SOLVED - Problems installing Skype

[Oceanwatcher]

Re: SOLVED - Problems installing Skype

A bonus for those that have installed Skype and want to hide offline contacts:

There are no buttons that do it, but a quick press on CTRL-U will do the trick. Use same combination to show the offline contacts again.

[GreyGeek]

Re: SOLVED - Problems installing Skype

Here's some more info about Skype on Linux.

Skype seemed to have stopped development of the Linux version after the 2.x series, while they have just released their 4.x series for Windows.

Also, in Windows, you have the ability to stop Skype from using a "SuperNode" (using your computer as a proxy server for skype data streams) but in Linux you do not.

So, sometime after you first run Skype under Linux, maybe on a day in which you haven't even run Skype, you notice that your internet connection has bogged WAY down, and your wireless router's data lights are blinking furiously. You open System Monitor or us "ps" on the CLI, but do not see anything eating up significant amounts of your CPU cycles.
You do
netstat -p -l
and you see a couple connections to external IP addresses even though you aren't using a browser or an email client. No PID is given so you can't "kill" any guilty process.

You reboot, but as soon as you get your desktop back and try the web again you notice the browser slowness and the blinking lights again.

You use the nuclear option and totally remove Skype. Your browsing speed is restored and the lights go back to blinking normally.

So, Skype exploited the Linux community twice: first by exploiting them as beta testers before going commercial and pushing the Windows version, and secondly by continuing to exploit Linux clients by turning them into stealth datastream proxies.

That's why I've switched to Ekiga.
MeBeam, a web based video conferencing works too. http://www.mebeam.com/

[Oceanwatcher]

Re: SOLVED - Problems installing Skype

THAT was a bit of good information!

Unfortunately - how do you force a looooong list of customers, friends and family over on a new system? Not too easy. That is a campaign I am destined to loose. Also, had a quick look at Ekiga some time ago and did not like it at all. Have they changed dramatically over the last few months?

So I am left with the option of keeping Skype and accepting randomly slow connections. Going to follow up on this one and see if I can connect with someone working for Skype.