Skype 5 for Mac • Hacker News Board

Re: Skype 5 for Mac

#11

Post by andrewcurioso » Wed, Mar 30, 2011, 3:34 PM UTC

mahrain wrote: post #4

I have used the Feedback function to complain, and they fixed the spacing a bit from beta to release. I can "fix" the windows version by turning off a lot of the "Today screen" and superfluous information bars everywhere. To make it look more like the old Mac version.

To me the biggest two things:

1) The dial pad is one of the only things still in a separate window, which is a pain when entering conference call passwords (which is what I use Skype for half of the time). Before you could just click in the call window and start hitting numbers.

2) I can no longer have two different chats open side by side.

Aesthetically I actually don't mind it. It's the huge step backwards in UX that I hate.

Re: Skype 5 for Mac

#12

Post by ojbyrne » Wed, Mar 30, 2011, 3:35 PM UTC

So far the best thing I like about it is that the upgrader offers a "Skip This Version" button. And I'm thankful I know lots of early adopters.

Re: Skype 5 for Mac

#13

Post by ernestipark » Wed, Mar 30, 2011, 3:37 PM UTC

Skype on the Mac has always just been downright awful. The software is extremely buggy and confusing. Maybe some of my problems are with settings I can change, but that is bad UX in my opinion. When I get chats, I hear a noise, but then can't see who sent me the chat until I go to my buddylist and scan for a number indicating the number of messages next to someone. There's also that whole mood message thing which just dumbfounds me. The thing is though, as long as I can click a button to video chat my parents, these issues are ignorable for my usage, which is frustrating and relieving at the same time.

Re: Skype 5 for Mac

#14

Post by warp » Wed, Mar 30, 2011, 3:37 PM UTC

simonw wrote: post #3

"Something I’ve noticed even casual Skype users do is to send URLs by text chat during a videochat. Well… How do you do that in Skype 5?" That burned me in a Skype call yesterday (first time using it since the new version upgrade). I had to send the link by email instead. I also couldn't figure out how to hang up a call, so I had to quit the app!

I haven't had any trouble doing either of these things -- but Skype 5 on the mac is the first version of Skype I have used. So, I get the impression that Skype 5 is fine for many new, casual users.

Re: Skype 5 for Mac

#15

Post by poutine » Wed, Mar 30, 2011, 3:41 PM UTC

I refuse to upgrade to Skype 5 after trying it once and accidentally upgrading a second time when the app tried to auto upgrade itself. The horrid UI combined with Skype's stated desire to bring ads to the client makes me search for an alternative which sadly there isn't.

In a business setting I would say that 90% of the time Skype is used as an IM client because of its working persistant groups and functional file transfers.

Entrepreneurs take note, there's an opportunity to make a competitor to Skype even though many would say that's crazy since Skype is so entrenched. However Skype has failed to innovate and is regressing in user experience. If someone nails the group chat features first and give table stakes for the voice/video chat we'd have a viable alternate for business use.

Re: Skype 5 for Mac

#16

Post by bnegreve » Wed, Mar 30, 2011, 3:46 PM UTC

raganwald wrote: post #2

Skype has noticed that there is a discrepancy in quality between the two versions, and has decided to make the two versions more similar to each other. Unfortunately, instead of making the Windows version of Skype better, they’ve decided to fix the discrepancy by making the Mac version of Skype more like the Windows version. This is the number one reason that I prefer Mac-only products to products that are available…

Yeah, I guess you only talk to mac users anyway.

Re: Skype 5 for Mac

#17

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Mar 30, 2011, 3:49 PM UTC

bnegreve wrote: post #16

raganwald wrote: post #2

Skype has noticed that there is a discrepancy in quality between the two versions, and has decided to make the two versions more similar to each other. Unfortunately, instead of making the Windows version of Skype better, they’ve decided to fix the discrepancy by making the Mac version of Skype more like the Windows version. This is the number one reason that I prefer Mac-only products to products that are available…

Yeah, I guess you only talk to mac users anyway.

[deleted]

Re: Skype 5 for Mac

#18

Post by bnegreve » Wed, Mar 30, 2011, 3:53 PM UTC

[deleted] wrote: post #17

bnegreve wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I guess you only talk to mac users anyway.

[deleted]

It was clear :] I just find weird to say this about an application like skype that obviously needs to be cross platform.

Re: Skype 5 for Mac

#19

Post by arthurgibson » Wed, Mar 30, 2011, 3:55 PM UTC

I try not to publicly complain too much, but when I got this upgrade a month ago I was shocked. Its so bloated and unevenly proportionate for use. It seems like they are trying to take up as much real estate on the desktop and compete for the attention of the user , i.e. move them away from gmail/gchat etc.

Re: Skype 5 for Mac

#20

Post by kingatomic » Wed, Mar 30, 2011, 3:56 PM UTC

I can echo the article's sentiments. I upgraded to the new client a few weeks ago and cannot adequately express the horror I experienced when my clean, intuitive UI/UX went away and was replaced by some forsaken window vomited up from a designer's darkest nightmare.

In what possible world does coverflow for contacts make better sense than just a simple list?

It took actual time for me to figure out how to find my contacts and place a call. I hold a degree, I am not an idiot. For a program designed specifically for the purpose of calling people, for that functionality to be that un-intuitive is simply mind-boggling.