Introducing the new version of Skype for Mac
We’ve just released a new version of Skype for Mac, removing the beta label and introducing group video calling as part of our Premium package, as well as a number of user interface and other improvements. Download it now, or read on to find out more.
First, I’d like to say thank you to all of you who sent us feedback on the beta, particularly the positive feedback on group video calling. It’s now available as part of our Premium package, that also includes live chat customer support. You can try it out for free for 7 days, and then purchase either a day pass starting at $4.99 (€3.49/£2.99)* or as a monthly subscription for $8.99 (€5.99/£4.99)* per month. New users receive a 7-day free trial.
As a result of that feedback, we’ve been able to make a number of improvements in the latest version. The video above has all the details. We’re also excited to announce a competition to recognise your own designs for chat styles – find out more and register your interest.
Something we heard loud and clear was that you felt that the app was too big – whether it was the window size, contact list, or the way instant messages were displayed. The good news is that we’ve slimmed things down a bit in the new version, trimming pixels and realigning things to make the app altogether more compact.
We’ve reduced the minimum window size, so that those of you who prefer to keep Skype to one side of your screen, for example, can do that more easily. We’ve also tightened up the contact list, so that you can see 30% more contacts at once. We’ve reduced the amount of whitespace in the sidebar too.
In addition, we’ve tweaked the way instant messages are displayed to reduce the amount of whitespace, allowing you to see more of your conversations without scrolling.
The contacts monitor is a great way to keep track of your closest friends, or your team at work, and in this version we’ve made it much easier to find – it’s in the Window menu.
You’ll be happy to know that we’ve brought back full screen mode in video calls. When you’re in a call, click the button to switch to full screen mode, and click it again to return the call to the Skype window.
It’s also easier to chat while you’re on a call – again, just click the button to reveal the chat panel, and click it again to hide.
Thank you again for all of your feedback. These improvements should help make the Skype experience on the Mac even better. Of course, we continue to welcome your feedback, and please leave a comment below, or use the Give Feedback option in the app and it’ll end up in our inboxes – there will be regular updates and we value your thoughts.
Comments on this post are now closed. If you have feedback on the new version of Skype for Mac, please read our update post.
* Pricing is VAT exclusive. Pricing inclusive of VAT for a day pass is $5.74 (€4.01/£3.44) and for a monthly subscription $10.34 (€6.89/£5.74). A fair usage policy applies.
Big and obtrusive as others have said but I could get past this if it worked. My webcam on my macbook pro was working fine until I installed Skype 5 but Skype did not recognise I had a camera, even though it is built in iSight!! I then tried Photobooth which could also no longer see my camera??? Luckily I had not deleted the old Skype 2.8 app and when I launched that it found the camera straight away just as it always has.
By bye Skype 5!! Until there’s a fix at least.
I really wanted to like this, but unfortunately I have to agree with the consensus.
The UI is really a step backwards. Big, unwieldy, and unintuitive.
I can understand that you want to offer customers more features, but not like this Skype.
I’m hoping I can get back to 2.8 with the link above.
PLEASE bring back your older, much more user friendly, skype interface!
I download your new mac update yesterday, and it is terrible!!
I cannot easily scroll down my contacts list (the way I did with my older skype software).
I cannot easily edit contact details.
I cannot use keys to quick add a new contact.
I cannot remove a group that I accidentally created by hitting control N on my Macbook.
The new interface is slowing down my use of skype by half (wasting half of my time in other words).
I run a web design firm and cold call internationally, and your new interface is slowing this down BIGTIME!
peace,
Stephen Bradley – creative director
http://www.veetoo.com
It was too good to be true – a perfect, efficient app that did exactly what it needed to do, without wasting space, having unecesarry interface features and trying to be something that it ultimately is NOT. Its a utility people. Skype 5 = FAIL. I’m going back to 2.7, very disappointing. This is definitely NOT mac-friendly in spirit.
As many many others have said, the UI is still far far too big and intrusive. I’ll be sticking with 2.8 for the foreseeable future…
The UI is way too big, as everyone has said, though I do like that you can put all the call controls on top of the window with which you’re working. However, this isn’t always convenient. I like to keep the call window on top most of the time, which allows me to see the person with whom I’m speaking while I work on something else. The contact window needs to be separate, and the fact that I can’t chat with multiple people without closing the video is absolutely ridiculous.
I, like many, many others, switched back to 2.8. Hope you guys get this stuff fixed soon. I love skype, and I use it all the time. Please fix this stuff ASAP!
Seriously, a terrible “upgrade”. I tried the beta, and the final release – both are unusably big and unwieldy. I don’t think you understood the unanimous feedback provided!
Used 5.0 upgrade for approximately 5.0 hours before taking that clunky backward mess off my computer…
go back to the drawing boards guy
and what happened to versions 3 and 4..straight to 5 and its that bad….shame!!
Installed the new version 5.0 then removed it! I agree with a lot of people here, the GUI is useless, too big, I can’t hide offline contacts any more, consistently uses 10-12% CPU when doing nothing!
Please sort it out and give us a version we can use?
I downloaded 5.0 just to be able to use group video chat… until I found out there is a fee for it! I don’t understand why there’s a fee when it’s just computer to computer. Hell, I went right back to 2.8 after that. Least there I can do a conference call with no problem.
I echo every sentiment about the user interface. I HATE that new layout and, as I said, I was willing to deal for group video calling, but with a charge for that… no dice. If you guys create a new version with the same, or very similar, interface to 2.8 AND provided free group video calling, I’ll upgrade. Until then, thank God I found a site that carries the old Skype versions. I already pay for Skype, I shouldn’t have to pay for group video calling as well. So that’s my 2 cents on all this.
Posting this message for those looking to revert to Mac version 2.8.0, the app can be found here: http://mac.oldapps.c…hp?old_skype=37
Personally i find v5.0 what an AWFUL change . I don’t like the huge window, icons. Too much space wasted compared to 2.8.0 (Mac), that had a much smaller footprint and as much information. EVEN on a 27′ screen, it is too big. And it doesn’t look better, quite the opposite…..
UGLY, huge step backwards. Reverting back to Old version.
Thank you for updating the program; we do appreciate the efforts of the developers. With that said, what we users truly want are such options as a classic view, with detached chat and call windows and chat spacing similar to the way it is in the old version of Skype. I have not upgraded, and will not upgrade, until this option is available. Note: what Skype users want is such an “option.” The developers need not revert back to the old UI entirely; simply give us this “option,” should we choose to use it. I have a 13″ Macbook and cannot afford to give one program all my screen space. Mac is about simplicity of use without loss of functionality, and minimalism and consistency of appearance; Mac users enjoy such things. To stay successful on the Mac, we users request that the developers please give us users what we want.
Think about this from a purely financial perspective. Skype 2 does not allow group video calling, while Skype 5 does. In order for customers to use that paid feature, they must upgrade, which many users are choosing not to do (or they do, then revert back to version 2). In not giving users the UI they want, Skype developers are hindering their own company from receiving the maximum potential profit. Think about it; it makes sense.
Once again, please do the users and your company the favor of giving us users the options we want. Remember what it means that we are the users of your product. *We* use it. “UI” means the interface is for US[ers]. I respectfully wait for a version of Skype I can use comfortably, with the options I want, and I will stay with version 2 until then.
How many more complaints do the people at Skype need to really listen and act in a way to give their clients a revised version that would be less bulky, more simple to use without all those unnecessary bells and whistles. A refined 2.8 version would be a welcome relief to an enormous amount of frequent users that have tried version 5 and gone back to version 2.8
People at Skype please give us the simplicity and the pleasure we once had using Skype.
Going to chime in and agree with everyone else: this UI is awful. Totally non-intuitive, the buttons are pointlessly gigantic, you can’t hide offline contacts, you can’t tell it NOT to import your address book, and it took the better part of three days to get added into a group chat due to lag and no invitation pop-up. I haven’t seen a single thing about this upgrade that makes it a better option than Google.
Not that it hasn’t been said a million times already, but I just had to voice my anger about the 5.0 UI. Why must all the separate windows be forced into one large, cumbersome and ugly one? In 2.8 I keep the contacts list hidden and a small chat open on the side of my screen. This is impossible to do in 5.0, and seems like a major step backwards to me. Unfortunately, I’ll be sticking with 2.8 for the time being…
In short: impossible
Why:
Apart from it being too large obviously there are some very annoying things I found:
1. Addressbook contacts: Search for a contact and the number that pops up for some reason is always a number that is not eligable for use with my unlimited account… I have to click “profile” for the contact to specifically pick the number I want to call. The number that pops up is usually a cell phone for wich Skype manages to charge me a whopping 0,25 € a minute here in Holland.
2. You loose the overview of your contacts. When a chat is selected you simply dont’s see who is online.
3. Confusing: When you finally manage to add another person to a groupchat the chat converts into a new chat loosing the original conversation. I don’t see how to get back to the original one.
4. same goes for groupcalls. When one of the participants have left and you type something in the chat (when you manage to get the chatview open in a call) the person that just ended the call also receives the chat.
5. Using Skype on a 1440 pixel wide screen leaves me with hardly any space to view other things I need to see during a call or a chat. The software needs to be designed to fit the purpose to make calls / chat, not be an obstacle on viewing what I am talking about.
I’m glad I still had the 2.8 dmg on my other computer and was able to go down a version.
Something I really don’t understand… in 2.8 I can make a video call (which I hardly do) as can I in version 5… Why do I need to pay if I want to video chat with more than 1 person?
I’m a happy Skype user but very dissapointed with 5.0…. I do hope the dev team does something with the comments here….
Hey Skype, why make different designs between Windows, Mac OS X and Linux clients?
Shouldn’t there be a team who sets a common design for all platforms so that I can use the Skype client the same way no matter what platform I currently using?
I think that the Windows team should take over the development for Mac. The Window client are actually great in my mind. It has the single window option that you force us to have in the Mac version, but also a classic mode which all users need. What the Windows clients developers also did right are that the contacts are shown in the left pane with history in its own tab. How did you guys think? Make a clone of the Windows client with all it’s features and functions. I think that the only good thing with Windows are the Skype client and want it on my Mac.
Holy heck, I finally just upgraded to this version and it’s horrible! I have the window reduced to the smallest size and it still takes up way too much screen real estate. The new functionality is a nice bonus, but who’s brilliant idea was it to destroy a good UI… Ugh, time to downgrade.
get back to the sketch-books and start from scratch – or take 2.8 as a template.
this UI is just unbearable!
#fail
Just upgraded to this version today. Holy Moly! It’s AWFUL!!! Did I say AWFUL!!???? AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL !
Downgraded back to 2.8 after 5 minutes of UI Hell. Skype people, what part of “This Sucks” do you not understand?
The UI elements borrowed from Skype for Windows don´t work well on Skype for Mac. It take up to much real estate, the button are huge, cannot be rearranged, it´s harder to get an overview of what´s happening. Please make changes in future…
Each day I love more and more 2.8 against this 5.0 version. It’s not that the UI is too big or… well it was and IS still too big. But the reality is that it sucks in every sense. It’s useless. The old 2.8 had everything it needed in much smaller space and in a more convenient way.
I am staying with 2.8 until I see 6.0…and here is what I think should be there:
- get 2.8 optinos back: share screen “selection”, better address book integration (multiple phone numbers)
- NEW UI. Take a look at FaceTime. Mac OS X Lion oriented.
- Mac App Store, come on that’s easy.
- No rip offs like charging users for multiple video calling… it’s just ridiculous.
- Facebook integration? At least the same as Windows users… come on.
I am a Skype user since it was launched for Mac… and I really never imagined I would be SO DISAPPOINTED. Version 5.0 is really a disaster. I am sorry but I can’t see anything better that in 2.8. I don’t care about contact pictures all over the place, it has no sense for me in Skype.
PLEASE GIVE US A GREAT SURPRISE AND RELEASE 6.0 THIS SUMMER WITH MAC OS X LION.
How on earth did the beta GUI make the final release with the same GUI…??? It’s like driving a nice car with a friggin’ hoolahoop as a steering wheel… How did no one notice?
This is the worst software upgrade I have ever laid witness to in my entire life. A year ago I switch to a Mac and the whole change didn’t take too long to be appreciated. Then I started using Skype heavily for conf calls. I would start the call and then drag in other contacts. W/ the new Mac Skype, I can no longer do that. I have to look up each contact. And my contact list only shows those that are online. And even for those, I can’t drag them into the call. I have to manually add them. Also, when I call someone and they don’t answer, they can magically join the call later w/o anyone else knowing. This can lead to some scary situations. I am going to downgrade if possible to 2.8. Again, this is the worst upgrade EVER!!!!!
How do I save chat’s in the new version of Skype? I just had a 6 hour chat meeting with someone and I had to copy and paste the meeting manually. The old version of Skype had a file save as option.
Why oh why did I not read this post before I upgraded. The UI is horrible. If I can find the software to download I am downgrading right now.
I thankfully found a link that let me uninstall this version in favor of 2.8.
You “heard loud and clear” that it was “too big”, and this is the result?! It’s infuriating. I’ve never seen a presence/chat application that is so unforgivably intrusive.
Not only is this version is HUGE (and cannot be scales down like the windows version can), but it forcibly takes up half your screen just to display redundant information that is shown elsewhere in the UI.
It makes (terrible) assumptions as to what information is important to me, and forces me to view that information in an absurdly laid out and unbelievably and needlessly large UI.
Unforgivable.
Do you even think about how real people (non skype employees) actually use Skype!? it’s running on our desktops while we are running the apps for doing our regular jobs. We’re using Word, Power Point, Browsers, Outlook, etc which must take the wealth of screen area … for skype we need a very slim and compact buddy list. Anything more and it cannot fit into the are we have available for it. It should be an afterthought until a call comes in.
I’ll never upgrade from 2.8 until I can have an interface that is just as minimalist. And if that means at some point I have to stop using Skype all together so be it. I have 3 other VoIP options installed presently.
I honestly just can’t believe how bad this UI is. How did this ever get out of user testing, without so much as an option to just show a simple buddy list view.
Please just add group video to 2.8 and be done with it!
Skype is only a small part of what I do at work, it’s window size should be small and stay out of the way of real work.
It’s just a tool, we don’t use it because it’s fun or pretty, it should stay small and functional.
I have always loved skype for mac because it has been clean and simple. Not anymore. I hate this version more than I can describe in words, 5 years of loving the app and the company- gone in 3 seconds. I will not downgrade to an earlier version I will quit using skype, tell everyone i know to do the same and hating on skype and detering people from using it will be my new hobby if you dont give me an option of a classic look.
Seriously, this is what you need to do:
1. I want to see my contacts in the sidebar and ONLY my contacts. Put Offline contacts and Recent in close-able drop down tabs. The layout as is now is confusing. As is now, the entire sidebar is completely useless, there is nothing in it that i care about. Move the contacts there!!!!
2. Make the contact list smaller!!! I see 7 contacts in my list when i have the window at minimum size (Which still is waaay to big!!!), i need to see at least 20 contacts at half the window size- like it was in previous version.
3. Make an option to remove all the fluff from the contact list, I dont give a * about my contacts pictures, just name, status and a drop down for call/video/chat.
4. I add contacts at most once a month…why do i need 10 square centimeters for an “add contact” and other fluff fields visible at all times??????
5. Why do i need to see my own contact picture? So that i do not get confused about who I am? My name alone is not enough? Remove my profile picture!!! That stuff goes into settings, not something I need to see every day.
6. You do realize that you are using 7+ different shades of grey in the color scheme? that makes the layout feel even more bussy.. Monochrome option, for EVERYTHING please! Like we are used to having as an option in OSX.
Even my mom has been using skype untill now and she is really challenged when it comes to all things computer. Now with this new version she wont be able to anymore, because it is so confusing! Terrible… I will tell everyone I know to pay a few bucks to switch to iChat if you dont fix this….
Wow. I just got an upgrade notification and went from Skype 2.8 to 5.0.
Everything about the interface is a major step back. It looks like a children’s book rather than a telephony/IM app. It’s mindblowingly huge on a laptop screen, and even on my 24″ monitor I’d never set aside that kind of screen estate.
Even the contact overview is too big. It’s twice as big vertically as I want it to be (I just want it to show people who are online and take up no extra space). The Skype 2.8 interface was great and much nicer to use than the recent Windows versions. Skype 5 for Mac will make me stop using Skype on computers unless it gets fixed.
yay, reinstalled old (2.8) skype
The UI killed me, too big, not intuitive. I can’t even begin to explain how awkward using it felt. It just seemed ill conceived on so many levels…
Yeah… really regretting doing this upgrade. I do not want everything in a single window… if I wanted that, I’d use Windows.
Seeing only 10 contacts at a time without scrolling???
Previous version shows me 30 contacts. Reason enough to stay with the previous version.
Can’t understand why this has not been fixed, it has been an issue at least since beta in September 2010.
Forget about all the new innovative features if the basis is not good. In 5.0, the basis (contact list) is NOT good, not even average. It’s POOR.
5.0 Mac is horrible. It’s a UI mess, trying to stick everything together on 1 screen… it’s trying to do too much. I had it for 5 minutes and went back to 2.8. When multi-tasking I do NOT want another full-size screen just to chat with people. You ever heard the term KISS (Keep it simple, Stupid!). At least give people an option for a small compact window that is like a normal IM application window.
Another thing, give the option to disable video, I do NOT want video on and available all the time.
Please go back to the drawing board.
I see that they have actually learned very little of anything from Beta to 5.0. My only concern is that they will eventually force people to leave 2.8 for this current rubbish, by making 2.8 incompatible with 5.0. However, if that does happen, I hope that enough Mac users jump ship to Facetime because just about everyone I know is actually a Mac user, or at the very least has an iPhone.
I would discourage anyone from downloading the new Skype (5). Not sure about the Windows version – I can only speak for the Mac version.
So, I got one of those dialog boxes that asked me if I wanted to download the new version. I had the usual (and totally justified) moment of hesitation. I generally listen to my intuition, but this time I decided to go for it.
After having the new Skype up for a while, trying to understand it, and getting used to the new layout (and still not getting it, or why it changed), and after having a call with a colleague, I decided to go online and find a web site where I can revert back to the older version. I had to delete the new piece of shit first. Here’s why I reverted:
* For version 5, the designer/masterbators decided to re-arrange a large amount of the interface. I had to re-learn where everything was. Skype was ALREADY POOR in terms of visual AFFORDANCE (uh, is that a button or is that a message? Uh, where am I? Uh, what is that, and am I supposed to care?) … but now they seem to have made matters worse by coming up with another visual scheme, which surprisingly isn’t even better in terms of aesthetics. WTF?
* Please guys, save all your clever design tricks for the privacy of your own bedrooms. I have no need to see your cool new UI techniques. Just provide the information design and intuitive interfaces I need to know what I’m doing. Easier said than done, I know: this takes talent and at least a vague understanding of human psychology.
* What pushed me over the edge was when I noticed these big black dialogs randomly appearing in my screen – telling me that “Wanda has just come online” – EVEN WHEN I WAS NOT USING SKYPE. OMG I am ready to break something. if I want to know who is or isn’t on Skype I think I can open up Skype and see, maybe? It’s already bad enough: the number of things popping up on my computer screen has steadily increased over time. There are some web sites that are so polluted with eye-stabbing ads that I have no choice but to hit the back button, even if the information is useful: the animations are just too annoying for me to stay more than a second.
I am sad that the most popular voice and video chat tool employs masterbatory designers. To echo Donald Norman’s complaints in The Design of Everyday Things, these cocky designers probably got a bunch of awards for their innovative designs. I have a cool idea where you can shove your design awards.
One the web site http://blogs.skype.com/garage/2010/05/skype_50_beta_1_for_windows.html, One user put it well:
digitalwidgets commented Wednesday, May 19
Please….less, less, less. Each new version of Skype has added features (fine)….but takes up more and more screen real estate for things that I think most users would never use. Please….a compact view that’s truly compact…..just my contacts….nothing else but maybe a tool bar that hides itself for all of the other functions (like add new, etc). And when double clicking a contact….don’t open a friggin window….please…just a tiny icon to start video if I so choose on that particular call. Or heck, just copy your iPhone interface….and fit the entire Skype program window in one little tiny portion of my screen.
I know some will use Skype as a primary full screen app (maybe on a video call to Grandma), but for my day-to-day use, I want it to be a tiny little unobtrusive background function that I can use with minimal disruption to whatever my primary computer task may be.
Finally, my new blog touches upon user interaction design from the standpoint of “body language”. Check it out:
http://virtualbodylanguage.wordpress.com/2011/01/
I tried the Beta and like everyone else hated the GUI enough to reinstall 2.8
Having seen the screenshots here it’s clear that the Mac engineers at skype still don’t get it.
The GUI size with 2.8 is bearable, I’d like it to be smaller.
You need to decouple the contacts window from the chat window, just like 2.8 and then make it even smaller than 2.8.
Is that clear enough for you ?
This is a terrible UI redesign.
I don’t think you guys have any idea what UI benefits we just lost with your redesign.
It’s pretty clear you guys live in the world where the Skype app is the main piece of software you use while forgetting that your users consider Skype one of many auxiliary applications.
This is not a Skype world.
I reinstalled Skype 2.8. I don’t care about group video chat and the other new features enough to pay for the loss of the compact conversation window that allows me to track only the users that I care about at that moment.
The contact monitor is really the only thing that was slimmed down, but why is it always on top? … that seems like a major oversight.
I’m sad to say that I’m very disappointed with this update, specifically from a UX perspective. I used to leave Skype open in the top right corner of my screen at all times–now I will not be able to do that because of the minimum window size. Additionally, the way my Skype contacts are displayed takes up so much more screen space and it’s difficult to quickly glance at the list and see who’s online. I don’t like that I can’t minimize that “recent” list. There are a few nice added features, but not enough to make me switch. I have reverted back to 2.8 already.
Any time-lines on a version with a better UI?
I have a 13 inch Macbook Pro and version 5 of Skype has stolen 40% of my screen. I have gone back to version 2.8 and I won’t be quite so quick to download a new version until Skype acknowledge that the current GUI is a crock! I do not need massive icons in my contact list that limit me to about a dozen contacts on screen at any one time. Version 2.8 allowed me to display about 40. Rollback – here I come.
Sorry guys, but I just come back to previous version.
Reason > So big design, I like it in sidebar of my desktop, not as full application window.
> And I can’t navigate in it… so many changes in app’s user interface.
Thanks God I keep the older version on my drive! I’M DOWNGRADING! 2.8 ROCKS!!
HORRIBLE! The GUI is so much worse and some functionality disappeared!
The most stupid and terrible mistake of all user end software developers is constantly changing the GUI in newer versions to something nobody is used to, and call it a “New Version”
There is only one good thing I see in Skype 5 – implementing the Contacts from your Address Book directly into Skype.
All the rest has to change back:
1. The contacts are now in one screen with the chat window – really, common, are you kidding me?!?! Why in heavens I am not supposed to see my contacts while chatting to somebody??? Contacts have to be separate and accessible at all times!
2. – The window is huge with lots of unused space. The Icons take too much place – I even don’t see the name of the person I chat with behind those icons, unless I stretch the window to half of my screen.
- The text is spread around like a big mess – two line spaces between lines in chat window?! WHY?! Huge spaces between contacts in Contacts screen?!? Did you want to make my fingers and eyes exercise by scrolling more back and forth? In the previous version I didn’t see those picture icons next to my contacts and that was perfectly Ok – more than half of them don’t have ANY picture – why do I need it so huge suddenly??? If I click “List view” – I expect those icons to go away! And believe me – nobody will ever use the “cover flow” view in Skype – this is ridiculous.
3. History (below the RECENT panel) HAS to be collapsible – I don’t need to constantly see history a month old – it confuses me!
4. The Number Dialing pad – why suddenly this has to become so small?
5. Where are my voicemails???
6. The text that I am typing in the chat window is so small, and the size cannot be changed.
I was so happy that Skype for Mac didn’t have this horrifying confusing Windows interface and here I have it now. Sorry, going back to the previous version…
WOAH! This has got to be the worst software upgrade in history! The interface is huge! And horrific! Skype is a chat/phone application! You want it to be as small as possible, and not get in the way of things!
Seriously, it’s unbelievably huge! It just needs to be a little window with who’s online and who’s not, that’s all! Click on a name to chat to them…
Sorry this comment doesn’t have any hard suggestions, there are plenty of good suggestions in the millions of comments above.
Back to the drawing board Skypers!
Can anyone point to where to download the previous version? This new version is pretty unusable..
Help! The upgrade works on my new Macbook, but on my two old iMacs I’m told that the version doesn’t work, and the old version is no longer there. So no Skype at all. I can’t find the old version on the Skype website. How do I find it again?
I am not the one to complain publicly but this is one of the most awful designs for a messaging client. It takes up too much space, while the current the call window is small and functionless. The inability to have the chat window and online contacts visible at the same time is a big issue. Overall it is not usable. I just downgraded to the older version….
this new UI is retarded. reverting back to 2.8 right now.
if anyone needs, you can find the older version at http://mac.oldapps.com/