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Skype 5 for Mac blocks all webcam access by Flash. Skype says it is "by design"

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Re: Skype 5 for Mac blocks all webcam access by Flash. Skype says it is "by design"

#71

Post by danudey »

raquo wrote: post #19
pclark wrote: post #7

I have no idea what Skype was thinking with version 5 of their client. It is atrocious. There is so much white space, if your Instant Messenger client takes up more screen space than a web browser, you're probably doing something wrong. Download version 2.8 - http://mac.oldapps.com/skype.php

Skype never made good client software for apple's devices, so it's not surprising. All versions have major UX flaws and iphone app is very buggy and slow/freezing for example.

The biggest issue I have is that they seem to have this idea of 'keep your chats open even when you're not around'; then when I open Skype on my iPhone, it downloads the last month of chat history, one message at a time, and is slow and useless (and chews up bandwidth, CPU, and battery) until I give up on it.

It's horrible design, and I can't help but think that no one at Skype has actually used it for anything, which seems improbable. I've heard that the Android version does the same thing as well. It's just terrible.

Re: Skype 5 for Mac blocks all webcam access by Flash. Skype says it is "by design"

#72

Post by alanh »

1. Three months ago, a Skype customer reports a terrible, hostile, unreasonable problem with the new client via official Skype bug tracker

2. Company rep asks, “Can you provide us your feedback? You can send feedback through Skype Menu -> Provide Skype Feedback … Thanks” and provides not a glimpse of insight into why the customer is being asked to submit this complaint elsewhere instead of the rep just, you know, doing his job and getting the message wherever it needs to be, himself.

3. Customer: WTF, didn’t I just do that here?

4. Support person: “Currently, this [issue] is by design.”

5. Other users express outrage, and this is posted to HN today

6. Today, rep “rectifies” previous statement and says it is a “bug, not by design.”

(Can we get something to the HN front page about Skype for iPhone’s terrible behavior of loading all chat messages in chronological order, taking literally half an hour before the app is usable?)

Re: Skype 5 for Mac blocks all webcam access by Flash. Skype says it is "by design"

#73

Post by rhizome »

taylorbuley wrote: post #60
timerickson wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, Beom Soo Park just posted a follow-up comment correcting his mistake in not calling it a bug. "I have to rectify the term I used before, this issue found to be a "bug", not "by design", We are working on the issue and will be fixed in future updates. Sorry for making confusions. Thank you"

If true, it would seem that this simple misdescription has been blown out of proportion.

I wouldn't call it a "simple misdescription." It changed the entire meaning of the sentence and probably prevented it from getting fixed for release. It's about as big a mistake as you can make in a bug tracker.

Re: Skype 5 for Mac blocks all webcam access by Flash. Skype says it is "by design"

#74

Post by alanh »

ThomPete wrote: post #20
pclark wrote: post #7

I have no idea what Skype was thinking with version 5 of their client. It is atrocious. There is so much white space, if your Instant Messenger client takes up more screen space than a web browser, you're probably doing something wrong. Download version 2.8 - http://mac.oldapps.com/skype.php

What they had in mind was the 90% of their users who only have 5 contacts in their contact list and the 95% of their users who only use the text area to write "Can I call you" In other words Skype is designed for the 90% not us 10%

See, I’ve heard this before, but I’m

1) not sure it’s true this is the case (show me the numbers or concrete reasoning), and

2) more importantly, I believe this is a flawed approach because it’s in Skype’s best interest for users to have lots of active contacts/friends/numbers in the system. Why design in such a way that discourages desirable behavior?

It’s a failed design, and I don’t think that supposed 90% rule really applies

Re: Skype 5 for Mac blocks all webcam access by Flash. Skype says it is "by design"

#76

Post by kaffeinecoma »

jacquesm wrote: post #17
lukeinth wrote: post #2

Thought I would pass on a word of warning about the recently released Skype 5 for Mac. Once installed, if Skype 5 is running (even in background), it will block Flash from being able to access your webcam. This breaks quite a few popular web applications. Unfortunately users will think the problem is caused by Flash, when it is actually caused by Skype. Examples of sites and applications broken by Skype 5. * http://w…

http://ww.com/ is also affected and we've already seen some support requests about this.

Um, slight bit of NSFW failure here: http://i.imgur.com/dN2rw.png

Re: Skype 5 for Mac blocks all webcam access by Flash. Skype says it is "by design"

#77

Post by chrisbolt »

Dbug wrote: post #68
lukeinth wrote: post #2

Thought I would pass on a word of warning about the recently released Skype 5 for Mac. Once installed, if Skype 5 is running (even in background), it will block Flash from being able to access your webcam. This breaks quite a few popular web applications. Unfortunately users will think the problem is caused by Flash, when it is actually caused by Skype. Examples of sites and applications broken by Skype 5. * http://w…

Perhaps they could offer a small separate sort of "Flash Guard" utility for the blocking function. We consider the possibility of rogue Flash code opening the camera and/or microphone to be a security vulnerability. Being able to block those globally is a "feature" some need. Of control of hardware access should be by user choice only, not a side effect of an app. Counting on stored Flash settings isn't an option sin…

How can rogue Flash code open the camera or microphone without prompting? On http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplay... the only two options are Always Deny and Always Ask.

Re: Skype 5 for Mac blocks all webcam access by Flash. Skype says it is "by design"

#78

Post by drivebyacct2 »

jacquesm wrote: post #17
lukeinth wrote: post #2

Thought I would pass on a word of warning about the recently released Skype 5 for Mac. Once installed, if Skype 5 is running (even in background), it will block Flash from being able to access your webcam. This breaks quite a few popular web applications. Unfortunately users will think the problem is caused by Flash, when it is actually caused by Skype. Examples of sites and applications broken by Skype 5. * http://w…

http://ww.com/ is also affected and we've already seen some support requests about this.

While we're at it, images displayed while in "Child friendly mode" ought not show ball sack. http://i.min.us/ibQ0Ci.png

God, and ALL of the top links take me to a "PAY ME MONIES" page? And I have to browse 6 at a time with nothing but a thumbnail? I'd sad I wasted the time to sign up to be frank...

Re: Skype 5 for Mac blocks all webcam access by Flash. Skype says it is "by design"

#79

Post by ThomPete »

alanh wrote: post #74
ThomPete wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What they had in mind was the 90% of their users who only have 5 contacts in their contact list and the 95% of their users who only use the text area to write "Can I call you" In other words Skype is designed for the 90% not us 10%

See, I’ve heard this before, but I’m 1) not sure it’s true this is the case (show me the numbers or concrete reasoning), and 2) more importantly, I believe this is a flawed approach because it’s in Skype’s best interest for users to have lots of active contacts/friends/numbers in the system. Why design in such a way that discourages desirable behavior? It’s a failed design, and I don’t think that supposed 90% rule re…

Sometimes the benefits are only apparent later one.

What is failed about it?

It's different yes. But what is failed about it?

Re: Skype 5 for Mac blocks all webcam access by Flash. Skype says it is "by design"

#80

Post by alanh »

ThomPete wrote: post #79
alanh wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

See, I’ve heard this before, but I’m 1) not sure it’s true this is the case (show me the numbers or concrete reasoning), and 2) more importantly, I believe this is a flawed approach because it’s in Skype’s best interest for users to have lots of active contacts/friends/numbers in the system. Why design in such a way that discourages desirable behavior? It’s a failed design, and I don’t think that supposed 90% rule re…

Sometimes the benefits are only apparent later one. What is failed about it? It's different yes. But what is failed about it?

The fact that you recognize it as unworkable “for us 10%” indicates a failure.
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