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Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client

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Re: Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client

#401

Post by [deleted] »

Retric wrote: post #397
untog wrote: post #354

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I didn't need a smartphone for this task because there was a real live human being, who brought to the task all of the adaptability and intuition that modern systems lack. OK, my example was simplistic. I want to find the best chicken tacos in San Francisco. I can't call directory enquiries for that - I have go find reviews. Then call to make a reservation at the place, then find driving directions of how to get th…

I call BS on the review side. Where is the 'best chicken tacos in San Francisco'? I have no idea and Yelp is not going to help. So, the fallback is I can ask some friends for advice and directions or use some companies best of list. But, again the internet did almost nothing in this space. PS: I also had the internet on my phone in 2006 and yes they had maps. EX: http://www.forbes.com/2006/12/08/phones-music-internet…

[deleted]

Re: Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client

#402

Post by orbitingpluto »

nakedrobot2 wrote: post #31

Skype worked far, far better 10 years ago than it does today. From all indications I've seen, Skype is getting dramatically worse all the time. From a personal standpoint, it crashes for me multiple times a day and I can rarely get group calls working on the first try. Often Skype requires a force-quit and then it crashes twice more when it is being restarted. This is on Mac and Android. Fun fact: I have a friend who…

Wholehearted agreement.

The only time Skype worked for me was on a Nokia N800. It actually worked so well that it delayed my mobile phone adoption for a year. It just worked. Enter this decade where I think I paid for a subscription for almost 4 years and maybe got one or two good calls on other devices during the whole stint.

Messaging systems seemed to work so much better last decade when they were still P2P. I maintained real relationships on them as opposed to no one ever being online on Skype and the shame that is Facebook.

Re: Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client

#403

Post by Klathmon »

matzipan wrote: post #391
untog wrote: post #381

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And the startup is sooooo slow and the UI crashes twice before I ever get the chance to give it input. Then your installation is clearly broken. No, it's not good, but let's not pretend these issues didn't exist in the "good old days".

Windows 8 came preinstalled with the computer and then just updated to Windows 10 from it. If the main upgrade method is broken, I'm not sure what to believe anymore...

Don't be disingenuous. There isn't a consumer OS out there that can do 100% smooth seamless upgrades between major versions.

OSX, iOS, Android, Linux, and Windows all have pretty big issues when doing upgrades.

Re: Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client

#404

Post by jvolkman »

junto wrote: post #209
pentae wrote: post #122

What I don’t understand is - Why is there not a serious competitor to Skype? If there was a cross-platform Skype clone that worked on OSX, Linux, Windows, iOS and Android that was stable and secure - the whole world would jump onto it. All it has to do is not be a bloated piece of crap like Skype. Instead, everything else out there is fragmented. We’re all waiting, get on it already!

Indeed. There are lots of apps that cover parts of its functionality, but not all. We keep trying to introduce new alternatives at work, but to date nothing has passed the test. Calls, group calls, chat, group chat, video, screenshare. For one communications client those are the boxes it needs to tick. Any suggestions?

Hangouts? https://apps.google.com/products/hangouts/

And if you're looking for full conference room VC, https://www.google.com/work/chrome/devices/for-meetings/

Google uses Hangouts for all of these tasks internally, and in my experience it works well.

Re: Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client

#405

Post by mixmastamyk »

criddell wrote: post #352
cookiecaper wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used Thunderbird daily for the better part of a decade until about 3 months ago. It's nothing personal against the project, which is currently the best serious desktop mail client available afaik. It's simply that Mozilla doesn't care about it anymore since everyone uses webmail now. Thunderbird is doing feature releases about once a year now [0], and Mozilla has pulled most (all?) of its full-time developers [1].…

What makes an email client so difficult to write? I don't mean this to sound insulting, I just really don't understand where the complexity is. It seems like you should be able to get to a point where it is feature complete and all development efforts shift to maintenance mode. Or maybe I don't understand what's been going on with Thunderbird and perhaps it's been "done" for years now.

It is basically done. There could be UI refinements and updates to the occasional protocol/security change, but yeah, there's not been much innovation in email standards for a while.

Re: Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client

#406

Post by matzipan »

The Skype app crashes so frequently. When it finally decides to work, the microphone doesn't work. If you feel really really brave, you can try putting the app to background, except that might cause your video feed to not work anymore. Remember those files somebody sent you 3 months ago? Well, you haven't recieved them on this device yet. This is true for Windows, Linux and Android. In an update about a month ago, Windows 10 introduced the "Messaging" and "Video" apps. Which were both based on Skype infrastructure. They.didn't.work. Which makes me wonder if they ever tested them before even releasing them.

To be fair, Hangouts has gotten a bit better, but it still feels like there's nobody actually actively working on any of the apps. Or at least, nobody who is working on the app dogfoods it. But this app is no stranger to ignoring your microphone, or showing you that you're still in a conversation which has ended several hours ago.

Facebook Messenger has not disappointed me yet, which might make it the strongest and most stable contender to date.

Re: Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client

#408

Post by matzipan »

obsurveyor wrote: post #399
matzipan wrote: post #380

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Windows 10 is a pretty good OS but has serious issues with drivers (it tries to be clever and breaks stuff). And the startup is sooooo slow and the UI crashes twice before I ever get the chance to give it input. The Mail, Calendar and OneNote apps kept me hooked. But the lack of a decent terminal was killing me. Also, Skype didn't work properly half the time and the new "Video" and "Messaging" apps built on top of Sk…

I agree with untog, you need to get your install fixed. I'm running on hardware from 2011(except the SSD) since launch and Windows 10 is extremely fast to boot and the UI hasn't crashed once. It even runs my security camera software that was last updated in 2008. I only recently re-installed Skype so I can't speak to that but it has problems all of it's own.

I'll grab an ISO at some point and do it... I didn't have any point of comparison, so I didn't know how it should be behaving.

Re: Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client

#409

Post by matzipan »

Klathmon wrote: post #403
matzipan wrote: post #391

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Windows 8 came preinstalled with the computer and then just updated to Windows 10 from it. If the main upgrade method is broken, I'm not sure what to believe anymore...

Don't be disingenuous. There isn't a consumer OS out there that can do 100% smooth seamless upgrades between major versions. OSX, iOS, Android, Linux, and Windows all have pretty big issues when doing upgrades.

I haven't really had problems with OS X.

There's the occasional odd package under Linux which remains installed and you need to manually remove it, but nothing unfixable. But I guess that depends more on the underlying OS structure. I'm looking forward to see more widespread usage of Snappy Ubuntu.

Since that is the main way people migrate to Windows 10, I would've expected them to be more careful with it.

Re: Dear Skype/Microsoft: Problems with Linux client

#410

Post by tomc1985 »

gargravarr wrote: post #38

Not sure I understand the issue here, can someone summarise? Yes, Skype is an utter POS on Linux (90s UI, total incompatibility with any of the fancy things like picture sharing, inability to join group calls etc.) but the link implies the client can no longer participate in calls. I was chatting to a friend just yesterday via the Linux client - they called me and I accepted the call.

I like the 90s UI :/

Better than all this modern crap

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