New Skype for Linux released, version 4.3 | Edit: Now in Repo's

headkase · 2014-06-19 18:28:53

A New Skype has been released for Linux. Not quite yet in our repo's as of this writing. Skype 4.3 is now in the official repo's.

One of the larger changes is that ALSA is no longer supported and users are instead directed to use Pulse Audio. I already use Pulse, but I can imagine there will be some people unimpressed with this new requirement.

Unfortunately when it comes to network messaging programs the protocol is what rules. All my friends use the Skype protocol so I also have to use it to communicate with them. As far as I'm aware there is no full-featured replacement for the Skype protocol on Linux that also does audio and video.

What do you think?

Note: I posted in Multimedia, if there is a better place for this please feel free to move it. Perhaps networking, but Skype is a multimedia/network application.

Last edited by headkase (2014-06-21 16:55:13)

karol · 2014-06-19 19:02:34

http://alternativeto.net/software/skype/?platform=linux
What exactly do you mean by 'replacement for the Skype protocol'? Does it have to work with skype?

headkase · 2014-06-19 19:04:37

karol wrote:

http://alternativeto.net/software/skype/?platform=linux
What exactly do you mean by 'replacement for the Skype protocol'? Does it have to work with skype?

Yes, it has to work with Skype. There are quite the few audio/webcam messaging programs for Linux but as far as I'm aware none will connect to the Skype network and allow communication (with audio and video!) to Skype contacts.

If I am wrong there then please do point it out!

Edit: And it matters because my contacts all run Windows and already have Skype installed; they aren't installing another program just for me.

Last edited by headkase (2014-06-19 19:06:31)

stevenhoneyman · 2014-06-19 19:10:55

What about using a mobile device for this? (it can sit alongside your nice linux system!) e.g. iPhone

That's what I've been using since... my World of Warcraft days were over. That wouldn't have worked well with a skype mobile app on a seperate device (same with any online game I suppose)
Is there something I'm overlooking in the need for it to be on the same device?

headkase · 2014-06-19 19:17:12

It doesn't need to be. However, I don't own a portable device or a cellular phone. That isn't likely to change soon, I do have another machine that runs Windows and that machine does have Skype for Windows installed on it however the issue there is that machine is primarily for gaming and I don't game very much so most of the time it is powered off. Skype on my Arch Linux desktop is the best solution for myself so far.

drcouzelis · 2014-06-19 19:27:45

If you want to chat with someone who uses Skype then your only option is to use Skype.

...There is one more option to consider, though, one that I find fascinating: WebRTC. WebRTC is native voice and video chat in a web browser. Both Firefox and Chrome have supported it for some time now, so if you and your friend use one of those web browsers then you don't need to install any special software. Just send them a link to a web page and start using it.

Disclaimer: I tried it about a year ago. Firefox was able to display my webcam video but I never successfully established a connection with my friend. I should try it out again...

headkase · 2014-06-19 19:40:26

That sounds interesting, drcouzelis, however from reading about it it seems to be "browser to browser" communication and also depends on the user being on a providing website. Skype lives in the system tray and doesn't require an open web browser. It is definitely a "future" candidate, however, for the here and now Skype is still needed.

Last edited by headkase (2014-06-19 19:41:03)

bulletmark · 2014-06-19 22:02:19

drcouzelis wrote:

If you want to chat with someone who uses Skype then your only option is to use Skype.
...There is one more option to consider, though, ..

Hands down the best message/chat/voice/video option is Google Hangouts. Free, browser based, excellent iOS and Android clients, seamless conversations across platforms (unlike Skype!), free video-conferencing etc. I use it extensively every day and it's fantastic. I use Skype also, but only for those relatives/diehards that I can't move to Hangouts.

ninian · 2014-06-19 22:04:56

drcouzelis wrote:

There is one more option to consider, though, one that I find fascinating: WebRTC. WebRTC is native voice and video chat in a web browser. Both Firefox and Chrome have supported it for some time now, so if you and your friend use one of those web browsers then you don't need to install any special software. Just send them a link to a web page and start using it.
Disclaimer: I tried it about a year ago. Firefox was able to display my webcam video but I never successfully established a connection with my friend. I should try it out again...

I tried it out a few weeks ago on a couple of computers running Arch, and managed to get it working fine between all combinations of Chromium and Firefox (all up to date, mind). I used Talky and it certainly made WebRTC easy. I just need to convince members of the family to stuff Skype now!

headkase · 2014-06-20 00:10:28

I downloaded the "dynamic" version from Microsoft's Skype site and extracted the files and ran it to see what would happen. Did a test call, checked my webcam, it works fine. I poked around a bit and nothing obvious was broken. Of course I already have the multilib Arch version installed so I must have the dependencies it needs.

I did get:

Gtk-Message: Failed to load module "canberra-gtk-module"

In the terminal on startup but everything worked fine.

Installing "lib32-libcanberra-pulse" made that message go away. (Optional with current Skype version)

ralvez · 2014-06-20 00:58:09

If you look at this Wiki article it seems that you can run Alsa and Pulse in the same machine.
So if you need Pulse for Skype, it should be possible to use it for that purpose, while at the same time keep Alsa for all the other "audio needs" you may have.

R.

ngoonee · 2014-06-20 01:22:34

ralvez wrote:

If you look at this Wiki article it seems that you can run Alsa and Pulse in the same machine.
So if you need Pulse for Skype, it should be possible to use it for that purpose, while at the same time keep Alsa for all the other "audio needs" you may have.
R.

Those who avoid pulse have a variety of reasons, but most of those reasons would also preclude them running something like that. I like the convenience and control pulse (and jack) provide, personally. But not everyone does.

headkase · 2014-06-20 01:29:20

Just had a 30 minute webcam/audio chat with the Microsoft Dynamic version of Skype: worked perfect.

--

The Pulse Audio requirement is going to annoy some people I'm sure. The notes say "no direct ALSA" so I'm curious what exactly is meant by that.. I know there is a Pulse ALSA plugin, but is there an ALSA Pulse plugin?

ralvez · 2014-06-20 01:41:49

@ngoonee,

I have not used Pulse much to be honest and therefore have no in-depth knowledge of pros/cons of one method over the other. I do like the convenience of a clean command line for Alsa. Is there such option for Pulse?
Which one of them is more "modern" or considered at least more "cutting edge"? Do you know?

R.

jasonwryan · 2014-06-20 01:45:26

ninian wrote:

I used Talky and it certainly made WebRTC easy.

G.E.N.I.U.S

Thank you!

For a very long time I have wanted to -Rds skype. Now, for a bonus, I get to ditch qt4 as well...

Pse · 2014-06-20 04:21:45

Talky is great, I've been using it a bit since I found about it a while ago. My only complaint so far is that I cannot disable the webcam. Perhaps I am missing something in the interface.

jasonwryan · 2014-06-20 04:27:35

ralvez wrote:

I have not used Pulse much to be honest and therefore have no in-depth knowledge of pros/cons of one method over the other. I do like the convenience of a clean command line for Alsa. Is there such option for Pulse?
Which one of them is more "modern" or considered at least more "cutting edge"? Do you know?

PA is definitely more modern. falconindy has written ponymix, which will make your transition a smooth and brony one...

Runiq · 2014-06-20 06:35:10

jasonwryan wrote:

PA is definitely more modern. falconindy has written ponymix, which will make your transition a smooth and brony one...

Dave's a brony? Man, those creeps are everywhere. (Edit: This is gonna haunt me when I change my avatar.)

ninian wrote:

I used Talky and it certainly made WebRTC easy.

Thanks from me as well, that thing there's awesome.

Last edited by Runiq (2014-06-20 06:43:37)

R00KIE · 2014-06-20 09:55:00

ralvez wrote:

@ngoonee,
I have not used Pulse much to be honest and therefore have no in-depth knowledge of pros/cons of one method over the other. I do like the convenience of a clean command line for Alsa. Is there such option for Pulse?
Which one of them is more "modern" or considered at least more "cutting edge"? Do you know?
R.

There is pactl and pacmd, however I don't know if they do what you want.

stevenhoneyman · 2014-06-20 11:57:38

jasonwryan wrote:

Now, for a bonus, I get to ditch qt4 as well...

How are you finding it? I ditched it about a week ago after porting keepassx (minor issues with this one), wpa_gui, and ophcrack to Qt5.
Without Qt4, I find any CMAKE project doesn't play nicely though

SimionBaws · 2014-06-20 13:00:41

The multilib/skype package is still 4.2, so here's how you install 4.3:
http://simionbaws.ro/linux/install-skyp … x-manjaro/

Last edited by SimionBaws (2014-06-20 13:01:05)

firekage · 2014-06-20 13:04:50

R00KIE wrote:

ralvez wrote:
@ngoonee,
I have not used Pulse much to be honest and therefore have no in-depth knowledge of pros/cons of one method over the other. I do like the convenience of a clean command line for Alsa. Is there such option for Pulse?
Which one of them is more "modern" or considered at least more "cutting edge"? Do you know?
R.
There is pactl and pacmd, however I don't know if they do what you want.

Heh, the problem with pulseaudio is when we have multiple sound devices. In my system i have 4 sound card:
-realtek that is integrated sound card from motherboard
-xfi extreme gamer
-hvidia hdmi audio output from nvidia card (4 outputs)
-usb camera with mic that works as a camera or mic

With alsa i'm able to give them proper boot order in /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf such as ctxf_snd index=0, snd_hda_intel index =-2. With pulsaudio i did not find the way to do this. Checkboks that are in pavucontrol doesen't stick with selected default devices when sleep/resume or reboot, so after reboot i don't have sound at all with pulse.

If skype needs pulseaudio, i use alsa, than it would be a big pain - i had pulseaudio plugins for alsa but i'm not sure if it worked at all.

robin007bond · 2014-06-20 18:50:43

ninian wrote:

drcouzelis wrote:
There is one more option to consider, though, one that I find fascinating: WebRTC. WebRTC is native voice and video chat in a web browser. Both Firefox and Chrome have supported it for some time now, so if you and your friend use one of those web browsers then you don't need to install any special software. Just send them a link to a web page and start using it.
Disclaimer: I tried it about a year ago. Firefox was able to display my webcam video but I never successfully established a connection with my friend. I should try it out again...
I tried it out a few weeks ago on a couple of computers running Arch, and managed to get it working fine between all combinations of Chromium and Firefox (all up to date, mind). I used Talky and it certainly made WebRTC easy. I just need to convince members of the family to stuff Skype now!

Thanks so much for the Talky suggestion.

I tried to convince people to use Jitsi and register for their Jabber service, but unfortunately a lot are content with using Skype.

jasonwryan · 2014-06-20 19:35:21

stevenhoneyman wrote:

jasonwryan wrote:
Now, for a bonus, I get to ditch qt4 as well...
How are you finding it? I ditched it about a week ago after porting keepassx (minor issues with this one), wpa_gui, and ophcrack to Qt5.
Without Qt4, I find any CMAKE project doesn't play nicely though

I use keepassc, so skype was the only reason qt was installed... Hence my unbridled delight to be able to rid my machines of both.

bulletmark · 2014-06-20 22:09:52

SimionBaws wrote:

The multilib/skype package is still 4.2, so here's how you install 4.3:
http://simionbaws.ro/linux/install-skyp … x-manjaro/

Thanks for that. Simple to do and works a treat.

Arch Linux

#1 2014-06-19 18:28:53

New Skype for Linux released, version 4.3 | Edit: Now in Repo's

#2 2014-06-19 19:02:34

Re: New Skype for Linux released, version 4.3 | Edit: Now in Repo's

#3 2014-06-19 19:04:37

Re: New Skype for Linux released, version 4.3 | Edit: Now in Repo's

#4 2014-06-19 19:10:55

Re: New Skype for Linux released, version 4.3 | Edit: Now in Repo's

#5 2014-06-19 19:17:12

Re: New Skype for Linux released, version 4.3 | Edit: Now in Repo's

#6 2014-06-19 19:27:45

Re: New Skype for Linux released, version 4.3 | Edit: Now in Repo's

#7 2014-06-19 19:40:26

Re: New Skype for Linux released, version 4.3 | Edit: Now in Repo's

#8 2014-06-19 22:02:19

Re: New Skype for Linux released, version 4.3 | Edit: Now in Repo's

#9 2014-06-19 22:04:56

Re: New Skype for Linux released, version 4.3 | Edit: Now in Repo's

#10 2014-06-20 00:10:28

Re: New Skype for Linux released, version 4.3 | Edit: Now in Repo's

#11 2014-06-20 00:58:09

Re: New Skype for Linux released, version 4.3 | Edit: Now in Repo's

#12 2014-06-20 01:22:34

Re: New Skype for Linux released, version 4.3 | Edit: Now in Repo's

#13 2014-06-20 01:29:20

Re: New Skype for Linux released, version 4.3 | Edit: Now in Repo's

#14 2014-06-20 01:41:49

Re: New Skype for Linux released, version 4.3 | Edit: Now in Repo's

#15 2014-06-20 01:45:26

Re: New Skype for Linux released, version 4.3 | Edit: Now in Repo's

#16 2014-06-20 04:21:45

Re: New Skype for Linux released, version 4.3 | Edit: Now in Repo's

#17 2014-06-20 04:27:35

Re: New Skype for Linux released, version 4.3 | Edit: Now in Repo's

#18 2014-06-20 06:35:10

Re: New Skype for Linux released, version 4.3 | Edit: Now in Repo's

#19 2014-06-20 09:55:00

Re: New Skype for Linux released, version 4.3 | Edit: Now in Repo's

#20 2014-06-20 11:57:38

Re: New Skype for Linux released, version 4.3 | Edit: Now in Repo's

#21 2014-06-20 13:00:41

Re: New Skype for Linux released, version 4.3 | Edit: Now in Repo's

#22 2014-06-20 13:04:50

Re: New Skype for Linux released, version 4.3 | Edit: Now in Repo's

#23 2014-06-20 18:50:43

Re: New Skype for Linux released, version 4.3 | Edit: Now in Repo's

#24 2014-06-20 19:35:21

Re: New Skype for Linux released, version 4.3 | Edit: Now in Repo's

#25 2014-06-20 22:09:52

Re: New Skype for Linux released, version 4.3 | Edit: Now in Repo's

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