And this is a surprise?
It is not news that complaints are ignored, but it is good news that somebody is raising awareness about it. It is only useful if it appears on HN.
Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client
11–20 of 483 posts
Re: Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client
#12That is really poor, I have skype credit for when I go abroad and need to call the UK from a local number (e.g. Real good with banks or utilities).
Re: Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client
#13I had to use Skype for work a lot. But things like this and the fact that I don't trust Skype enough to install it, kept me from using it.
So at the time I bought the cheapest Android phone I could find and used it just for Skype, it didnt even have a sim card. And I was always easy to reach for coworkers.
Hopefully this helps someone else in the same position. Luckily I dont have to use Skype anymore.
Re: Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client
#14Some of my contact lists disappeared the other day. I am using Skype 4.3 on Ubuntu 14.04. I am trying to move most of my communication to Slack, but some clients and friends are still on Skype which makes this a pain for me.
Re: Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client
#15While I'm unsure about the inability to join calls, I can at least agree that the Linux client is terrible.
I finally caved a few months ago, got an account, and started using it ("oh wow it handles 's/woops/fixed/', that's awesome")... until the client began freezing, chewing 100% CPU for as long as I patiently left it running, and not getting itself sorted out. Removing ~/.Skype (XDG, anybody?) and re-signing in worked... for about 3 minutes, at which point my profile data re-synced, and the client began choking again.
Last I tried the Web-integrated version (Skype icon, top-right of outlook.com et. al., takes a minute to become clickable) I couldn't even type "/me ..." - the line would send verbatim. At that point I gave up completely.
I used to use IRC but I find it too Spartan nowadays, but on the other hand I don't want to have to remember what chat tab is in what window, and I can't handle the idea of running 15 isolated instances of Webkit for all the separate chat systems out there, so that kills websites and most current "desktop" chat clients.
I don't use the Internet to communicate much, somewhat ironically. Everything drives me to distraction.
Notes:
- XDG: TL;DR = says stuff should be in ~/.config, ~/.cache, etc. https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/XDG_Base_Directory_supp...
- I cannot help but admire the reverse-engineering going on at https://github.com/EionRobb/skype4pidgin/tree/master/skypewe... to make the outlook/skype web integration programmatically consumable. I have no idea how it works but the commits are very recent, which is a big positive sign.
Re: Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client
#16This is very disappointing. Skype has been one of those "just works" solutions for calling distant family members - even if they're running underpowered hardware. I currently use https://tel.red/ to connect to Lync / "Skype for Business" on Linux. I wonder if that's a possible solution?
Google Hangouts is a great alternative. It only needs a browser, too.
...and a Google account - which not everyone has / wants.
Also, from my experiences, it needs a more powerful computer to run smoothly.
Re: Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client
#17It's not just the Linux client. The Windows client has terrible usability issues too.
Re: Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client
#18Skype has been getting worse and worse over the years. Personally I've switched to Telegram for chats, and I'll be looking for alternatives as far as voice calls are concerned.
Re: Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client
#19I use web.skype.com these days. I don't want that piece of crapware installed on my box, as I don't trust it.
The web client works well enough for chat so I can talk to my friends who don't want to move away from it.
It does however not support calls since for some reason it needs a browser plugin for that. WebRTC would clearly be too easy. So I just link people a Firefox Hello link whenever they want to use voice.
Re: Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client
#20The Linux client is pretty disappointing, to be honest. The only reason I keep using Skype is because of friends using it.
The Xbox client isn't much better. After install, it would only run for me if I specifically did NOT accept the terms and conditions. Account management is also dodgy as hell.