Skype erratic on 10.10

[Calgarian]

This was also true in 10.04 and I can't remember back to 9.10.

Kubuntu 10.10 kept current.
Intel i7 - 920
4Gb ram
Insignia speakers (usb)
Logitech Pro 9000 camera/mic (usb)
Shaw Cable high-speed internet access.

I am using the Skype and PulseAudio from the 10.10 repositories.

4 out of 5 times I have broken up sound or no sound on both ends of the call.
Video is often shaky or behind the audio, when I can hear it.
Often Skype blows away all my Skype settings.
Shutdown, after any type of Skype malfunction does not shutdown or restart 10.10. It just hangs there and I have to force power-off. On a power-on restart Skype usually has blown away settings and asks for my id and password, but not always.
Often times Skype will not quit when quit is selected. I have to go to a terminal and kill the process.
Many times I look at the terminal, ps -A, and find more than one Skype process running and I have to kill them all.

Is there a way to really fix these issues or is there a more reliable alternative to Skype? I sure am glad I'm not paying them anything for this level of service.

[jeremy1701]

Re: Skype erratic on 10.10

I don't have any problems with Skype on 10.10. How did you install it? I installed mine directly from:

http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/get-...post-download/

I didn't use a repo.

[arochester]

Re: Skype erratic on 10.10

Skype+Pulse Audio=Not Good

[Calgarian]

Re: Skype erratic on 10.10

I did use the repo this time. Maybe I'll remove that and do a direct install from Skype.

If PulseAudio causes issues what is the alternative? Do you remove it and go back to ALSA? Does that cause issues with any other products like DragonPlayer, Firefox, or Amarok?

TIA

[arochester]

Re: Skype erratic on 10.10

Does that cause issues with any other products like DragonPlayer, Firefox, or Amarok?

It shouldn't

[NoWorries]

Re: Skype erratic on 10.10

I notice that your Web Cam is quite new and includes a disc with drivers for Windows. I came to grief with Skype on Linux with a Logitech QuickCam Ultra Vision which produced a clicking sound. This did not happen on Windows as the click was removed by the Windows driver. Hence, I had to use Windows for Skype instead of Linux.

This all changed when Logitech released their QuickCam Vision Pro for Mac. All the video and audio processing is in firmware and NO DRIVER DISC IS SUPPLIED NOR NEEDED . I was able to use this Web Cam on Kubuntu 10.04 and when I installed 10.10 I removed my Windows partition as it was no longer needed for Skype. The images and sound from 10.10 are just as good as those from Windows. I am on a 64B system and I use the version of Skype from the repositories. The Skype dependencies shown by Synaptic are in the attached graphic.

I suspect that your problem is with your Web Cam for which no suitable driver is provided in the Linux Kernel.