| New version of Skype for Linux arrives |
Jul. 05, 2006
Many Linux users had given up on ever seeing a new version of Skype, the popular VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) client, for Linux. They were wrong. Late in June, Skype released a beta version 1.3.
While this new version doesn't have all the features of its big-brother Windows client, which is up to version 2.0.0.105, it is a major step forward for the Linux version.
The Linux client is built on top of Trolltech Qt toolkit, but you don't need to be running KDE to use it. The program runs perfectly well on GNOME, as I found out for myself when I ran it on my Ubuntu 6.06 LTS (Dapper Drake) system with GNOME 2.14.
Although, this is only a ".1" update, this updated Linux Skype actually comes with numerous valuable new features. For example, it now supports both the older OSS (Open Sound System) and the new ALSA (Advanced Linux Sound Architecture).
There's also a multichat indicator for Skype-based conference calls, a useful getting started wizard, and, at last, a mailer program configuration system for "mailto:" links. It's not the same thing as having an open system for email integration, but I'll take it for now.
Thankfully, the program also has had many of its most annoying bugs eradicated. I really couldn't recommend any earlier versions of the program for Linux users because of such show-stoppers as almost innumerable ways to crash the program, and a user interface that featured phantom events and useless menu items and icons.
This version, however, just works. Like its earlier versions, individual users will love it because it tunnels through firewalls and NAT (network address translation), making for a no-brainer network setup. On the other hand, Network administrators, understandably, may not be so crazy about this feature.
However, if you're expecting all the bells and whistles, such as video-conferencing, you're going to be disappointed. It's a fine voice PC-to-PC or PC-to-POTS (plain old telephone service) phone program, but it's no video system.
Still, it does do well even on less then friendly systems. I ran the program on an old white-box system with an 800MHz Via processor, 128 MB of RAM, and a 20 GB hard drive with the last release candidate of SimplyMEPIS 6, and a network connection that I had throttled down to 56Kbps. Even in this far from ideal situation, PC-to-PC calls were perfectly usable.
That is, of course, if you're calling another Skype user. Skype uses its own proprietary protocol for VoIP. The company does not support SIP (Session Initiation Protocol), the open-standard for VoIP. So, at this time, there's no Linux-friendly way to call up someone using SIP-compliant Google Talk for VoIP.
This is changing, though. A small company, RSDevs.com, is working on a proprietary program that serves as a Skype to SIP gateway. This program may have a big future ahead of it, since it works not only with Linux VoIP clients, but with Asterisk, the powerful, open-source telephony switching and PBX (private branch exchange) program
Skype for Linux comes ready to use on most distributions. Specifically, it supports Debian-based distributions, SUSE 9.x and higher, Fedora 3 and higher, and Mandriva 10.1 and newer. It should, however, work on any modern Linux.
In my tests, I easily, and I mean easily, installed this free program on SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4, and Xandros 4, besides the programs I mentioned earlier. Once there, it worked well on all these operating systems.
Of course, the program is proprietary, so if that bothers you, you'd be much better off with Ekiga (formerly GnomeMeeting), which does include video-conferencing, or Yate, which is a full-featured, SIP-compliant telephony system.
That said, if you want to talk to your Skype-using buddies, this new version is finally more than stable, and good enough for any one.
See for yourself, by downloading the version 1.3 beta of Skype for Linux here.
-- Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
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