As others are saying, the new Electron-based app is so bad on so many levels. Recently it has been failing to deliver incoming messages. They don't even appear, it just causes confusion to anyone trying to have a text conversation. Plus the lack of features that versions for other platforms have.
At this point it's just better to use web.skype.com on a browser tab. I find that more reliable than the Electron client.
And I'm just talking about the Linux version here. It's like if Skype had different bugs on each platform. Windows version also has its own glitches too.
* The classic, full version of Skype for Windows sometimes flips the order of a few messages, so that if you send two messages, the first one appears below the second one.
* The new UWP app seems to disconnect every time the window gets minimized. When the window is restored, for a few seconds I see all my contacts offline while it's trying to reconnect.
We've been using Skype for internal communication for a very long time. Back then it was the only option that worked on all the OSes we need (Linux, Windows, Mac), had all the features, and it just worked.
But the Electron app is just damn terrible. The message layout is super inefficient - it can display maybe half the messages compared to the native client. If you click somewhere, it un-expectecly moves you somewhere else. And it just stopped delivering new messages some time ago (I've tried to downgrade to 5.2, but that made no difference).
Interestingly enough, the web skype delivers messages just fine (it still sucks for all the other reasons).
And it also does not drain the battery that much. The devs apparently had the bright idea to render the messages window as canvas, and refresh it at 60hz no matter what. Because of emoticons. The web skype does that too, but if the tab is inactive Firefox suspends that.
The only thing that mostly works for me is the Android client. I wonder how they'll break that one.
In any case, we have lost all hope Skype will get better again. Also, there are other options nowadays.
I've had conference calls with Microsoft using Skype on Windows 10 on a Surface Book, and 3 Microsoft employees still haven't been able to get Skype to work.
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I missed a call today because I messaged my coworker and nobody answered. He told me he messaged and called me but I didn't receive anything. It worked yesterday.
That's a kind of a showstopper so I switched back to 4.3 hoping they'll fix it before the end of the month. I have a Windows VM with Skype installed but I'd rather start using something else with my customers.
Another annoying feature of the new Skype is that it has that modern/videogame look and feel which could be appropriate for casual chatting but not for business. Version 4.3 can be tweaked to look much like these HN pages: text with little space in between. Much more appropriate when copy pasting information and when scrolling back to read past calls.
And no history past 30 days.
And no search in history anyway.
And that useless unresizable black call window that eats up of half of the screen, thanks MS!
That they can mess up even text chat is unbelievable. These are problems in networking that have been solved for decades. An undergraduate should be capable of writing a text chat program with 100% accuracy. This is pathetic.
Seriously, I love some of the things MS makes, but Skype has become one of those products that seems to survive on inertia instead of quality. Fortunately Google is also firmly intent on self-destructing on the subject of Chat as well, so it's crap all around.
Did the entire software industry get together and have a conference where they all agreed to screw up text messaging?
What I don't understand is what is so complicated. Chat apps aren't exactly rocket science (pretty much the opposite) and have been around since the 90s. Only the live video is more complicated but that doesn't seem to be the main problem with the linux app.
> * The classic, full version of Skype for Windows sometimes flips the order of a few messages, so that if you send two messages, the first one appears below the second one.
This is most likely due to one computer's time being out of sync then re-syncing
I've used Skype on linux and found that their web version was bad, I have to refresh the page frequently to keep up to date. And the biggest disadvantage that I found was I can't make video call with other people, though I get clear audio. I found out when I was video calling for an interview who was using Windows 10, and the interviewer got mad because I can't provide a proper video call (Skype was the only option).
I had an interview this morning which was via Skype, which I don't use. Gave my MacBook Pro r2013 to the missus, so all I had was the Android app on my Nexus 6p and the new app for Linux on my XPS 13.
I did some tests beforehand and the Linux app doesn't even connect to the Skype Test account. So I used the Android app and the voice quality was so bad I had to riff on some things. We reconnected 2/3 times and it was uniformly awful. Never had these problems on my 80/20 fibre connection with Hangouts.
Skype is awful, the Linux app is crap, it needs to die in a fire.
EDIT: I even enabled upnpd on my gateway router in case that was the problem - nope, still fubar.
I will never understand the idea in Microsoft that having UPnP running or being willing to open all kinds of jacked up ports is an acceptable user experience. UPnP is nice to have but it's difficult to find a router that has it, and even so, I've used Google Hangouts and Facetime over my network with zero issues, what makes Skype so star spangled awesome that it needs forwarded ports?
However, the app lacks advanced features
like screen sharing and API access.
It also excludes advanced video and audio
controls that you can access on
Windows or Mac OS platforms.
Also the beta version does not work reliably or does not work at all. Repeated failures to connect, no messages whatsoever. The older version just works. Maybe if they put to good use that big data infrastructure and analyze the logs that will become apparent. My use case is Ubuntu systems connecting to various remote OSs.
I have been using the new Skype For Linux app since their first alpha release and never experienced any of those problems. It lacks features but was never unstable for me.
I think the point is that it is retiring the full featured v4.3 and replacing it with the Beta version that is missing features - the big one for me was that I couldn't share my screen.
Yeah. The link in the FTA takes me to Skype download page and trying to install the deb file says that the version is 5.3.0.1. The notice on that page only says :
> All Skype for Linux clients version 4.3 and older will be retired on July 1, 2017. To keep chatting, please install the latest version of Skype for Linux
Seems like 4.3 and older will get retired, but Skype will continue to work on Linux with later versions like 5.3.0.1
Just four years ago, everyone I knew was running Skype on their computers with various group chats (agencies, remote teams..). Now it's a very confused Slack clone.
I'd say it needs to die in a fire, but I still like having SkypeOut around for the occasional communication edge case. I wouldn't be surprised to see Microsoft drop that feature, though.
I was wondering what to use for video calls with my father. He has a mobile core 2 duo machine (one of Dell's micro desktop PCs).
Skype stopped working as stated in the title. I went with Facebook Messenger on Firefox, but video from his camera is very jerky. It looks like it hangs for a 1s every 1.5s. For me it's an indication of a performance problem - video is converted to a WebRTC friendly format and it's slow. I have to measure or check how it works with Chrome.
So I searched a bit for alternatives and now it seems that everything is to some extent Electron based. So I don't have high hopes. Ones that are interesting don't have fully functional Android client, like Tox.
Electron makes me sad. That means I should probably put some work where my mouth is and do a couple of proper desktop apps for messaging (using existing protocols) or help some Tox client getting there.
Or maybe do some work to make Electron more bearable?
I want a dedicated hand-held that does video, and can lock the screen while maintaining video input and output.
I have a 16 month old kid; she has grandparents who are in various stages of decline, from "knees and back hurt a little" to "fairly advanced Alzheimers", and with various levels of computer expertise at the best of times.
I want to send each of them a tablet that someone configures once to be on wifi, and then just lets them receive calls from me, or the kid. I would also like this thing to be something sturdy enough I could just give to the kid so she can run around with it, and drool on it, without disconnecting the call until I unlock the device. (Grandparents aren't at the drooling stage yet, but at least one is likely to leave it outside in the rain.)
Alternative.to lists many Skype replacements available for Linux. (http://alternativeto.net/software/skype/?platform=linux) It doesn't list which ones are Electron-based, but I have to assume something there works well. I'm eager to try Slack, but I current work in a VERY Microsoft-dominated company, and the horrendous Skype FOR BUSINESS! is the only thing tolerated. (They even turned off the chat history! You know, to make it even MORE horrible.)
Get Camfrog. For simple 1v1 video chat and chat rooms, nothing beats it, period, and it's free for pretty much every use excepting A. visiting multiple chat rooms at the same time and B. Seeing more than one person at a time in said chat rooms (pond chats are different.) One of the rare programs I actually pay for instead of cracking the crap out of it.
Maybe buy a couple of used iPad 2s for $100 a pop and use them exclusively for FaceTime. It seems to work far better than anything else for video chats, even on 5-year-old hardware. The power of native apps is real.
I've been using Skype since 2007 or so. While I haven't found a more convenient alternative, the application quality has always been extremely low. This includes failing to sync notifications / received between mobile and desktop, zombie notifications that keep reappearing (even after being dismissed multiple times) and the list goes on. Why they can't get their shit together is a mystery to me.
I do a lot of interviews using Skype screen sharing, and even though I'm on OSX a lot of people I pair with use Linux. Shortsighted move to deprecate before feature-parity in my opinion; will move away from Skype as soon as possible.
If you need an alternative, the company I have been at for the last year uses Zoom, and it's been fantastic. I started using it for mentoring recently.
While I am generally a fan of open-source anyway, few things scream the need for good open-source solutions more than chat programs. I can’t even count on one hand the number of promising clients that have been utterly destroyed by companies over the years.
Enough already. One of the huge values of open code, in addition to being able to contribute and fix bugs, is that you can go back 6 months and fork from the point before $STUPID_FEATURE was added that broke everything. For Skype in particular, they have systematically destroyed this product on multiple platforms in many ways over a period of years.
There are tons of open source chat programs. Perfectly good ones, with video etc. As is so often the case, it's a social problem, not a technical one - the network effects dominate.
No one is talking of chat logs. My Skype logs with my brother are incredibly important and go back several years as we live on separate continents but pretty close nonetheless. This would be horrible -- if I hadn't switched to Windows 10 thanks to Windows Subsystem for Linux. If you do the same, here's how I set up, hopefully helpful to converts like me: https://github.com/chx/chx.github.io/wiki/How-I-set-up-my-Wi...
I wouldn't mind the Electron "Skype for Linux", if it wasn't a pile of crap. If you're going to retire an app for a replacement, make sure the replacement is on parity or better with the original native client. Microsoft has been doing very well in the Linux space since their new CEO, but this is dumb move.
At least there is web.skype.com, which works with audio + video in some cases, not all... Come on MS, since Ballmer and Gates are gone, you have shown your true potential for innovation and OSS. Just open the protocol, the community will do the rest.
It might give some needed push to Mumble and Tox, or even apps like Wire and Telegram. But they are too many and I don't think these smaller communication ecosystems can even talk to each other seamlessly (haven't used them as any inter-platform scenario).
I didn't mention Signal because it doesn't have a desktop app (that Chrome app not counted).
Well, apparently I won't be able to call landlines anymore with it (e.g: my family abroad). This was the last piece of Microsoft software I was using, but you know what? fuck it...
Microsoft is trying their best to kill Skype. And they will succeed if they keep walling it off like this. Windows isn't the center of the world anymore, they should be focusing on building a platform instead of a product.
Well, I am a little sad that I have to abandon my skype account, which I had for many years, now. But on the other hand, I am happy that Microsoft supports my efforts to move to XMPP. Two weeks ago I set my Skype to away and added a comment on how to reach me via XMPP.
I know in its current state XMPP isn't for everybody (outdated clients, low market share), but for friends and family, it works great for me (own ejabberd server, conversations as the dominant client, pidgin for the desktop).
We use Skype for conferences between my lab and the ones we work closely with.
I try to get them to change to Tox (https://tox.chat/) but it's not easy sincerely, since only very few of us use Linux exclusively and understand the problems with trying to work with Skype (basically we use the web version but can't use video in the conferences) on other OS other than Windows.
It is a pity as the new app (that replaces this) doesn't support some important features and the ones it supports, are pretty basic (e.g no settings/testing for camera and mic).
Microsoft also does not provide a solution for Skype for Business as well which is a serious drawback imo.
Though in some cases I am quick to blame MS, in this case many of their rivals are in a similar state unfortunately.
I've never seen another chat app mix contacts from two unrelated accounts or remove contacts for no reason. When you fucked up that bad, dropping the software is a great idea. From what I have observed, these bugs are not limited to Linux either. But then again, it's not like Microsoft is known for quality software. It's shitty, buggy, insecure software I wouldn't touch with a 10 ft pole like the rest of their offerings. Good riddance. Maybe someone will step up in this field. I'm looking at Signal but their video chat still doesn't work (ok, it worked for like a second before dropping off but that doesn't count).
[+] [-] danirod|8 years ago|reply
At this point it's just better to use web.skype.com on a browser tab. I find that more reliable than the Electron client.
And I'm just talking about the Linux version here. It's like if Skype had different bugs on each platform. Windows version also has its own glitches too.
* The classic, full version of Skype for Windows sometimes flips the order of a few messages, so that if you send two messages, the first one appears below the second one.
* The new UWP app seems to disconnect every time the window gets minimized. When the window is restored, for a few seconds I see all my contacts offline while it's trying to reconnect.
[+] [-] pgaddict|8 years ago|reply
We've been using Skype for internal communication for a very long time. Back then it was the only option that worked on all the OSes we need (Linux, Windows, Mac), had all the features, and it just worked.
But the Electron app is just damn terrible. The message layout is super inefficient - it can display maybe half the messages compared to the native client. If you click somewhere, it un-expectecly moves you somewhere else. And it just stopped delivering new messages some time ago (I've tried to downgrade to 5.2, but that made no difference).
Interestingly enough, the web skype delivers messages just fine (it still sucks for all the other reasons).
And it also does not drain the battery that much. The devs apparently had the bright idea to render the messages window as canvas, and refresh it at 60hz no matter what. Because of emoticons. The web skype does that too, but if the tab is inactive Firefox suspends that.
The only thing that mostly works for me is the Android client. I wonder how they'll break that one.
In any case, we have lost all hope Skype will get better again. Also, there are other options nowadays.
[+] [-] nailer|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pmontra|8 years ago|reply
That's a kind of a showstopper so I switched back to 4.3 hoping they'll fix it before the end of the month. I have a Windows VM with Skype installed but I'd rather start using something else with my customers.
Another annoying feature of the new Skype is that it has that modern/videogame look and feel which could be appropriate for casual chatting but not for business. Version 4.3 can be tweaked to look much like these HN pages: text with little space in between. Much more appropriate when copy pasting information and when scrolling back to read past calls.
And no history past 30 days.
And no search in history anyway.
And that useless unresizable black call window that eats up of half of the screen, thanks MS!
[+] [-] torrent-of-ions|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Pxtl|8 years ago|reply
Seriously, I love some of the things MS makes, but Skype has become one of those products that seems to survive on inertia instead of quality. Fortunately Google is also firmly intent on self-destructing on the subject of Chat as well, so it's crap all around.
Did the entire software industry get together and have a conference where they all agreed to screw up text messaging?
[+] [-] mediaserf|8 years ago|reply
This works well for me since most of my skype traffic is chats, but I have to load the new skype app for calls.
[+] [-] fosk|8 years ago|reply
Turns out eventual consistency doesn't work well with chat apps.
[+] [-] cm2187|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] SN76477|8 years ago|reply
I just want to send and receive messages to my existing contacts.
[+] [-] turbohedgehog|8 years ago|reply
This is most likely due to one computer's time being out of sync then re-syncing
[+] [-] a012|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Seanny123|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] acveilleux|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sofaofthedamned|8 years ago|reply
I did some tests beforehand and the Linux app doesn't even connect to the Skype Test account. So I used the Android app and the voice quality was so bad I had to riff on some things. We reconnected 2/3 times and it was uniformly awful. Never had these problems on my 80/20 fibre connection with Hangouts.
Skype is awful, the Linux app is crap, it needs to die in a fire.
EDIT: I even enabled upnpd on my gateway router in case that was the problem - nope, still fubar.
[+] [-] FussyZeus|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] antman|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mental_|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pmontra|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lobo_tuerto|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] icc97|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] supremesaboteur|8 years ago|reply
> All Skype for Linux clients version 4.3 and older will be retired on July 1, 2017. To keep chatting, please install the latest version of Skype for Linux
Seems like 4.3 and older will get retired, but Skype will continue to work on Linux with later versions like 5.3.0.1
[+] [-] gurkendoktor|8 years ago|reply
https://blogs.skype.com/news/2017/06/01/introducing-the-next...
Just four years ago, everyone I knew was running Skype on their computers with various group chats (agencies, remote teams..). Now it's a very confused Slack clone.
I'd say it needs to die in a fire, but I still like having SkypeOut around for the occasional communication edge case. I wouldn't be surprised to see Microsoft drop that feature, though.
[+] [-] hawski|8 years ago|reply
Skype stopped working as stated in the title. I went with Facebook Messenger on Firefox, but video from his camera is very jerky. It looks like it hangs for a 1s every 1.5s. For me it's an indication of a performance problem - video is converted to a WebRTC friendly format and it's slow. I have to measure or check how it works with Chrome.
So I searched a bit for alternatives and now it seems that everything is to some extent Electron based. So I don't have high hopes. Ones that are interesting don't have fully functional Android client, like Tox.
Electron makes me sad. That means I should probably put some work where my mouth is and do a couple of proper desktop apps for messaging (using existing protocols) or help some Tox client getting there.
Or maybe do some work to make Electron more bearable?
[+] [-] pavel_lishin|8 years ago|reply
I have a 16 month old kid; she has grandparents who are in various stages of decline, from "knees and back hurt a little" to "fairly advanced Alzheimers", and with various levels of computer expertise at the best of times.
I want to send each of them a tablet that someone configures once to be on wifi, and then just lets them receive calls from me, or the kid. I would also like this thing to be something sturdy enough I could just give to the kid so she can run around with it, and drool on it, without disconnecting the call until I unlock the device. (Grandparents aren't at the drooling stage yet, but at least one is likely to leave it outside in the rain.)
Does such a critter exist?
[+] [-] pmlnr|8 years ago|reply
https://talky.io/ - needs Chrome or Chromium, fails to work under Firefox
https://about.riot.im/ - a Matrix client that looks fine
http://linphone.org/ - this is SIP based, so only if that is working on their network
However, I'm pretty much having the same problems, so I'd welcome suggestions myself.
[+] [-] TheRealDunkirk|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] concrete777|8 years ago|reply
The previous team I was on was internal corp IT. Everyone was begging to ditch GotoMeeting and move to Skype.
But Skype was awful as well.
So we tested Zoom/Bluejeans/Hangouts and others (went with Zoom, fwiw).
We quit bothering with desktop/browser apps for video, and generally stuck to phone for audio only.
The Android and iOS experience with all of them was much less flakey.
[+] [-] lightedman|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] krrrh|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] forgotpwtomain|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] escribmac|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] oskarth|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lloeki|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] fao_|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|8 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] makecheck|8 years ago|reply
Enough already. One of the huge values of open code, in addition to being able to contribute and fix bugs, is that you can go back 6 months and fork from the point before $STUPID_FEATURE was added that broke everything. For Skype in particular, they have systematically destroyed this product on multiple platforms in many ways over a period of years.
[+] [-] dTal|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] chx|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ArlenBales|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] paines|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] balladeer|8 years ago|reply
It might give some needed push to Mumble and Tox, or even apps like Wire and Telegram. But they are too many and I don't think these smaller communication ecosystems can even talk to each other seamlessly (haven't used them as any inter-platform scenario).
I didn't mention Signal because it doesn't have a desktop app (that Chrome app not counted).
Links: https://wiki.mumble.info/wiki/Main_Page, https://tox.chat, https://about.riot.im, https://matrix.org, https://telegram.org
[+] [-] partycoder|8 years ago|reply
Microsoft <3 Linux, yeah right.
[+] [-] deelowe|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] JepZ|8 years ago|reply
I know in its current state XMPP isn't for everybody (outdated clients, low market share), but for friends and family, it works great for me (own ejabberd server, conversations as the dominant client, pidgin for the desktop).
RIP Skype
[+] [-] jbmorgado|8 years ago|reply
I try to get them to change to Tox (https://tox.chat/) but it's not easy sincerely, since only very few of us use Linux exclusively and understand the problems with trying to work with Skype (basically we use the web version but can't use video in the conferences) on other OS other than Windows.
[+] [-] andmarios|8 years ago|reply
Microsoft also does not provide a solution for Skype for Business as well which is a serious drawback imo.
Though in some cases I am quick to blame MS, in this case many of their rivals are in a similar state unfortunately.
[+] [-] cdrark|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mnm1|8 years ago|reply