being actively used. This UI fails on so many levels it’s unbelievable!
I tried it MAC 5.0 version for a couple of days but going back to 2.8. I have used Skype for for a loooooooong time (both windows and MAC). Beside being very un-user-friendly, 5.0 has a few bugs:
I do understand that this is beta…I just want you guys to know this.
1 – Conference call and chat window (hard to find or does not exist
2 – Addressbook contacts – Not all numbers available
3 – Crashed on me a couple of times
I do love Skype tho,
I had a problem about the connetion of Skype….
Why do I see a user as offline when I know they are online?
I had waited for a long time…may be 30mins or above,but my friend are still show me offline….and she had the same problem with me…just me in her contant list have this problem….are there any porblem of our Skype ID??
My Skype ID: davidchan04
E-mail: davidchan04@hotmail.com
Thx for your help=]
I have been waiting for window integration since for ever. But this is not the answer. I can only add to the clamour for better use of space – and I have a 30″ display. I HAVE A 30″ DISPLAY and this is too big – for real world use. You seem to assume that skype is the only thing we have going on. Professional use means sharing the window with others. It’s nice to share. Please be nice. Sadly, because I really did look forward to 5.0, its back to 2.8 for me, and probably 99% of your users.
hey…how about chat that is INCLUDED IN VIDEO, not two separate windows…what if i wanna full screen and message chat at the same time like in windows version…oh nope cant do that….fix the mac version within 6 months or i’m leaving Skype. -Mitchell
I’ve gradually been relying more and more on Skype and love it, and my $.02 falls in line with many commenters.
It seems like the larger, one-window approach allows for new functional opportunities with the increased real estate, though on its own neglects the (apparently) common goal of wanting Skype to be unobtrusive.
My suggestion: don’t abandon the one-window approach, but don’t rely entirely on it either. Like iTunes, it could have different display states: full window, minimal contact list, and (ideally) even an option to reside in the menu bar and take screen real estate only when toggled by click or keyboard shortcut (thinking of Tweetie).
Best of luck! I’m avoiding the upgrade for now but am confident that a more polished and flexible UI is around the corner.
I love the video conferencing.
I hate the new contact list, how big it is, it should be minimalistic to keep with the mac line, it’s not intuitive at all.
Sorry guys but I think I’m rolling back.
I am a medical student and use my skype to talk to family and friends at home and to talk to my classmates using chat. I am usually in class or studying and liked the small chat window since I could keep in open while studying a powerpoint or word file in class or at the library. I will not be downloading the new skype 5.0 and will continue to use the 2.8 version. In future versions I hope to see the smaller chat window back along with the choice to have notifications pop up. I would also like a facebook chat integration.
No Save or Save As? There is no longer a way to save chats in Beta 5 for Mac.
Also, the option to view the chat history in a browser (Contacts View History) is gone.
I used these functions daily in 2.8. The only way I could figure out how to save a chat is to copy the chat and paste it to a text file. This is a step backward, and I hope these functions are restored.
yeeeeaaaaah soooooo, this new skype F@%&ing sucks. keeps dropping my isight, my friends keep dropping me, they can’t even get it to work with their cameras. jesus just add a new look to the old shit, don’t change code if it works already. i mean i don’t even know how to make a program but shit, if it works one way, add to it, don’t totally change it. now i just use google chat to do video, fuck you skype, and good luck
im glad theres finally an update! woo! but! im not enjoying the user interface experience so far… its HUGE! it takes up half of my screen even in “compact sidebar” mode. it looks like it was designed for the visually impaired.. of course theres nothing wrong with that, but we should have the option to go smaller. i’ll go back to the original version for now, hold off on the group video calling and go back to having my compact little skype hanging out in the background.
After a day of use I can’t stand the new user interface. Its big, bulky, and extremely un-Mac-like. The huge “Skype” window that won’t shrink and the “Contact Monitor” which wont move to the background make it unusable.
The old Mac interface was the nicest of all the Skype versions. Here’s hopping the dev team gets the message and rolls it back for release 2!
Great that you are updating the program for Mac – Thank you!
The new design is WAY to big – I think a lot of people like the ability to have Skype open as a small window / contact list – We NEED this option in the new version! – The waste of screen space is just crazy.
Please also add the possibility of hiding the history – Why would I want to see the last 5-10 people that I had a conversation with – If I need to see an old conversation I will just click on the contact to see it?
Looking forward to an updated beta!
I hate the new design, it’s horrible.
i want the old interface!!!!
if this not go back. Skype will lost a lot of users. not just me.
the new design is dificult to manage
mac users just want the 2.8 design with the group calling option
I’m not going so far as to downgrade back to 2.8 like the rest of the extremist posters. But by god, I’m jumping on a couple bandwagons:
1) The window is too big for us 13″ Macbook users. Skype is not the only application that is in use in the current space, and it should not require its own space. I often use Skype in tandem with my browser. All in all, window unification was a terrible choice. I liked having my small chat window that was sometimes used just for that. I know Skype mainly exists as a front-runner in the VOIP market, but you guys have to understand that the video/voicechat IS sometimes a secondary feature, and should have its own window that does not restrict the size of the chat window. Scrap the unification (but do keep the floating dialer and online contacts. Those are excellent modifications)
2) What happened to the malleability of the skype window?
-contacts drawer is gone
-contacts can no longer be rearranged
-no customizable toolbar
3)Where did fullscreen go? Sometimes I like to get away from the rest of my computer and devote all my attention on a person.
WHAT A FIASCO!
5.0 Beta for Mac is absolutely bulky, obstructive, horrible, difficult to understand, absurdly complicated, totally user-unfriendly.
Who needs so much screen real state taken by Skype? Who needs a gigantic list of contacts? Who needs to scroll down the list of contacts that should be accessible at a glance? Who wants new sounds that tell the user nothing until familiarized with them, instead of the old, familiar “classic sounds”?
Skype should have changed whatever needed to be changed/improved under the hood, and only further compact the previous version. Skype should see itself as providing a tool, not a toy.
Bottom line: Do not install. Like 99.90% else, I’m reverting to an older version.
… back to 2.8, and when it’s discontinued, I’ll move to to Google-Call.
If 5.0 is Skype’s response to Google-Call… well, it looks like we have a winner.
College athlete to couch potato!
Dear Skype,
You gave us a college athlete and we loved you for it. With a few refinements in speed, performance and style we could have been using an Olympic superstar. But you decided to give us a couch potato. Why?
I know change is a difficult thing for us to take, but we liked how Skype fitted in with our productivity – compact, ready to go and easy to find our contacts. I’ve ditched home and business landlines for Skype and have been with you for 6+ years now.
Please take note of what your Mac fans and supporters are telling you loud and clear. Retired the couch potato double quick as a beta and give us the Olympic athlete we know you can produce.
Good luck getting it right – you were so very close…
Oh. My. God.
I just opened the beta for the first time. Are you kidding me? Why on earth is the list so f-ing enormous? Here’s a great way to make sure that I abandon Skype forever: force that colossal waste of space down my throat. FAIL, FAIL, FAIL. I don’t know what you people are thinking, but it’s wrong.
Reverting to old version……. now.
It’s.
So.
FAT.
Completely unusable. Do you think this is the only program I have open or something?
For the most part I’m just agreeing with those that have already spoken, but this beta is more of a downgrade than an upgrade. Just because the Windows Version of Skype has this layout doesn’t mean you need to make the Mac Version of Skype go the same direction. I remember listening to my friends on Windows complain for hours about the new and “improved” Skype. Well, I guess it’s fair that they get to hear me complain now.
Assuming someone who actually has power to change anything reads these, here are my major complaints:
1 – The Layout. The new one-window layout ends up taking more space than the original did. In the original, you can make your contacts list go away with a single mouse click, and, alternatively, you can make your chats go away with a single click. With the new version, you can make the contacts go away, but not the chat “window.” In this case the new layout makes it more difficult (or in the second case, impossible) to simplify what you see. More difficult is bad, not an improvement.
The new one-window layout makes looking at profiles more difficult. In the original version of the layout, the profile window was a window, not on top of the chat. What if I want to chat with someone and look at two different profiles at once? With the new version, I can’t because they exist in the same place. This is not better because it makes it more difficult to look up people’s information and chat at the same time. Again, not an improvement.
The new one-window layout makes finding contacts more time-consuming. In the original version, contacts could be formatted to take up a single line of text, allowing those of us with more than 8 contacts to see all of them without scrolling. For those of us who have more than 8 contacts (if you include Phone numbers and/or address book contacts it’s not hard to go over 100) it makes much more difficult to navigate. This is definitely not an improvement.
2 – Removed Features. You have removed some features from the original Skype you probably considered “bloated” the program. This is a false assumption, as many features I actually *used* were removed. For example: In the original version of the program there were automatically updating “smart groups” of specific contacts. Some remain in the new version, but the useful ones, such as “Skype” and “Saved Phone Numbers” are removed. This means if I want to add a new number to the program and have it in a separate group than my Skype contacts, I have to create TWO new groups and make sure that I add them to their respective one by hand. This is more difficult, and therefore, not an improvement.
The new one-window layout got rid of the chat drawer in favor of “recent” chats. In the original version of the layout, you could order your chats by whatever you want, date, alphabetical, most important, how much they like bacon, or manually. By removing the ability to change that, you have made it impossible to organize chats, and since recent cannot be changed, force us to order by date. This is make it more difficult to navigate, and is, as I’ve said, not an improvement.
3 – Pseudo Features. You added some pseudo features, things that are new, but aren’t necessarily good. A wonderful example of that is the call monitor. It only shows up when Skype is in the background and you’re in a call. The actual call however is taking over the main part of your Skype window. Need I remind you that one version prior to that, the call window was the same size as the new call monitor is? Why do we need the WHOLE Skype window eaten by the call? On top of this, when you’re in a call with another person on Skype, the text chat disappears. If you want to send someone a link to a website, you have to mess around with buttons to find the one that says “Send Instant Message” for the chat thing to come back (or you have to be smarter than me and realize that dragging the bottom up does the same thing, but the point remains.) There’s no reason for this change, and it ends up making the users life more difficult. Therefore, it’s not an improvement.
The second pseudo feature I found is the pop-outable contact list. This would be a good thing if it wasn’t completely useless. Okay, well, it’s not *completely* useless, just mostly. In a contact list, I want to be able to do anything. Start a call, a chat, send a file, block, rename, show profile, etc,. With the pop-out contact list, all you can do is chat. That’s it. Then what does it do? It brings back the original window anyways, begging the question why you have the pop-out list anyways. It’s useless and therefore, is not an improvement.
Those are my main “logical” issues with the program. Issues that are backed by research and science and fact. The next few issues are completely opinion, but I’m certain I’m not the only one.
The layout is horrid. There is simply too much white space in between everything for it to be efficient, and there is no way to change that. In the old version, you could have your chat window’s drawer with people’s names and pictures the size that you can only have with names in the new one. More importantly, the chats cannot be removed from the window. Even in the release version where you have the window with the chat drawer you can still remove the chats and make several windows. Where the old version is relaxed and flexible, the new version is stiff and stuffy and dresses in the sort of clothes that should only be used as rags to change your cars oil.
I’m sad to think that eventually you’re going to stuff this program down our throats. I do not see you discontinuing what you’ve done with this version since you’ve put time and effort into it. I understand that frame of mind, but nonetheless, I wish you would. I know that I, and all of my Mac Skype friends, will be sticking with 2.8 until you no longer support it. Unless you give us a layout that actually is and improvement.
The UI is sucks, I took me ages to find simple function like send text while I do video chat or share my screen. Facebook integration missing. I guess its not the right way you on….
you guys at Skype have not yet fixed the issue with MacSpeech Dictate. There was some improvement in 5.0. But whenever I get a Skype call it uses the audio or video, from that point on, I have to quit MacSpeech Dictate, and restart it again. I find this particularly annoying, in Lou of the fact that I am paralyzed in my hands, and cannot use a keyboard. MacSpeech Dictate is my capability software that allows me to speak at having my computer type what I say. I am happy with the program, as it’s 95% accurate. But whenever I get a Skype call, I have to kiss MacSpeech goodbye. Sometimes when it comes back up, it still doesn’t work, I have to go to the settings all over again. Luckily, I don’t have to retrain it. But if anybody out there has a workaround, I really need to have it. Or better yet, asking the Skype engineers to look into the matter. It’s probably just a matter of not releasing the resources, and restoring it to what it was before Skype used the audio and video.
John (jdcrunchman)
Although the group call functionality seems very promising, I think I will stay with 2.8 as I dislike the UI a lot. It is not clearly arranged as others already mentioned. I don’t want to see all my recent conversations from last week. It just takes up a lot of space and I usually don’t need it.
And I really don’t understand why I would want to take a look at the profile pics of my friends in horrible quality. I want to call them and see them live or chat with them. This feature seems pretty much useless to me.
And what about this huge window? I liked the small window, as my Skype is usually running in the back all day. Also I can not really follow your idea of having everything in one window but then have the dial-pad separately as well as a contact list, whose only purpose is to open up the huge window again.
By the way… why do I need two different ways of adding contacts? Isn’t one enough?
I want the SCREENSHARE feature back!
But Thank you for the feature upgrades! just please refer back to the old minimal and simple skype designs. =)
OMG i really dislike this new Skype interface.
1) too many steps to get my contacts open. I used to be able to click the Skpe status icon in the menu bar and open my contacts, now, gone…. BOO
2) when in a video call, it is UNINTUITIVE to find the chat window for sending files. bloody wrong. BOO
3) CAN I HAZ MOAR BIGGER ICONS PLZ? Okay, sarcasm. I like my interfaces to be clean and simple, not looking like some half-blind grade school girl designed it. I’d rather watch lolcats videos. How the Hell do i resize the width smaller? What? Impossible? BOO
4) That is just the beginning of my complaints. it has taken a really bad turn. what is the expression? 2 steps forward, 193858203 steps back?
So, fire all those programmer jerks that played this cruel joke on you.
I am amazed by how such a good application, Skype, that was always in a corner of my desktop, is now unusable because of the enormous size of the window, because of the useless information it shows (instead of the online contacts, I now get a pound of senseless info).
Guys, have you ever imagined how Skype is used by a big part of the users ? They do not have a monitor for skype on its own ! It must be a tiny window showing the contacts online and providing minimal commands to make a call.
Would you like having a telephone of 1x1x1 m in your living room ?
Rarely seen such a big flop for not understanding how the product is used.
I am going back to the previous version.
Skype is a key part of my working day and, as such, used to sit surreptitiously in the corner of my monitor until needed. Frequently, several text chat windows will be open at once, and I’ll occasionally keep an eye on the (usefully small!) contact list for people coming online that I want to reach. Audio and video calls are a daily part of the routine too.
All of that has changed with this dreadful beta release. Multi-party video calls are a genuinely useful addition to the toolset. Absolutely EVERY OTHER THING is bad. HUGE ugly windows that try to subsume every function, and seem to assume that you’ll happily let them fill your screen all day long? Text chats lumped uselessly together in that big window, meaning that you need to click between them? Some very odd UI choices that, for example, ALWAYS show a green video call icon for contacts… even if you only have a landline number for them? You used to be able to tell how people could be contacted… the new UI implies similar functionality, but then seems to assume that any number can be called in any way?
Keep the multi-party video chat. Throw the rest of the UI away very, very quickly… and give us back the old one.
And this isn’t some knee-jerk reaction to change. I’ve been TRYING to fit this loathesome mess into my workflow every single day since it was released.
It just doesn’t work. Please roll back.
I get the feeling that this is not Skype 5.0 at all, but rather a brand new Skype 1.0 alpha. Not only did EVERY interface item apparently change, but we’ve lost very useful features that we’ve come to love.
While multi person video is great (really great, actually), on what planet does it make sense to get rid of “full screen” video? The whole point of video conferencing is to SEE the other person(s).
Also I agree that it was a bad move to remove the ability to share a select part of your screen.
Bad. Bad. BAD.
So this isn’t all doom-and-gloom: after some adjustment it does make sense to have the text chat for any given call or video be below the image and not floating elsewhere so yay for that.
Looking forward to getting our useful features back!
I want to share my thoughts. skype 2.8 is perfect, it loads fast, it works fine, never crashes, it has a very minimal interface and at the same time it gives you all the options you would need to chat/have conversations etc etc. at first glance you can tell who’s online and who’s not. It’s very mac. just add to that interface the group call and we’re done, we seriously don’t need all this waste of screen space.
thanks