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Skype 2.2 Beta for Linux

Skype-Access-Linux.pngSkype 2.2 Beta for Linux, codenamed ‘Access Granted’, is here and brings Skype Access to our Linux users. Skype Access lets you connect to over 500,000 WiFi hotspots worldwide using your Skype Credit.

We’ve improved audio and video quality and reliability, and have addressed the ‘multiple calls’ scenario: you can now receive a second call while a call is ongoing; you can hold and answer it or join the two calls into a conference call.

Finally we fixed a number of problems identified by our internal and external users:

  • Ubuntu users experienced PulseAudio issues with the latest versions
  • KDE users experienced graphic issues using the default Oxygen style
  • and many more – check our release notes

Don’t forget to read the known issues list and to use the forum for the most critical issues you may encounter trying this new release.

Enjoy!
Marco and the Skype for Linux team

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251 thoughts on “Skype 2.2 Beta for Linux

  1. gozilalese said 776 days ago

    Great! Skype for Linux still looks like a dumb load of s”!$.

  2. lusomanwe said 776 days ago

    I haven’t tested it yet, but thanks for releasing a new version

  3. kokonoula said 776 days ago

    it took you 1 year and 3 months to get from version 2.1 to 2.2??? congrats..
    dont work that fast, too much work will kill you!

    we want to see version 5.1 (you know, the one that win users enjoy) , and not a BETA version!

  4. macskyper543 said 776 days ago

    Hello, firstly I AM SO PROUD OF YOU GUYS!!! YOU UPDATED! WOOT!

    BUT…. blah. On the download page you call it Ubuntu 10.4 which doesn’t make any sense. The release versioning is YY.MM. Unless it was released in the *Fortieth* month of the Tenth year… no. It is Ubuntu 10.04, please fix this type. Other than that, Thanks! keep up the good work!

  5. joserpena said 776 days ago

    Ubuntu 10.10
    Audio only call is ok.
    Video testing and video monitor is ok for the first time! Never worked before for me.
    But logs off (closes current user session) when starts receiving video!…

  6. dansanti1 said 776 days ago

    sonick_rnd commented Thursday, Apr 7

    Отличное обновление:
    ===
    Could not launch ‘Skype’
    Failed to execute child process “skype-wrapper” (No such file or directory)
    ===

    just delete -wrapper

  7. vlad_oz74 said 776 days ago

    Re “Failed to execute child process “skype-wrapper” (No such file or directory)” error on Skype startup. I’m using Ubuntu 10.04 64bit. Changing command from skype-wrapper to skype in the Skype launcher fixed this issue.

  8. dietyyli said 775 days ago

    How about Fedora 64bit package?

  9. merikes15 said 775 days ago

    Glad to see linux version isn’t dead as it may seem from rare updates. Do you plan to invest any effort in reducing wakeups from idle though? Skype wakes up much more often than Quassel IRC client while it’s open doing nothing (as in no chats or calls active). I find myself exciting Skype when on battery for that reason.

  10. ukickey said 775 days ago

    Great, it works perfect on my Ubuntu Box of Lucid Lynx.

  11. janusheide said 775 days ago

    thanks, here is one happy linux user on debian 64bit that now can install skype with minimum hassle great Everything worked out of the box – like it should

  12. ionut-82 said 775 days ago

    Maybe one day it will come out of beta…

  13. joserpena said 775 days ago

    Using Ubuntu 10.10.
    Audio calls are ok.
    Video testing and monitor are working. They didn’t work with previous version.
    When start receiving video Skype crashes and causes Ubuntu to end session. (log off).

  14. chiefthaumaturge said 774 days ago

    Thanks, guys! Good to get the update. And thanks, also, for keeping it a light, clean interface. So far, it is working well on a couple of Ubuntu 10.10 systems I’m running, one in 32-bit, one in 64-bit.

  15. dbrenha said 774 days ago

    i liked the idea of a libskype thingy that empathy, pidgin and others could use. this way you guys wouldn’t be hated for sucky UI integration.

  16. reytiger said 774 days ago

    I was quite shocked to see this update.

    You guys should probably stress that the version numbers across different platforms don’t match up. Aka Skype v2 on windows is not what we on Linux have now.

    Just make group chat and calls a bit beefier and I’ll be satisfied with the software as is.

  17. tutti_88 said 774 days ago

    @cowanh00 Amen! Lodato sia il Signore

  18. ramon.parada said 773 days ago

    I think the design of this blog gets updated more often than the product you talk about. I think the design changed 2 times since last release post.

  19. haoqing.xu said 773 days ago

    Where is a contact’s secondary or thrid phone number? Not that different from 2.1 beta to me.

  20. global.talker said 773 days ago

    The Skype (Beta) 2.2.0.25 pgrade pushed out by Canonical for Ubuntu 10.04.1 LTS fails to launch. The message is:

    Could not launch ‘Skype’
    Failed to execute child process “skype-wrapper” (No such file or directory)

    A binary called skype-wrapper installed by the earlier version of Skype from the Canonical repository was apparently deleted by the upgrade, but it failed to install a replacement launcher in the Applications menu. It’s poor testing before release to the user base.

    Also, Skype still doesn’t show up in the Indicator Applet on the panel, and if one closes its GUI window by clicking on the “X” in the upper right corner, Skype is left running in the background as a sleeping zombie program, consuming CPU resources; one must resort to the System Monitor to “kill” it to shut it down. Chording (Ctrl+Q) with the keyboard while the Skype window is in focus doesn’t work either. If one attempts to click on the launcher in the Applications Menu to bring up the GUI, it fails, because it detects the previous instance of Skype running. One must be very careful to only shut Skype down with the Quit command in its drop-down menu only. This is not user-friendly at all. It’s the only Linux program of which I know that has this nasty behavior.

    • Marco Cimmino said 769 days ago

      @global.talker
      First of all skype-wrapper is not installed by us, but by some random packages you found somewhere else in the past, probably mediubuntu?
      So not our fault.

      Secondly Skype does not close clicking on X and the process does NOT become a zombie, you just did NOT close it, but minimized.

      If you do not know any other program that does like that means you are pretty new to Linux, I know dozens like:
      - Amarok and Kopete are one of these from KDE world
      - Pidgin I am sure is the same from GNOME world

  21. vannaraptus said 771 days ago

    In my Squeeze+KDE 64bit, webcam (Creative VF0350) only works if started with the command:
    LD_PRELOAD = / usr/lib32/libv4l/v4l1compat.so skype

    The audio is better than 2.1 and the fonts are more readable.

    Grazie 1000 Marco, se passi da Bologna fai un fischio che ti invito a cena!

  22. dietyyli said 770 days ago

    How about 64bit version for Fedora?

  23. brian.grohe said 770 days ago

    Thank you so much! Please blog more so we know what is going on

  24. paulvachier said 770 days ago
  25. maxim.mvk said 769 days ago

    Ehh… Even don’t know, are here any reason to ask to make support of OpenIndiana/OpenSolaris OSs
    Dear Skype Developers, you have to spread list of supported OSs or change the strategy
    You can miss a big market of Oracle Enterprise users that want to pay and use Skype.

  26. orlando.yanguas said 769 days ago

    Ubuntu 10.10 64 Bit: The thing crashes every time I turn on the video on a call!!!

    Where can I at least download v2.1?

  27. pol-pot78 said 769 days ago

    Fedora 64bit?

    Have to say that Skype is brilliant.

    (When it gets fedora 64 bit support)

  28. rocketraman said 768 days ago

    Both audio and video work very well for me using Fedora 14 and pulseaudio. It looks like pulseaudio is integrated better now than in the previous beta. Cheers.

  29. ottoowl said 767 days ago

    skype 2.2 on my samsung N150 Ubuntu 10.04 dot work! Can I reinstall old version? (2.1 was working fine) Where I can find old versions of skype linux?? sorry for my english

  30. undecidable1 said 765 days ago

    the webcam is so dark, and even if I fix the global settings of the webcam using guvcview still skype does not get affected !

  31. zoggtheineffable said 762 days ago

    Thanks, I use Skype about 5 times a week to family in the UK and this new version is much more stable.

    With the current increase in Linux usage I hope we will see more frequent updates. While most of the windows “extras” are fluff to my mind, I could really do with a “snapshot” button, and having the Chat and video together in one window would also be useful.

  32. adamantoi said 760 days ago

    before update, my camera never refresh, now it keeps refreshing and my video quality drop significanly. use asus EEEPC 1005

  33. denieruh said 756 days ago

    The only thing I miss now is the possibility of being able to join an ongoing group skype voice conversation without the host having to call you.

  34. poltiser said 756 days ago

    The old version 2.1 worked well in Ubuntu both 32 and 64. New crushes all the time and camera does not work again…

  35. phiber57 said 756 days ago

    Why is the Linux Client way behind the MS Windows one?!

  36. brian.snapp said 754 days ago

    I have this to say to everyone that is complaining.

    If you don’t like it, go back to Windows. Quit being sniveling crybabies. Programmers, and troubleshooters have a thankless job. With the negative responses I have seen in this thread, I wouldn’t be surprised if you don’t see Skype 3.0 for about 5 years. Look at your system settings, and make sure all is OK there, before you insist that is the software.You don’t like “beta”? Wait for a “stable” release. You know what they say about a few bad apples spoiling the bunch. Keep it up, and I’ll bet the shut down Skype for Linux development for good. Look, It’s a free program, that runs on a free operating system. Seriously, quit your bitching.

  37. ronjouch said 752 days ago

    Bugreport: screen sharing with GNOME compositing enabled results in a darker screen being shared, as if obscured by a semi-transparent window.
    Note: I’m _not_ talking about Compiz or xcompmgr, but about the bare-bones GNOME feature, set via
    gconftool-2 -s ‘/apps/metacity/general/compositing_manager’ –type bool true

    System: Ubuntu 10.10 x86, GNOME 2.32, Skype 2.2

    Apart from that, great release! Cool to see things moving; I hope more is in the pipe…

  38. ogehrke said 749 days ago

    @brian.snapp: Waiting for a stable release would be more fun if there _was_ a stable release available. If you spent two minutes looking around, you’d notice that no stable release has been available for download for a year and a half now. And no, skype crashing whenever a chat window opens or the webcam not working (even if it works in any other software) is not a problem with “system settings”. And bug reports are not bitching. Get rid of that attitude, it’s arrogant.

  39. rosskendall said 749 days ago

    Questo è fantastico! Molte grazie.
    Glad to see a new Linux release. Please keep the development going.

  40. maciej_majchrzak665 said 748 days ago

    Try looking for 2.1 version – it works.

  41. markurt30 said 744 days ago

    if microsoft buy skype, we won’t have never an improvement of our skype for linux… goodbye :/

  42. da_apz said 744 days ago

    With Microsoft buying Skype, I wonder if this is the last version we’ll ever see. I also wonder how long it takes until they block the Linux client entirery from the network.

  43. sonux78 said 744 days ago

    One important News and One Question: Microsoft is buying Skype! What is the Future of Skype Linux? Is it the Death of the Skype Open Source Idea? Please tell us something about that!
    Ok, I understand: You can’t write a stable program in X years (Skype Linux is a joke as a developer-team. Don’t be insulted, compare yourself to the others…) You could at least break your chains (just before you will be fired by Microsoft!) and tell us whats going on…Please!

  44. jcemelanda said 744 days ago

    Why fedora has no 64bit version?

  45. deadlyellowsnow said 744 days ago

    Wow, Redmond is now in charge. Will that speed up the Skype 4 Linux development? MMmm.

  46. lavoleous said 743 days ago

    Hi there. So, what’s the word on how Skype for Linux will be developed now that Microsoft are going to be in control?

    As it is I’m still on 2.1.0.81 as anything more recent doesn’t work on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.

  47. markwege said 743 days ago

    Would be nice, if you released a stable version before Remond takes over. The current beta is not satisfying. There are some advantages over 2.1 concerning general sound and video quality. But there are also draw backs: Skype seems to have problems with staying online for a long time. After a while (may be, not sure, due to broken network connections in the meantime) it pretents to be connected, althought it is not. Reconnecting does not work, the only thing which brings Skype back online then is killing the skype process and a new start. Further more the video is jumping a little around with the zoom. Also the general camera angle which is shown seems to differ from the last beta. I would be nice if zoom and camera angle could be configured like in the Windows version. I also would like to see contact import like in the windows version from Facebook and csv-files.

  48. kokonoula said 743 days ago

    Mystery solved. Microsoft now bought skype, so , dont expect to have a new release.
    It was nice. This is the end…

  49. karl.schmidt36 said 743 days ago

    Sure hope the M$ deal won’t put an end to the Linux version…

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