Thanks for the explanation...now I'm looking forward to try Skype with video enhancement!

PLEASE, give us some news about the development (and eventually an alpha version )

Indeed .. any news on the video development would be very much appreciated!

Please do not keep us in the dark just because you have the power to do it!

The release of a video version is going to be soon. I think within the next two months.

It seems that the higher echelons in Skype are demanding that their developers keep quiet. Even if they'd like to share more info with us, they are not allowed to.

And what on earth makes you think that.


I find it hard to think of a plausible reason for this.

One candidate is that the senior management doesn't want the competition to know when certain features will be added to the Linux version. Most of the competition, however, already has video working and don't really seem that interested in what Skype is doing (partly because of it's proprietary protocol).

Another is that they don't want to disappoint users with broken deadlines. This one might be more likely. The development team frequently misses it's release deadlines and promises of "real soon now" and others like it have usually been false and started to infuriate users. The weakness of this reason is that the obvious solution to fixing the dev teams image is to release a roadmap, but skip rigid dates (and forbid the developers from using "real soon now" & Co. -- it seems time passes somewhat slower in Skype headquarters).

Granted, my inability to find a sensible explanation for this is of course doesn't imply that there is none. Neither am I insisting that there should be one. I admit it would be sort of hypocritical of me to assume logic in Skype managerial decisions when my own company is debatably no better.

In this image on the Skype front page: We see that Caroline Williams uses a webcam, and client is on linux - evidence of a video release coming soon?

Only if you are sure that Caroline Williams use linux
Indeed the camera icon is intended for the REMOTE user (I can see my friends' cameras too!!)

That's strange! I don't see the webcam icon for my friends whom I know have webcams (and I see their webcam icons on a Win machine)

Oh well, must be my installation.

hehe, the video icon was one of the things that slipped into 1.4 development tree Since we were designing that area of the UI anyway, it went in early.

Just wanted to note that my recommendation on webcams above are just from my personal experiences in Linux in general, and not representative of anything related to Skype.

Andy.

See attachment. This is actually 1.4 running.

Nothing yet ???

No, nothing yet.

Andy.

Ahh yes - another "ready when it's ready" response. Software engineers have to be good at estimation. So how about an estimation?

Days?

Weeks?

or Months?

Yes.

Andrew.

Definitely.

It's a real shame that the regular users of this forum are used to such an attitude from Skype reps. I shant be returning.

It's just a reflection on an attitude of users. It has been said N or even N+1 times before that we are not discussing any dates in the public. This includes the time spans (days, weeks, months), exact dates (19 Jun 1979) and all possible derivatives thereof. You got what you asked for.

I'm sorry you feel that way, and I apologise if you took my tounge in cheek reply personally. You have been around the forums for a while, and I had assumed that you have been following the video discussions on here.

If not, and you genuinely didn't mean for your post to be a trolling poke at us, then please accept my apologies.

Andy.

(In the ideal world, we feed everybody. Even trolls.)

Just to start a conspiracy theory. (it helps pass the time)

Is there any correlation between Asus delaying the eee thats ships with linux and skype and has video messaging (acording to the flash video anyway) and the next Skype client with video support ?

Is that you, Elvis?

I don't think we should get distracted with conspiracy theories They only sidetrack things.

Andy.

I would.

Sincerely, Elvis.

I don't think you have the glasses for Elvis, maybe more Tom Cruise in Top Gun

hey people,

just read this about some cool new high definition video feature that has been introduced in the skype 3.6 for windows beta.
Now I do realize that we are still some more months from actually getting a beta version of video in the linux client of skype, but what I find disturbing (to say the least) is that Skype teams up with a company (Logitech) with a terrible track record on linux support to introduce some of its new features. Logitech more or less totally ignores linux users, no drivers, no answers, nothing. (Thanks to that attitude I decided not to buy Logitech stuff anymore).
Will this highres webcam feature, in time, also be available for the linux client ?! Or will it actually prove to be a way for Skype pressing Logitech to actually start getting some decent linux support ?

Actually, I think this is a worrisome development. Requesting people to use one vendor's product and their software to allow access to a special feature is counter the founding principles of Skype. I hope this is not a sign of the new influence of Ebay over Skype. Correct me if I am wrong.

I would like to correct you as your are wrong:
It's imperative to work together with the software/driver vendor to be able to deliver high quality video.

Back to topic please.

Hmm, so can we take from this that Skype for Linux users with Logitech webcams will never see this feature as long as Logitech keeps ignoring its linux customers ?! According from your statement you'll need Logitech to write a driver or specific software, or am I wrong ?



Excuse me for asking questions about video calling for linux in this topic.

Given that most people visiting here only do so in the vain hope that linux skype will include functionality existent in the windows client for two years, it's pretty amazing that representatives of skype take an unprofessional dismissive stance against skype users.

Is it really unrealistic to ask whether after all this time skype will actually steer significant resources toward getting this done? Why is it taking so long? It's bad business practice to ignore customers, never mind taunt them?

likwid: It's coming. This has been said. See the blog posts and comments on this thread for hints. More than that, we can't talk about, as this is an unreleased feature.

Andy.

it is taking so long because the skype for linux team is severely understaffed. It seems that the 2-3 people working on it are putting in everything they can and whatever they have released so far for the last 8-9 months is of impressing quality. Most feedback by users is being dealt with thoughtfully and I think the client's stability has been leaping forward since the 1.4 branch.
But come on, it takes them over 2 years now to include video in the linux client. 2 years ! that is just unacceptably long. No wonder you get stupid questions about a time frame for video every time.
For a company with such enormous resources as Skype it should have been possible to speed up development by hiring just a few people extra for the linux team.

How many developers work on linux client? only two? or only two are active on the forum?

up

The number of developers working on the client isn't an issue at the moment for video. Our team is sufficiently staffed, and for most things, we have the same resources as the Mac and Windows teams.

Hang in there and keep an eye on the blog.

Andy.

Hanging...heavy and stiff and almost dead by now. So please,please,please hurry and give us video so we can stop screaming, crying, threatening and begging like little children for sweet sweet candy .

Oh, c'mon guys. The linux team is working on the video feature so stop crying and wait. We all know that Christmas is almost around... Maybe, video support as a present? Kinda... wish.. hope... :-)

Thanks linux team for working hard on the linux port. I am very happy with the progress so far.

Absolutely. They must be... And I didn't say I was unhappy. Nonetheless video would be The Big One

Funny you should say that but guess what, i just got emailed about an exciting new skype. Oh wait, it's windows skype adding more new features.

To say that linux skype development is equal to windows' is pretty insulting to everyone who has waited almost two years since windows got video calls.

Like a lot of people I've been following this discussion for a while now. And it remidns me of the Flash version 9 discussion.

Why don't the Skype company make the protocol they're using OPEN?! Then somebody else can make the video work in a week.

I'm sorry, but I don't see what this adds to the discussion.

I didn't say that development is or was ever equal to Windows. I simply explained that for a lot of things, we share resources. Actual UI development team is smaller on Linux (as you would expect, being an infinitessimly small market), but we're well staffed all things considered, and things have been running at full capacity for the last year. Before this, there was a shortage in Linux developers.

Feel insulted if you must, but it was not my intent. I'm just trying to get video to you.

Andy.

The quip about windows skype was intended to give insight to how i feel when i'm informed of exciting skype news that isn't relevant to me. Don't take it personally, if you are the person who's making video happen then you have my support and gratitude.

Is linux really such a small market that we can be ignored for so long? I am so tired of my girlfriend having to reboot my computer to windows so she can video chat with her friends. Linux is becoming more popular all the time so why can't skype just get this done already?

Let me say this for the record.

The Linux audience has never, ever been ignored by Skype.

There have always been active developers on the Linux project.

I've already mentioned in other threads that video development is well underway, and the silence on pretty much every other Skype for Linux thing should be an indication of how dedicated we are to that currently.

Andrew.

I'm sorry but with the greatest respect you're defending the indefensible.

Linux users have been asking for video support for almost two years now! If skype felt any urgency it would have happened a long time ago.

Ignored? I absolutely cannot think of a more appropriate word.

It is a little useless to criticize the people that are getting you the function you want. It does not make sense to assume that the programmers are the ones deciding the priorities of Skype. I am quite convinced that the Linux developers share our desire to see a full-featured Linux product.

I'm completely in support of the linux devs as mentioned in a previous point. My venting is purely toward skype management and should not be taken as personal criticism of the dev(s) assigned to skype linux.

I understand the developers of skype probally wanted to rebuild the house and to have a solid foundation - and anyone who used qt3 and qt4 knows that porting to the new version is awesome - before adding the video support.
I want video, but having a good and stable skype client is fundamental

Enough with the venting already. Point taken, let's get over it. It's helping nobody.

On with the job,
Andy.

Having just purchased a webcam, and got it working in KUBUNTU, I also am looking forward to the video working. All the best with your efforts. Greg

I have been a skype windows user for several years and have just made a very successful transition to Ubuntu 7.10.

My only disappointment to date has been skype's lack of video call support which is what has lead me to this forum and I see a very active discussion point. I understand the difficulties of supporting multiple platforms but hopefully "andypoo's" promise of video in the pipe is not a promise similar to those we hear way to frequently from M$.

Is there any way we could get a time line for a beta or full release? I think that sort of information would help everyone on this thread sleep much better.

May I recommend a sleeping pill instead? It's going to be much more effective.

Can we just all take it easy, and avoid keep requesting the same thing all over again? The developers are WELL aware of what the user wants, and it's going to get there.

If you want to know the inner details of the future plans use a free open source alternative. Otherwise, sit tight and wait.

This is the only place where linux users like myself can vent their frustration. Having read some threads on threads on this forum it seems that the linux skype user is expected to shut up and sit tight as the two year mark passes. It's great that it's being developed but the progress is agonisingly slow, and we don't even know what the progress is.

We can't just use another client because most people use skype so we wait, and wait, ask the developers when something might happen, then wait and wait some more.

Two years!!

i just wonder:
is there anything we (linux skype users) can do to help/foster or simply speed up the process of getting video calling for linux?