Skype for Linux users can crash-test video calls in v1.10 Alpha If you've managed to get audio and video working under Linux, Microsoft's latest Skype-for-Linux will let you place video calls. An alternative view is that Microsoft is taking the next step in eliminating the peer-to-peer history that made Skype popular in the first place. The company's dropped Skype 1.10 for Linux Alpha …
.. which is why I've been telling all my underlings and grad students if they want a video conversation with me it's going to be in hangouts as I no longer use skype. Well, that and hangouts does multi-person video without having to pay for it. Not that I love the chocolate factory, but at least hangouts works reliably.
yeah pretty sad huh. Still have skype for linux 4.3 on my system though my skype usage has gone down about 99% since the company I work for changed to slack about a year ago. At the time 90% of my usage was text chat, probably 8% voice chat and 2% video chat. Had been using Skype on linux since about 2010 with very few issues.
With all of the resources MS has, to go around killing native clients for skype(even native clients on some windows versions!!) and breaking compatibility with so many installed systems out there is just unbelievably stupid. Almost up there with their attempts to try to force so many people to upgrade to windows 10.
fortunately I don't feel much pain anymore as I don't use skype much, when the native 4.3.x app stops connecting to their service maybe that will be the time I just delete it and forget about it.
slack for linux sucks too, memory usage wise anyway. Have to restart it at least once a week it can easily grow to 4GB of memory(larger than any other process on my laptop including vmware and firefox), skype was able to run for weeks or months at a time and be stable for me anyway.
Oh should clarify a bit, I am told the slack for linux is not a native client either but rather a bullshit wrapper around chrome and a webapp on top. wtf.
The takeover by M$ and rush to the cloud has totally buggered a previously reasonable service. We used it 99% of the time for messaging, with occasional video.
Now have more issues than you can shake a stick at with our Linux clients. As they are the predominant users, time to move on to a less crap service.
Like every other M$ OS/program/service we had, we're bailing out pronto. Shame, but such is life. Plenty more fish in the sea.
If you've managed to get audio and video
Both work out of the box on Debian/Ubuntu for years. In fact video nowdays is 100% plug and play - it just works.
This is one place where Penguinistas have to thank Microsoft - it refused to certify anything but uvc video spec usb cameras at some point in the XP release cycle. This got video working in both Windows and Linux (at least on PC).
Sound also "just works" if you turn off the f*** HDMI link on the onboard Intel HD audio (or its clones). This one is not Linux fault - it is Intel being its usual Intel self on the desktop.
Best not to bite, but I will.
Anyone that has used Linux Mint from even the most basic method, booting from ISO/USB knows different, that audio and video work flawlessly 'out of the box' on an extensive range of Laptops, Desktops over an 0-10 year lifespan, *Lenovo's SSD Raid driver excepted.
Actually, I recommend People boot from a Linux MInt (17 or 18) USB before installing Windows 10 on their machine, because it will give you a good indication of things that won't work (or require some work to get working) on Windows 10, if they don't work on Linux Mint's USB boot.
Linux Mint is far easier to try without actually installing, unlike trying to rollback Windows 10 to Windows 7, when device drivers don't work as they did, i.e. Fingerprint readers. Validity (now Synaptics) I'm looking at you!
Penguinistas should start making jokes about 12 hour waits for Windows Update in Windows 7 over the last year, oh hold on...no joke.
Those 12 hour Windows 7 Update waits are still 'out of the box' for a new install of Windows 7 SP1 from Microsoft's own downloadable ISO. (Yes, its fixable now, but was only fixed properly on 13th September with Win7 patch KB3172605).
Microsoft really don't want you to re-install Windows 7. You have to wonder why?
The Windows 7 Update issue has wasted more time in my lifetime than Linux ever did (even with early versions from 1990's) trying to get audio and video to work.
"Penguinistas should start making jokes about 12 hour waits for Windows Update in Windows 7 over the last year, oh hold on...no joke."
Mint isn't certainyl *that* bad, but they certainly could improve the update manager. Frequently it complains that the local mirror isn't up to date so I select the default Mint/Ubuntu update servers. After doing that Mint idiotically asks if I'd like to use a local mirror! Why can't the thing automatically select the best source, can't this be automated?
The Main/Base button/lists at times lag considerably and the window seems to hang for while. Just me?
Update Manager tells clearly how many MBs it's going to download, but later it may tell that it needs to download extra packages for some updated but there's no mention of the size of these extra downloads.
Curiously my Mint last week decided that the update cache is corrupted but it fixed itself. Didn't see any messages in the var/log/apt, where was it logged?
I forgot I had Skype on a couple of Windows laptops, until on several occasions I found it had just started up on its own, without being in any of the start-up methods. This Windows 10 style force it down your throat whether you want it running or not, prompted me to seek it out and delete it from everything I own. So there is no way I'm going to any version of Skype near my Linux systems.
Not to mention the email I received earlier this week telling me that voicemail services will be turned off for skype-skype calls... You know a phone call is a phone call is a phone call.... I wonder if I can get phone number portability on my Skype-in number (as it is listed as my primary contact for business).
login issues are due to them preventing certain names.
there now has to be a "space" in the first /second name, which is forced in if you leave it out.
let's not even get into their "service is down" plan starting on the 25 October to 15 Dec.
When you will not be able to send emails containing "Hard returns", they expect such email to be rejected by the 365 system.
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