It is a summary of all the numerous discussions in the forum.
If you have some suggestions or if you find a mistake please post your suggestions here in the thread.
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General Note:
The Mageia get-skype package does not contain any program files as the Skype license does
not allow (re-)distribution. By installing this package you will download and install Skype from skype.com.
You must accept the Skype EULA before using it. Please be patient, this is a 23 MB download and may take some time.
Removing this package will uninstall Skype from your system.
Current Skype version for linux as of 04/15/2014: 4.3.0.37
ATTENTION: This version only supports pulseaudio, for more informations on this and related to skype pulseaudio support check
http://blogs.skype.com/2014/06/18/skype-4-3-for-linux/
The lnstructions below should be useable on any version of Mageia, as it simply pulls Skype from Skype website and pulls in all necessary dependencies.
Skype on i586 / 32bit - Skype on x86_64 / 64bit
The installation is the same for both i586 and x86_64, as Skype is not architecture dependent.
Please pay attention that Skype is a 32bit-only package, so you need 32bit libraries
to use it. With the default repositories setup those will be enabled by default, if you have
a pure 64bit system please add at least the 32bit core_release repositories.
Currently you can only install the cauldron package (which in this case makes no difference to a package for Mageia 1) for example with this command:
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urpmi ftp://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/os/Linux/distr/mageia/distrib/cauldron/x86_64/media/nonfree/release/get-skype-4.3.0.37-3.mga5.nonfree.noarch.rpm
Skype has no sound
Please check that libpulseaudio0 (i586 package) is installed.
Skype immediately crashes on startup
There are multiple reasons for this. Either the fact, that the Mageia Skype packages tries to start
Skype with a v4l (Video4Linux) compatibility wrapper, which is needed for many webcams,
so it was made the default. For clarification, when launched via the menu or with /usr/bin/skype
this command is executed:
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LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libv4l/v4l2convert.so skype
You can try to start Skype directly without this wrapper with this command in a terminal:
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/usr/share/skype/skype
This can also be used to rule out problems with the V4L wrapper, in case you experience high processor usage or other video-related problems.
Also a broken or old user profile could be the reason. Please try the following as user to fix this:
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mv ~/.Skype ~./Skype-old
Then try to start Skype again in a terminal, and see what error it gives.
For one user there is a special Skype feature which made it crash shortly
after startup when this feature was enabled. The feature is called "Skype Access"
and would allow you to signup for some wifi hotspots with your Skype account.
You can disable this feature under Options -> Advanced -> Enable -> Enable Skype Access
(and disable the checkbox to disable Skype access) before you login to your Skype account.
Why shouldn't i install the static Skype package directly
[*]Using the Mageia package registers all the installed files in the package management system correctly, enabling a complete and clean uninstall or update in the future
[*]Updates are handled correctly and automatically
[*]The software is available to all users in a multi-user environment
[*]The software is available in all desktop environments
[*]The download checksum is tested automatically
[*]The software is registered in the main menu system
[*]No need for a static build when most of the required libs are already on your system
[*]No waste of space due to superfluous static libraries being installed
[*]Fewer security holes due to those static libraries, that are partly really ancient
[*]It's easier
Skype alternatives
There are countless alternatives to Skype, and there is a seperate thread for this:
viewtopic.php?f=29&t=228