hi simon: thanks for having written this. the yeatech skypemate is useless, because it requires a 32bit (not a 64bit) machine.

...

</pre>

This is not terribly informative. kb2kskype is also the first kde app with which I have encountered such a problem. If I can help trying out different things, please drop me an email to ivowel@gmail.com

regards,

/ivo
--- someone should also write a list of all the things that should be in place for these VOIP phones to work. it is a big trial and error. so far, I think I have learned the following:
<ul>
<li> use a recent kernel. 2.6.19 will work. enable the yealink driver (CONFIG_USB_YEALINK). enable the usb sound driver (CONFIG_SND_USB_AUDIO). [add some user diagnostics to check that this has been accomplished. if not, describe to the novice how to do this.]
<li> make sure you have an artsd (or equivalent) daemon working for skype's audio. [add some diagnostics to tell the user how to check that this has succeeded, too.]
<li> get kb2kskype to work.
</ul>

Check your mail

on Kubuntu 6.10 I had to install all of these programs to be able to compile both parts of the "driver"

quoting from the link I sent to you and some parts (those which aren't already of course) of which will be included on the site as Simon mentioned:

(install via kpackage or apt-get install programname)

* automake 1.9
* libusb - i.e. both
* libusb-dev and
* lib-usb++-dev

the other part needs even more stuff installed: all of
* g++
* xorg-dev (which gives us the X includes)
* libjpeg62-dev
* libqt3-headers
* libqt3-mt-dev
* plus everything they install as dependencies!
* kdelibs
* kdelibs4-dev (which gives some more KDE headers which aren't in the default package)

if you have all this installed, you can begin to build the stuff

and, for Kubuntu 6.10 at least

make a symbolic link from /usr/local/kde/bin/kb2kskype to /usr/local/bin/kb2kskype so you can find all of the programs in the same directory (easier for the scripting and backup)
o ln -s /usr/local/kde/bin/kb2kskype /usr/local/bin/kb2kskype

artsd I think is not necessary to be able to run the stuff, but you must have the following intalled:
alsa-utils
and you probably want
alsa-tools-gui
alsamixergui
too

and from the discussion with Simon I gather that on the contrary the yealink driver even might complicate things since it (on Kubuntu 6.10 at least) seems to grab some parts of the driver interface which the usbb2k is to provide! but I havent' finally checked that problem yet, have been to busy this weekend with other stuff ...

This post has been edited by alatariel: Mon Jan 22 2007, 19:11

To anyone who has this working (kb2kskype that is).

If you had to change anything or do anything that I don't mention in the install and user guide on the website could you please post what you did in the sourceforge forum for the project and give details of your distribution and package versions were appropriate. This should help others and allow me to make future version easier to use.

Forum is located at

Sourceforge Project forum

Thanks

This post has been edited by Simon_6162: Fri Jan 26 2007, 14:44

Thanks to all for doing all this work! I received my B2K box a few days ago, and setup a dedicated skypebox for it. Since I didn't want to deal with issues around skypemate on Linux, I decided to setup the box running WindowsXP. Well, my "easy" route turned out to be a headache. XP wouldn't detect my USB 2.0 card properly, etc etc etc... So I did some more google searching and found this thread . After reading through it, I decided it was worth a shot. Since the box I'm using is older (PIII 500Mhz), I at first was going to use Xubuntu, but decided to try Fluxbuntu instead since its supposed to be even faster, smaller, lighter, etc...

After installing Fluxbuntu (very easy) I then pulled up alatariel's post above with all the packages needed. I grabbed them all with Synaptic (I also had to add the make package to that list), then downloaded the bz2 files, and followed the instructions. Next started the pieces, and I was floored.... IT WORKED! Not only did it work, but after a couple of test calls, I realized the quality of the sound was better than I was getting when I first hooked the B2K up to a more powerful PC I have (but didn't want to have this attached to it due to it has to be on a VPN for my work at times). I'm really impressed and a couple of people I called couldn't believe I was calling over Skype.

The next hurdle was setting up things to autostart. The only real difference to the instructions in the userguide, was around the chkconfig piece. I couldn't find that on fluxbuntu, so instead just created symlinks right in /etc/rc0.d and /etc/rc2.d to the usbb2k file in /etc/init.d.

For Fluxbox, you have to modify $HOME/.fluxbox/startup and I added a command to run the skypeautolaunch.sh .

Then, since I want Skype to startup when the box boots, I setup VNC, and added an automatic startup of a VNC session (this allows me to connect to the box from any PC in my house to be able to check status and stuff also since there is no monitor on this box) which then also does the skypeautolaunch.sh when it starts up

Very Cool! Again, thanks a ton for all of the work everyone has put into this project already, so that this was a very easy (ok, easy in a geeky way) to setup, and so far works really well!

One comment... the skypeautolaunch.sh should actually be modified to verify the usbb2k_api is running, and then abort if its not, or abort if this user already has Skype or the client piece running. I may look at doing that myself in the next few days, and if so I'll post the modified code if anyone is interested.

Thanks for the feedback.

To edit init scripts on ubuntu / debian based distros you should use,

CODE

update-rc.d usbb2k-api defaults

and for gentoo

CODE

rc-update

I've been meaning to change that, I'll do it soon, Also good suggestion with the autostart script I will modify that as well. And add the fluxbox instructions.

p.s. I'm not sure if it is my usb2 card but i find the b2k box works better on usb1 on the motherboard than on a pci usb2 card.

Simon

This post has been edited by Simon_6162: Fri Jan 26 2007, 14:39

To edit init scripts on ubuntu / debian based distros you should use,

CODE

update-rc.d usbb2k-api defaults

and for gentoo

CODE

rc-update

Good to know. Thanks!

p.s. I'm not sure if it is my usb2 card but i find the b2k box works better on usb1 on the motherboard than on a pci usb2 card.

Yeah, I wonder about the quality of this PCI USB 2.0 card (Cheapo from Compusa), but it seems to work for me (is there any way to tell in Linux if its running as 2.0 or 1.1?). But this PC doesn't even have USB on the motherboard so it was my only option for now (hmmm... Wonder if the BIOS could be part of the issue here with recognizing this card properly under Windows. Not sure I want to "fix" something that is working though .

I would really like to see some ubuntu/(*)ubuntu.debs for these apps. I think they have a lot of potential!!! keep up the good work simon~~~

we can add Mandriva 2007 to the list of distributions where this works

edit:
seems like some problems I have had with my setup under different systems might be helped with blacklisting the default yealink kernel module ... and possibly the hiddev too ...
the stuff seems more stable under Mandriva at least after this!


as root edit /etc/modprobe.conf (OR add a /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist - depending on your distribution)
and add the following lines at the top (without the comment lines if you don't want them)

#blacklist the kernel module - the usbb2k-api should do this stuff!
#and we don't need the lcd stuff anyway here ...
blacklist yealink
#blacklist hiddev - otherwise it grabs some parts the usbb2k-api should provide!
blacklist usbhid

of course blacklisting the usbhid is a bad idea if you have usb keyboards or the like - I think



This post has been edited by alatariel: Sun Feb 4 2007, 13:24

There is now a new version of kb2kskype on sourceforge.

Features
It has speed dials !
It now docks its self in the systray (seems to work on gnome fluxbox and kde)!
It looks for skype closing and closes its self.

notes,
You don't need kdocker anymore
The program now has a datafile stored in ~/.kb2kskype to store contact speeddials
The website has been updated slightly, let me know if you want anything adding
The autostart skype/kb2kskype script has been changed to look for skype already running.

Simon

This post has been edited by Simon_6162: Sun Feb 4 2007, 22:10

For Fluxbox, you have to modify $HOME/.fluxbox/startup and I added a command to run the skypeautolaunch.sh .

Then, since I want Skype to startup when the box boots, I setup VNC, and added an automatic startup of a VNC session (this allows me to connect to the box from any PC in my house to be able to check status and stuff also since there is no monitor on this box) which then also does the skypeautolaunch.sh when it starts up

I just about have this working on fluxbuntu (running on Neoware thin client with external hard drive, all spare parts). The only part I cannot figure out is how to autostart. Can you give more specific commands to what you did above?
1. How to modify the startup file in fluxbuntu
2. How to have the computer auto login at bootup with VNC.

I want the computer to start up, login to Skype, etc, after a power outage, which we sometimes have.

This is really great. I tried to install this on Kubuntu 6.06 but had some troubles. I tried Fluxbuntu and it is working except for above. The directions are easy enough to follow. Specific help in the User Guide about Ubuntu/Debian really helped me this time. New version of Kb2kskype is really nice.

alatariel has done a draft guide for setting up ubuntu with skype and kb2kskype via vnc here

http://kb2kskype.sourceforge.net/downloads...ype_bk2k_en.pdf

I think the startup scripts have changed so use the ones from the download page.

Simon

1. How to modify the startup file in fluxbuntu

For the user that is going to run skype and kb2kskype, login as that user and then cd $HOME/.fluxbox . Then edit the startup file in this directory. Mine looks like this:

CODE

#! /bin/bash

# Comment The Line Below To Disable Desktop Icons
rox --pinboard=Default &

# Edit Line Below To Change Background If Not Using Rox (Desktop Icons)
#fbsetbg -f /usr/share/backgrounds/fluxbuntu_wallpaper_test2.png

#Checks and Kills All Running fbpager instance
killall fbpager

#Executes fbpager
fbpager -w &

#Start Skype stuff
$HOME/skypeautolaunch.sh

exit 0

2. How to have the computer auto login at bootup with VNC.

First, make sure you have vnc4common and vnc4server installed (use Symantic Package Manager to do this). Now from the user account you will run skype from, type vncserver. This will prompt you for a password (this is the password to access this account's vnc session) so put in whatever you want here for a password, then put it in again to verify it. After it finishes it will create the $HOME/.vnc directory and files for you. You can now try connecting to this vnc session from another server if you want to test this (but things won't be completely setup yet). Now cd $HOME/.vnc and then edit the xstartup file in here. Here's a copy of the one I use:

CODE

#!/bin/sh

# Uncomment the following two lines for normal desktop:
# unset SESSION_MANAGER
# exec /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc

[ -x /etc/vnc/xstartup ] && exec /etc/vnc/xstartup
[ -r $HOME/.Xresources ] && xrdb $HOME/.Xresources

vncconfig -iconic &
fluxbox &

Next you need to setup an autostart for a VNC session for this user. Create the following file and name it vnc (change the username to be the name of the user you want to run Skype and you can specify whatever port you want on the vncserver command):

CODE

#!/bin/sh
#
# Startup/Stop script for vncservers for some users.
#

case "$1" in

'start')
   /bin/su - skypeuser -c "/usr/bin/vncserver :10"
;;

'stop')
   /bin/su - skypeuser -c "/usr/bin/vncserver -kill :10"
;;

*)
   echo "Usage: /etc/init.d/vnc { start | stop }"
;;

esac

do the following commands:

sudo cp vnc /etc/init.d
sudo chmod 755 /etc/init.d/vnc
sudo update-rc.d vnc defaults

You should now be able to reboot and the VNC session for your user will autostart, and then skype and kb2kskype should also startup up. Enjoy!

This post has been edited by mfrazzz: Sun Feb 18 2007, 08:26

Thanks for writing this - skypemate doesn't work, and this is the only thing I could find that *works.

Firstly - I must comment that when dialing numbers in the US, numbers need to be entered with a "+" character followed by a 1 and then the area code and number. I note this because when I try dialing any numbers on my phone, skype throws up an error message saying that I have not dialed the number correctly.

I made a little modification to the code so that what was "CALL 12345678901" is now "CALL +12345678901"

This seems to fix things.

Secondly - I am not currently able to get my phone to ring when I get an incoming call on skype. I'm not sure where this problem lies, but thats something I'm working on.

Thirdly - I have only had this program running for 24 hours, but it seems that the app locks up my system after running for more than an hour?? or so. I don't know what this is about.

Also - I should comment that I am running this on Ubuntu "edgy" under GNOME with KDE libs installed.

Finally - the aforementioned console based "skype gate" app sounds very promising. The box I am running this on was intended to be "headless", and while I have come to terms with the fact that I will have to run skype in all of its GUI glory, I would prefer this app be strictly console based.

Thanks again for everyone who has put work into this - I've had this box sitting on my floor for a couple months now because I bought it and was unable to use it. I appreciate all the work that has gone into making this thing functional.

Firstly - I must comment that when dialing numbers in the US, numbers need to be entered with a "+" character followed by a 1 and then the area code and number. I note this because when I try dialing any numbers on my phone, skype throws up an error message saying that I have not dialed the number correctly.

I made a little modification to the code so that what was "CALL 12345678901" is now "CALL +12345678901"

- which code? your local code?


hmmm ... here in Europe at least you can safely leave off the + sign when dialing calls inside a country.

if you DO use a "+" sign this signals that you are going to have that replaced with the proper "landcode" for a call outside your country ... especially on cellphones!

i.e. the + will get replaced by 00 if you are calling from Sweden (0046) to Austria (0043) and you enter
+43(stripped first 0)proper-telephone-number
but when you dial locally it's fine with 08-whatever-telephone number ....

is there a way to fix both?
//no programmer

- which code? your local code?
hmmm ... here in Europe at least you can safely leave off the + sign when dialing calls inside a country.

if you DO use a "+" sign this signals that you are going to have that replaced with the proper "landcode" for a call outside your country ... especially on cellphones!

i.e. the + will get replaced by 00 if you are calling from Sweden (0046) to Austria (0043) and you enter
+43(stripped first 0)proper-telephone-number
but when you dial locally it's fine with 08-whatever-telephone number ....

is there a way to fix both?
//no programmer

In the US, I believe that it is required that you first dial a "+" followed by 1 (the country code), then a 3 digit "area code" followed by the 7 digit phone number.

If I leave out the plus, the country code, or the area code - I get an error message from skype saying that I've done something wrong

There is now a new version out ! Enjoy and send me any bug reports to the sourceforge forum or here.

This version fixes a bug in the contacts list updateing when it shouldn't. And adds help and some icons to make it look more profesional

There are now rpm packages and debian packages available. They have been tested as much as possible, all credit for the packages should go to alatariel.


RE the +1:
I thought you could just dial 00 instead of a +. for +44 I dial 0044.

There are now rpm packages and debian packages available. They have been tested as much as possible, all credit for the packages should go to alatariel.

and please send all bugreports about the -packages- to me too!
- or post them in this thread in the project forum ...

RE the +1:
I thought you could just dial 00 instead of a +. for +44 I dial 0044.

that is at least as far as I know the -european- way of handling this ... would never have thought that you needed international prefixes inside a country!?

well ... looking at -this- didn't make that understanding easier ... never dreamt of that being this complicated!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_inter...l_call_prefixes
edit: the above list could be -far- outdated, it was long time since Sweden changed from 009 to 00!

perhaps these are better?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_country_calling_codes
http://www.itu.int/pub/T-SP-E.164D-2006/en

This post has been edited by alatariel: Tue Mar 6 2007, 21:27

Ok, this may be asking too much, but due to reliability issues with Skype 1.3, I've downgraded to Skype 1.2.0.18 as I've heard there are less problems with sound going away and such. But now that I've done this, kb2kskype when it runs says it can't find the main window. I'm guessing thats due to differeneces between skype 1.2 and 1.3? I've tried rebuilding kb2kskype but that didn't seem to make a difference. Is it possible to get kb2kskype to work with skype 1.2.0.18?

Ok, this may be asking too much, but due to reliability issues with Skype 1.3, I've downgraded to Skype 1.2.0.18 as I've heard there are less problems with sound going away and such. But now that I've done this, kb2kskype when it runs says it can't find the main window. I'm guessing thats due to differeneces between skype 1.2 and 1.3? I've tried rebuilding kb2kskype but that didn't seem to make a difference. Is it possible to get kb2kskype to work with skype 1.2.0.18?

Sorry its not possible. The x11 messageing that is used to talk to skype was only added to version 1.3, 1.2 only used dbus, and quite an old version of it.

This post has been edited by Simon_6162: Sun Mar 11 2007, 18:40

I have some stability problems with kb2kskype. The patch attached solve the problems for me.
Jose Alberto

Attached File(s)

 kb2kskype_0.3.1.diff.txt ( 390bytes ) Number of downloads: 421

 

I'm not an Xwindows / Linux programmer, so can you tell me what this patch fixes / corrects? I see you are changing a sync with an XFlush. What behavior were you seeing that this fixes?

The reliability issue that I was having had to do with the sound sometimes working and sometimes it doesn't. From the reports I've seen elsewhere with Linux, this is a Skype issue and not an issue with kb2kskype that I'm experiencing (thus the reason to look at going back to 1.2 as people say that sound issue doesn't happen (or is better) with 1.2.