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Skype 4.0 on Ubuntu Precise (12.04) 64-bit

skype

There is a new version of skype out for Linux, version 4.0 which has interesting changelog entries:

* Much lower chance Skype for Linux will crash or freeze * chat history loading is now much faster * ...several investments we made in improving audio quality ... and improving video call quality * ...extended support for more cameras * and more

Good enough for me! There is still no true 64 bit binary/package from Skype. The result is that their fake "64 bit" Skype needs an additional 100MB of i386 packages in order for it to run properly. The rundown:

  1. Remove old skype packages if they exist: sudo apt-get purge skype skype-bin
  2. Download latest Skype (4.0) (fake) 64-bit package for Ubuntu 10.04+. It might say skype 2.2 beta on the screen, they have yet to update the page. The download link goes to the 4.0 version.
  3. Install the necessary support libraries: sudo apt-get install ia32-libs lib32stdc++6 lib32asound2
  4. Install the skype binary package itself: sudo dpkg -i skype-ubuntu_4.0.0.7-1_amd64.deb

Enjoy the ad-free Linux version of Skype thanks to... Microsoft.