Analysis — Skype, the well-known VoIP (voice over IP) software provider, has never been known for its quickness in getting Linux releases out, but about a year after the company started work on Skype 1.3, it has announced the release of the alpha for Skype 1.4.

Make no mistake about it. This is an alpha release. Over on Windows, Skype is now up to version 3.1; and the newest Mac OS edition is a 2.6 beta.

The Linux Skype 1.4 alpha has numerous missing features such as contact list groups. It also does not have the ability to create new accounts and undelivered chat messages are not currently indicated. There is no packaged installation routine and the “/alertoff” command in chat doesn't work right. As if that weren't enough, this alpha doesn't support older Linuxes' OSS (Open Sound System) and the API (application programming interface) isn't available yet.

You can also expect to have trouble if you try to use audio device specific drivers. For Skype 1.4 alpha, you'll be better off sticking with your Linux's generic audio device driver.

The list of problems goes on and on. When they say alpha, they mean alpha. This is a release for Linux developers who live on the bleeding edge of technology, not users who like to balance precariously on technology's leading edge.

Why would you want to do this? Well, some of the upgrades from 1.3 sound quite promising. The user interface has been given a major overhaul, the audio quality has been improved, and calls are now contained in a separate window.

If you want to take Skype 1.4 out for a trial run, you'll need an ALSA (Advanced Linux Sound Architecture)-supported sound device and a Linux that supports it. Most modern Linuxes, if not all, use ALSA now. You'll also need the glibc 2.4 library.

There are two versions of the program that are available for download. Both require you to have the sigc++ 2.0 library. That's the only additional requirement for the static version of the alpha.

To use the dynamic, or generic version, you must also have TrollTech's Qt 4.2.x. You'll need to keep your eyes and ears open for a couple of known problems. First, Qt 4.2.3 contains a bug that will cause expanded contact details to be displayed incorrectly. The Qt 4.3.0-beta does not work or play well with the Skype 1.4 client, and shouldn't be used at all in testing this alpha.

— Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

 
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