Skype client for Linux

D

dale

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I wonder if there is a Skype client for Linux that isn't released by Skype?

Skype has its own release, but it doesn't work very well...
 


I have made attempts to use the official Skype program on Linux and experienced several problems, so you are not alone! Ekiga seems to be quite the popular video chat/instant messenger program when looking for Skype alternatives. This program is available on Windows and Linux. Ekiga claims to support HD sound quality and DVD quality video chatting.

Empathy is another alternative that offers voice/video chat through various server settings - not sure how similar of an experience it will be when compared to Skype. There are not a huge variety of options available, unfortunately, but maybe these two will offer something that you are looking for when it comes to Skype features.

Ekiga - http://ekiga.org/
Empathy - http://live.gnome.org/Empathy
 
Thank you very much! I missed the notification of this thread in my mailbox. :)
 
Thank you!! I keep on having problems with Skype in my Windows environment, i just cannot get video with my parents back home to work at all. I'll give this a shot in my Linux partition!
 
Skype won't work properly with Linux? Oh no! I need Skype! That's the only way I keep in touch with people from back home. :(
 
Skype for Linux is in it's beta, the last time i ran it on Ubuntu it was on 2.2 beta and it lacked a lot of features, was probably buggy and i'm sure i couldn't find the voice quality as good as it were on Windows.

I would suggest you to use Ekiga it's fast and efficient, Google Voice/Google talk (You can get the plugin for your chrome browser for video and voice support), Tinychat(Fully browser enabled video/voice chat), Jitsi (It's similar to Ekiga and skype could be worth a try).
 
An alternative to Skype for Linux is Ekiga, Formerly known as GnomeMeeting, it's an open source VoIP and video conferencing application for GNOME. Besides SIP, Ekiga also supports the H.323 videoconferencing protocol. With this protocol, Ekiga supports Microsoft NetMeeting interoperability. It does not, however, support Microsoft's newer Windows Meeting Space replacement for NetMeeting.
 
Skype for Linux is in it's beta, the last time i ran it on Ubuntu it was on 2.2 beta and it lacked a lot of features, was probably buggy and i'm sure i couldn't find the voice quality as good as it were on Windows.

I would suggest you to use Ekiga it's fast and efficient, Google Voice/Google talk (You can get the plugin for your chrome browser for video and voice support), Tinychat(Fully browser enabled video/voice chat), Jitsi (It's similar to Ekiga and skype could be worth a try).

Yes that was my experience exactly, also I noticed that it could not handle group calling at all. Which is a must for me. As of now, i haven't tried anything else, but from whats here I would try Ekiga.
 
Yes that was my experience exactly, also I noticed that it could not handle group calling at all. Which is a must for me. As of now, i haven't tried anything else, but from whats here I would try Ekiga.

Well, i'm not exactly sure if Ekiga supports group voice calls. It's hard to find one which supports even video group calling. Skype did best in that on windows while in linux, yes it has yet to come.
 
skype was recently reverse-engineered, so someone just needs to make a plugin for libpurple and telepathy
 
I have been trying to get my Skype contacts to move along using other clients, but failing... :)
 
There are 3 basic steps;


1st get the down load on the machine.


2nd make sure you can run the down load from the place that it is. Or put in the proper place to run. and you have to have the correct version of programs that are required to run the install. What are the gnuc requirements? This old version of you Ubuntu says that you don't have the latest required version. What is the command to check which version is installed on the machine? After you have down loaded the Skype client, you have to check to see if you have all the required software to make it run. Is this a server or a workstation? The latest version of the Ubuntu is 8.0. You can down load it for free. Burn it to a CD and then install. Finding and installing the latest Debian files is kinda hard. Use the latest version and start from there. Install the latest is easier than patching.


3rd. The files you down loaded is a bash script? It has the command line and help on how to run it as the first part of the document. The install steps are commented out in the program. I would use this site first.

http://klik.atekon.de/?from=profile

This is how I have installed skype on Linux in the past. I have used it dozens of times.

If you do something wrong, don't worry. The install will stop automatically when you don't have the required files. It will also tell you what went wrong.

Good luck.
 
Thanks Famous, I did get it up and running. It just wasn't nearly as good as the Windows version. :)
 
I agree.... I like the windows and Mac versions much better. But then again I'm a Linux newbie and dOnt really know all the ropes yet. Thank you to the above poster for the detailed tutorial. It helped me do the set up properly. I'm gonna go play around on it and see if I can get the ropes :)
 
I don't use Skype often, but when I do use it, I need it :p Thanks for recommending Ekiga.

I hear the Skype team is working on the Linux version a lot though.
 
I never actually tried Skype on linux but my brother has and he said there hasn't been any issues while running it. :)
 
Smokey, could you ask your brother what distro/version when you see him?
 
I have made attempts to use the official Skype program on Linux and experienced several problems, so you are not alone! Ekiga seems to be quite the popular video chat/instant messenger program when looking for Skype alternatives. This program is available on Windows and Linux. Ekiga claims to support HD sound quality and DVD quality video chatting.

Empathy is another alternative that offers voice/video chat through various server settings - not sure how similar of an experience it will be when compared to Skype. There are not a huge variety of options available, unfortunately, but maybe these two will offer something that you are looking for when it comes to Skype features.

Ekiga - http://ekiga.org/
Empathy - http://live.gnome.org/Empathy

Looks like a pretty good alternative but is it free?
And has anyone had any issues with Ekiga?
 

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