Skype silently crashes on Ubuntu.

[deetee]

yup - me too.
i) very frustrating. can only make one call, then have to kill -9 the process as it won't actually even kill itself properly
ii) poor sound to th epoint of being inaubible.

now - what are the best open VOIP projects we can use instead (starting new thread...)

[StrangeCrunchy1]

---

tuxor1337 wrote:

---

StrangeCrunchy1 wrote:
It's always the "mainstream" OSes that get the great support...Linux is far superior to either of them...They should think about that before they decide to kill Skype for Linux. I mean, yes, I dual-boot with 7, but I don't wanna have to go switching back and forth to Skype someone just because some slacker developers wanna take the easy way out...Sorry, Skype team, but I calls 'em like I sees 'em.

---

Are you aware that with "Skype team" you are addressing a team of developers whose employer is no one less than Microsoft? Why should they care about Linux at all? Precisely _because_ Linux is "superior", i.e. it's a serious competitor of Windows, Microsoft is interested in convincing people like you to use Windows - e.g. by releasing buggy versions of Skype for Linux while providing a nice Skype client for Windows...

But all we can do is hope that Microsoft will come to the conclusion that nobody would seriously think about switching the whole operating system due to laggy Skype. The people would rather start using alternative VoIP software or an emulator......

---

Oh, it's not just Windows that gets a nice version. Mac OS X is a major competitor too...

[tuxor1337]

I wonder, how the people at www.imo.im implemented Skype into their list of supported protocols. Due to license problems, it seems to be impossible writing third-party clients for Skype that don't require Skype to be running in background.

As imo.im the mobile instant messaging app "IM+" supports the Skype protocol - I don't know, how they implemented it though. Why doesn't Skype at least allow third-party clients for text-chat?!

[manoka]

As I'm not hooked on Skype, is there a "best alternative" for it with Linux (Mint)?

BTW, what exactly means "silently crashes" - are there also noisy crashes?

[tuxor1337]

---

manoka wrote:

BTW, what exactly means "silently crashes" - are there also noisy crashes?

---

It means, there is no error message and the actual software seems to keep running, i.e. you can click on buttons and type in text in the message windows, but Skype won't react at all and other users will see you as offline.

[manoka]

---

tuxor1337 wrote:

---

manoka wrote:

BTW, what exactly means "silently crashes" - are there also noisy crashes?

---

It means, there is no error message and the actual software seems to keep running, i.e. you can click on buttons and type in text in the message windows, but Skype won't react at all and other users will see you as offline.

---

Many thanks tuxor1337!

That's not the same problem then. Though I'm getting no error message either, but in my case the softphone just disappears, as if it would have been quit.

I guess it is unlikely that Mictosoft is going to fix this issue.

Thus, if an older version, which has been working fine for me, is no option, I will get another VoIP software and SIP provider.

To go back to a MS OS is not an option for me, as Windows XP was a lot more hassle to maintain than Linux, not to mention the costs.

[tuxor1337]

As you stated, your problem is not, what one would call a silent crash. But what you describe, is not a new thing. At least I'm experiencing both types of crashes for over a year now. Sometimes Skype silently crashes, sometimes it just disappears right after I have started it.
I will wait till May or June and if Microsoft didn't release a fix before that, I'm trying to convince at least some of my buddies to switch together with me to a different voip client.

[Laanders]

I've had the silent crashes in Skype ever since switching to 11.10. Same as what others have described, it works fine for a while - sometimes minutes, sometimes many hours - and then at some point just dies without any notice. The UI is still there, I can still navigate to options etc. But I'm no longer in contact with the outer world. What I've been doing when expecting a call is to regularly make test calls to the Echo call testing service, but frankly it's a hassle and unworthy of a supposedly leading client. In addition to this, I've lately begun experiencing sudden hard crashes of Skype as well. No error message, no apparent cause, it just crashes and disappears. I'd normally start looking for causes but as it seems Skype is headed strongly downhill I'm not sure there's much point. I'd like it working since Skype is convenient with its large user base, but if as a paying customer who's put thousands of euros into Skype credits over the past couple of years I'm being ignored over issues of basic functionality, I will have no choice but to take my business, money and contacts to another service.

[tyamat]

When i start skype with:

skype --disable-api

it seems to work.

[OldSoldier]

Hi, having the some of the same problems but the recommendation of using "skype --disable-api" seems to solve the crashing problem.  (Thank you!)

However, after about a minute or two of a video call the ubuntu version starts having video problems.  It appears that the mapping between the screen and the internal image buffers becomes confused.  Something like 64X64 blocks of image appear to be displayed in the incorrect positions in the video frame.   Stopping the video on the non-ubuntu skype session and then restarting clears up the problem for a bit but then it starts again soon thereafter but it does not silently crash anymore.  Does anyone know when there will be an update to the current version?   

I'm attempting to build a simple system using a Zotac ZBOX AD10 that I can WOL and remote to using TightVNC and Skype so I can video conference with my 90 year old mother who is in a nursing home in Colorado.   I really, really don't want to go to a windows solution on the ZBOX since I'm attempting to keep the costs down.   I'm in Florida.   (ghageman is my skype id)