Skype for Linux

Just a quick update, since we seem to have hit slashdot with this news.

Yes, there's an open source version of Linux client being developed. This will be a part of larger offering, but we can't tell you much more about that right now. Having an open source UI will help us get adopted in the "multicultural" land of Linux distributions, as well as on other platforms and will speed up further development. We will update you once more details are available.

Of course, after we released Skype 2.1 for Linux, there were many different questions. Here I'll try to debunk a few myths and explain what happens and why it is so.

Myth: There is a 64-bits version of skype available for download.

No, there is not yet. However, we assembled a "helper" package which will pull corresponding 32-bits libraries. This is made entirely for your convenience, so you don't have to go and hunt for these packages yourself. This brings some compatibility issues with some (especially video) libraries. Check the forum for more details.
We are working on providing a native 64-bits version of Skype.

Myth: Skype now requires PulseAudio.

No, it does not. If you run ldd on skype binary you will not see any references to libpulse, because we load it at run-time. This means two things:
1) If you do not have pulse installed, skype will happily work with alsa.
2) If you have pulseaudio autospawn enabled (default on most distros), even if you shut down pulseaudio manually or remove it from autostart menu, it will be launched once skype attempts to play a sound.

Myth: You cannot control devices output when using PulseAudio.

You can. Just install padevchooser package and you'll have a nifty tool that will allow you to select where skype streams should be played to or recorded from.

Question: Why do I see only "PulseAudio Server (local)" in my devices list?

This is because you have pulse installed and it was either already running or was autospawned by skype trying to access it. To use ALSA-only you either need to remove pulseaudio or stop it from auto-spawning. To disable auto-spawn, edit or create the file ~/.pulse/client.conf and add a line containing "autospawn = no" there.

There's also a way to use pulse server running on another machine in your network, for this you need to specify PULSE_SERVER environment variable. This is mostly interesting for thin clients, so they can run skype on a more powerful machine, but use this machine's playback and record equipment.

Typing something like "PULSE_SERVER=192.168.0.101 ./skype" should work. Check sound options page - you should see devices called "PulseAudio Server (192.168.0.101)". I'd be interested to hear about your experience with this, especially the latencies and overall sound stability.

You might ask, why don't we support showing you normal ALSA devices alongside with pulseaudio server? Answer is simple: by default pulseaudio opens hardware ALSA device exclusively, which means no other applications can access it and they either have to go through pulse or give up. If we see pulse running - we don't even try to muck with it.

Question: What to do if I'm using pulseaudio and other side can hear only clicking noise?

I believe this is due to the bug in skype volume controls which sometimes causes crashes and sometimes this nasty noise. I hopefully fixed it in internal version and we'll make a beta update after we've tested some more fixes in-house. Current workaround is to disable AGC - uncheck the [x] Allow Skype to automatically adjust my mixer levels checkbox on sound options page. Don't forget to press Apply button.

Question: Doesn't skype use qt4? It doesn't look like my KDE desktop.

There's a default cleanlooks theme used in skype. To make it look like your distro's style dictates use --disable-cleanlooks command line option.

Question: On my x86_64 distro avatars are not showing.

This is a problem with 32-bits emulation Qt library. It tries to find its image format plugins, but finds a 64-bits version instead and fails to load it.
Specify a plugin path when launching skype like this:

QT_PLUGIN_PATH=/opt/arch32/usr/lib/qt/plugins ./skype

Finally: a productivity tip

In the contact right-click menu you now have "Edit Labels..." item. Choose it and enter multiple comma separated tags you want to assign to the contact. Now you can use them in quickfilter to quickly find someone. I often use russian keyboard layout, and if I accidentally type info quickfilter while using russian, I get weird letters and nothing is found in the contact list. Now, edit labels and type in whatever comes out when you are typing in russian layout to the tags field. Voila, even if you start typing into quickfilter in the wrong layout you will still be able to find this contact!

I'm excited to announce that after almost two years of silence Skype for Linux team is proud to present a first beta of the new, shiny Skype for Linux desktop 2.1.

What's new in this release:

• Skype's SILK codec for outstanding quality with negligible bandwidth usage,
• HQ video support,
• PulseAudio support,
• SMS send support (*Sending SMS requires available Skype Credit),
• Contact groups,
• Contact labels, or tags, for easier contact organization,
• Chat window improvements (typing notification, message editing, s/geeky text/replacement/, new emoticons),
• Nicer contact list with mood messages and video capability icons,
• Nicer tray icon.

More details can be seen on the release notes page. (PLEASE READ ABOUT THE KNOWN ISSUES THERE - will save you some time)

Coupled with this release is an updated action_handler script by our long-time betatester Philipp Kolmann. You can see the details on how to configure your favourite browser here.

Give the version 2.1.0.47 a go and send your feedback to our JIRA, comments to this post and to our forums.

As this is a public beta we are eagerly awaiting your constructive feedback. Enjoy!
- The Linux Team.

A quick status update for all of you out there longing for news:

• I’ve been struggling with getting PulseAudio support to work on a range of different server versions – it wasn’t that simple. Suffice to say, different pulseaudio versions fail differently. We’re planning to support down to 0.9.10, but my suggestion is: if you want good sound – upgrade to 0.9.15 at least.
• The video is now working, but there are a few corner cases we want to weed out before releasing.
• UI work is finished for this release and no additional work is planned in this area so far.

I know many of you have been waiting for a while for this news – I can’t make any promises about when it’ll be released, but watch this blog for further updates.

It's been a while since we last checked in to report on our progress with Skype for Linux, and I'm sorry to have kept you in the dark.

Here are some of the things we've been up to:

• We've completely rewritten the audio library, and have spent considerable effort transforming the existing audio code into a form more suitable for Skype. We've also fixed some compatibility issues with Bluetooth headsets.
• We're also making substantial changes to the video library. We're working to make it more stable and compatible with more webcams and X video modes.
• There is work underway to adopt some of the user interface improvements from Skype 4.0 for Windows, like the active conversations tab. We're also considering adding the full-screen default view found in Skype 4.0 for Windows. Of course, this is still under development, but our goal is to create an easier to use interface that requires fewer clicks to accomplish the most common tasks.
• We're also trying to be friendlier to more operating systems, in particular FreeBSD and OpenSolaris. While there is still no support for 64-bit Linux, we hope to add this during 2009.
• We've expanded our Linux team by hiring more skilled Linux/Qt developers, and we have more Linux vacancies to fill during the first few months of this year.

Just to reassure you - Skype for Linux is definitely not dead. Stay tuned for more developments

Some of you may have noticed things have been a bit quiet in regards to Skype for Linux lately. I wanted to take this time to give you all an update of what the Linux team have been working on since our last release.

1. MID

Mobile devices such as Mobile Internet Devices (MID) and NetBooks are the future for Linux. Since the launch of the ASUS Eee PC, demand for Linux has never been stronger. We've been working very hard to build a next-generation Linux client specifically tailored to devices with small screens (such as the Eee PC) and those with no keyboards or mice - such as MIDs. The Linux team's desk has transformed over the past year from having messy desks covered in desktop PCs to messy desks covered in mobile devices. Here are some screenshots of what we've been working on:

Please note this image may not reflect final release, subject to change.
Please note this image may not reflect final release, subject to change.
2. Better Audio Quality

We've had some of the Linux team move over to our Audio team where they will be focusing completely on improving the audio engine used on Skype for Linux, and how it interfaces with the Sound Systems used on Linux. We want to ensure that you have the best audio experience possible on all platforms, regardless if you pay for Skype (or your Operating System for that matter!) or not.

3. SMS

Thanks to one of our (very) excellent Beta testers, Philipp Kolmann has written a plug-in for Skype for Linux that enables you to send SMS with Skype 2.0 for Linux. We love this plug-in but we're working to include SMS into the Skype client on Linux to ensure that people on Linux get the same great experience as that on other platforms.

4. Hiring!

Can you write Qt? Do you love Linux? Maybe Skype's the place for you - We're hiring. Apply over at jobs.skype.com or get in contact.

So here it is: video.

Today we're proud to announce the general release of video calls in Skype 2.0 for Linux. As you may already know, the best things in life are often free and now you can make (and receive) free, great quality video calls on Linux.

I thought long and hard about what I could say about this release. But you know the adage, "Seeing Skype 2.0 for Linux is worth a thousand words." So I'm keeping this short and to the point. Download it now to see (and hear) for yourself. Skype 2.0 for Linux builds upon the ground foundation of our previous release and adds the feature you've all been asking for - video.

We didn't just stop there. We fixed hundreds of bugs, improved audio quality and made Skype that much easier to use. This version is now available in 20 languages (including English), so thanks to all our translators!

Read the full release notes and find out more about the release over on developer.skype.com

Today we released an updated Beta version of Skype 2.0 for Linux with Video. Download it now

Many historians foretold of the moment when X would mark the spot on a map. Today, I can happily tell you that we have found the X on our development roadmap, and underneath lies a treasure previously unattainable to some - Video.

In less metaphoric terms, this means that our users who experienced a 'black' window if they didn't start video first in a call will now be able to see.

And in slightly more technical terms, we've added support for non-accelerated X11 overlay output to the client, in addition to the already well-supported Xv overlay output method.

Another requested feature of this release is debug output on the console for video-related errors, which should help some of our technically-minded users isolate problems related to video capturing and overlay output.

As usual, there are a slew of bugfixes included so please read over the full release notes for more details.

A great time is upon us. A time of change. A time of revolution.

In the past, we have struggled in a world of glass panes and fruits. Forbidden from seeing the world around us. Denied the possibility of showing who we are. But today, our eyes open. We're not afraid to see, and we're not afraid to show ourselves.

This is a time of excitement. And a time to share our happiness, our sadness, our anger and our love. For video has arrived to Skype for Linux.

This release is not just a revolution for us in Linux, but a revolution for the Skype world at large. No longer are we, the people of Linux, prevented from socialising in the same way as our peers.

So join us. By downloading Skype 2.0 beta for Linux today.

Read on developer.skype.com for more technical information about this release.

Following in the footsteps of the Great Cucumber and The Salad Sandwich comes Panacea, the Greek goddess of cures. That's the codename for our latest Linux release, which went public today as Skype 1.4 for Linux.

We're very proud of our shiny new release and highly recommend you give it a shot. We tried our best to create a client that you will enjoy. Which is why it's been written by long-time Linux users for Linux users. And we had our team of turtleneck-wearing designers work hard on the lovely interface you see today. The latest version took its shape based on the feedback and bug reports we get from you via the blogs, forums and our public bug tracker.

Skype 1.4 for Linux is all about creating a solid foundation on which we can build upon. It's super-easy to install with packages that are designed and tested for your distribution. We've made calling much easier and the interface much clearer. And we've introduced some great features such as the new streamlined file-transfer manager, birthday reminders and call forwarding, so you can take that Skype call when you're away from the computer.

Finally, make no mistake about it: under the hood, Skype 1.4 for Linux has the same great audio quality and solid Skype technology that exists in Skype 2.6+ for Mac and Skype 3.2+ for Windows.

Enjoy!