Skype 4.2 for Linux available

[cobito]

It seems that Microsoft is still offering support for Skype on Linux and to my surprise, it seems that this support is even better than when it was owned by eBay.

A good number of bugs have been fixed in this version and some new features have been added. Unfortunately, it is still far from being on par with the Windows application.

You can find more information here.

[cobito]

For those who might be interested, here you have the metapackage for Mageia 3 (it probably also works on 2). To install it, just double-click, enter the root password, wait a few seconds and that's it.

[Elfo]

The day before yesterday Google updated GTalk to make it "Hangouts" (Android 4), and I don't know if the integration it has with GMail will make me completely get rid of Skype...

Have you tried the new Hangouts? Or if you need Skype by the nose, what makes you not opt for other alternatives?

[cobito]

Just to comment that "Hangouts" has stopped supporting XMPP, the free protocol that allowed third-party clients to operate on Google's network. So it doesn't start with much glory from the point of view of standardization, let's say.

[Kernel1.0]

Look how complicated you are, just to talk (text) what I think is best is pidgin. I've been using it since messenger became a social network and you needed 3 hours to install it. And no multiplatform and multiprotocol problems.

[cobito]

@Kernel1.0:

Look how complicated you are, just to talk (text) what seems best to me is pidgin. I've been using it since messenger became a social network and you needed 3 hours to install it. And no problems with multiplatform and multiprotocol.

The problem with Pidgin is when they mess around with protocols. In the WLM era, every few months the alternative messengers could no longer use their network because they had made some minor change to the protocol (and the truth is that this nonsense has been reason enough for more than one person I had convinced to use Linux to end up thinking that Linux is rubbish). Now Google is abandoning XMPP so there will be problems until they are updated, etc.

I used emesene in its time and now I'm testing Jitsi ( jitsi.org | Jitsi) also multiprotocol and open source. But when you use services with closed protocols you run the risk of being left hanging at any time.

I use Skype quite little, but I know it's a program that will never give me any problems of any kind simply because the same one maintains the service.

For family, friends, etc., an alternative messenger is fine. If you need reliability you have to study very well where you are going to connect to make sure that tomorrow this is going to keep working.

[Elfo]

@cobito:

Just to comment that "Hangouts" has stopped supporting XMPP, the open protocol that allowed third-party clients to operate on Google's network. So it's not launching with much glory from the point of view of standardization, shall we say.

Damn, I don't like the direction Google has been taking lately... It's a logical move, though, because AFAIK XMPP doesn't support video conferencing, right?

Which is also not an excuse to "move" the whole system out of XMPP, of course...

[cobito]

@Elfo:

It's a logical move anyway, because AFAIK XMPP doesn't support video conferencing, right?

True. Moreover, the main web browsers (including Firefox 22) are starting to adopt the WebRTC API which, among other things, allows video conferencing from the browser without having to install any add-ons. It's possible that messaging clients will start to become obsolete very soon (or start to be relegated to the background).

[Bm4n]

I use skype for video conferencing (I've also used it for calls, but since it still doesn't support flat rate for mobiles in Spain...), simply because it was the best, I don't know if google has now achieved something of the same level. But unfortunately, google only does well what brings them benefits, the rest they end up throwing in the trash, so who knows where things are going and what kind of statistics they make with our conversations :risitas:

[Kernel1.0]

I always talk about personal use, I understand that for professional environments/companies it is not the same, nor does it resemble it.
No, in the end everything will be integrated into the browser, Google has been trying to convince us for years (trying in my case, just trying) that everything in the cloud through the browser is cooler. You just have to look at the "laptops" they release.

And now Mozilla is getting into making an operating system for mobiles, which Google is paying for….

[cobito]

Leaving aside the fact that the cloud, as it is currently set up, gives me a bit of a bad feeling, I think integrating everything into the browser with open standards (like HTML5 (excluding the unfortunate but necessary h264) or WebRTC) is the best way to make services accessible and have the same quality on all operating systems. It is also a way to be able to choose a "client" trusting that it will always work.

In terms of communications, the fact that the client is in the cloud or installed on your PC is of little importance: whatever the form, the data flow will end up going through a central server and no matter if the client is on your PC, if the service fails, the client is useless.

As for toy computers and operating systems, they are just that: a toy.