Skype

2006-09-02
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Software > Video conferencing >

(on Wikipedia)
https://www.skype.com/en/

A ubiquitous VoIP, webcamming and instant messager client.

I only use Skype when other people need me to use it.



Table of Contents [hide]

Skype is untrustworthy ∞

--

Exiting Skype from the commandline ∞

(source, archived)

Skype.exe /pid:912 /shutdown

Notes from one guy's post:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Phone>Skype.exe /pid:3860 /shutdown
C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Phone>taskkill /IM Skype.exe /T /F
SUCCESS: The process with PID 3860 (child process of PID 4864) has been terminated.
C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Phone>taskkill /IM Skype.exe /F
SUCCESS: The process "Skype.exe" with PID 3860 has been terminated.
C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Phone>taskkill /PID 3860 /F
SUCCESS: The process with PID 3860 has been terminated.

But I still have a running Skype.exe process with PID 3860! How can Skype, now Microsoft, write something that is unkillable - even as local Administrator on my Windows 7 machine!!! Man Frustrated And this problem has been around since at least 2011 based on other forums!

(date not recorded) - (version not recorded) ∞

  • Skype + Logitech (+ Windows Vista?) has issues recognizing the headset when it's removed and plugged back in. It also seems to ignore the mute button on the headset when I am using Skype.

    • (I don't think this was my note)

Linux ∞

--

Add "echo123" to your list of users, and you can test chatting and your audio/microphone with it. Obsolete with 1.4.0.118 because there's a button in the config window to summon up a chat with it. BUT, it's still totally hopeless. There should be a few things:

  1. The ability to check the outgoing sounds (Skype has as of 1.4.118)
  2. Test locally (like Ekiga) so you can quickly find out if the mic works and the volume levels are ok. Just talk and it's played back.

  3. Test with a remote call, but without any sort of stupid intro chatter, recording timer and playback loop. Just talk and have it sent back right away.

--

2010-10-16 - 2.1 beta 2 ∞

\smart install libqtdbus4

Works just fine.

Mysteriously it logged me in as spiralofhope. I'm guessing that I had some leftover config file from way back when. But I don't remember ever using the name in association with Skype.

Downloaded from www.skype.com/intl/en-us/get-skype/on-your-computer/linux/post-download/

Strangely, while the official download page has a beta, the beta download page doesn't have anything.. www.skype.com/intl/en-us/get-skype/on-your-computer/linux/beta/

2009-06-26 - 2.0.0.72 ∞

  • It lets me sign up with an invalid password: One with 22 characters. The limit is 20 characters.
  • I cannot paste a password into the password field, the "Sign in" button stays greyed out until I backspace and type the letter.
  • Pasting also pastes the carriage return character, so I have to backspace anyways, and then I can just press enter.
  • After a call, it leaves the window up. Annoying.

  • I still hate waiting for the skype test message to begin my speaking.

Tested much earlier too, but I had no notes from back then.

2007-12-01 - skype_static-2.0.0.13 ∞

Supposedly has video support.

Still doesn't have grouping support. That's so pathetic. =(

I can't sign in, it says "another Skype instance may exist" which is bogus. I rebooted and re-tested, no joy.

This is happening with the previous versions too. Sigh.

it. can't. do. word. wrapping!! omfg. =(

I can't use it because it hangs all the time. Garbage.

Another skype instance may exist ∞

I can't sign in, it says "another Skype instance may exist" which is bogus. I rebooted and re-tested, no joy. This now happens with the previous versions too.

This seems to be a permissions problem:

chown user:group -R ~/.Skype

Or you could just nuke the profile entirely:

rm -rf ~/.Skype
Proof that it is a permissions problem, and an alternate solution:

1) Make skype use a new profile directory. (It will create it)

skype --dbpath=~/.Skype-test

2) Exit skype. Then synchronize the contents of the broken profile overtop of this other profile. This command will do:

rsync -av ~/.Skype/ ~/.Skype-test/

This will generate a permissions problem.

3) Launch skype with the test profile and verify that your contact list is there and you have access to your chat histories.

skype --dbpath=~/.Skype-test

If successful...

3a) sync your new-working overtop of your old-broken

rsync -av ~/.Skype-test/ ~/.Skype/

3b) delete your temporary user

rm -rf ~/.Skype-test/

and now you can continue to use your original profile.

2007-10-25 - skype_static-1.4.0.118-oss ∞

[http://share.skype.com/sites/garage/2007/10/skype_for_linux_14_gold_panacea.html]

  • Doesn't grouping contacts anymore.

    • Through some hackish trickery when I played with the two previous decent versions, groups appeared and I could move people into them. Now I don't have that at all.
1.4.0.118

PCLinuxOS upgraded me to this.

  • All new incoming chats are blank because it doesn't have a default setting for Chat History.

2007-03-11 - 1.3.0.53_API ∞

It seems to work just fine!

Recent tests show that my computer hangs for up to two minutes when receiving the first message after Skype starts.

A conversation would go quickly thereafter.

New conversations would hang the computer for a while as well.

I'm playing with priority settings now. It's too erratic.

Outgoing calls hang Skype sometimes. It might be incoming calls too. It's really pathetic.

Skype 1.3 "message not delivered" ∞

  • skype-1.3.0.53-suse.i586.rpm installs and looks like it works fine.

  • skype_staticQT-1.3.0.53-generic.tar.bz2 installs and looks like it works fine.

Both of these have a problem with "message not delivered" problems. Nobody can see what I type and no calls go through.

Go back to the old stable 1.2, it'll solve all your blues. I used skype-1.2.0.18.tar.bz2 from freshmeat [ 2 ]

Skype freezes on incoming message ∞

Turn off all sounds. =(

This works, but incoming calls still hang me for a good minute or so.

The computer locks up on incoming calls ∞

(locks up for a very long time)

This is because a USB headset which was in and in use was pulled out and Skype is somehow ruining the computer's life by trying to access it.

2007-01-16 - skype-1.2.0.18_API ∞

I use skype-1.2.0.18.tar.bz2 from freshmeat [ 3 ]. But they removed it! WHAT THE FUCK!

This is the only version which works properly on Linux as of December 2008.

If you force KDE to have extreme focus stealing prevention, then you'll usually not get bothered by Skype windows.

  • If I double-click on a certain user's name, it ALWAYS crashes Skype. It seems to have gone away on its own.
  • Can't remove a person from a group chat. When viewing the list of users, it does not populate the 'users already in chat' pane.
  • My first sound device is selected as the microphone device, and it is greyed out. I have a headset. This wasn't a problem before, and now Skype is crippled.
  • This hangs my computer when it has issues with the sound device. (solved in 1.3.0.53_API)

  • It takes a long time to start up. That's normal.

Due to a bug in Skype, if I were to downgrade from the 1.3.0.53_API to skype-1.2.0.18_API I'll see a bunch of 'unnamed' groups in my contact list. I see no other way to add groups.

When typing in one chat window, and another one pops up, one character from my conversation appears in the other chat window instead.

Trying to downgrade from the broken 1.3 to this broken 1.2 doesn't seem to work, launching skype doesn't do anything.

Skype Linux System Tray Blinking ∞

https://web.archive.org/web/20090228211620/http://share.skype.com/sites/linux/2006/06/open_beta.html#comment-10732

That system tray blinking is still there, a half a year later.

This is from "display notification in the system tray", and in order to stop the blinking you have to visit each of your notifications in skype's history - missed calls, conversation history, etc. Sigh.

You cannot do this with conference calls though.

Open up Skype and click on the announcements. Sometimes they're semi-invisible but you can still hover your mouse until the mouse changes and then click on them to get rid of them.

Last updated 2024-06-29 at 16:02:59

Footnotes

  1. was 195.38.3.142:6502/skype/ [ ↩ ]
  2. was freshmeat.net/projects/skype/?branch_id=51248&release_id=210293 [ ↩ ]
  3. was freshmeat.net/projects/skype/?branch_id=51248&release_id=210293 [ ↩ ]
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