Microsoft updates Skype for Linux

Skype users on Linux know how unstable and unreliable the platform is. Thankfully, a fix is finally here. Yesterday, Microsoft-owned Skype announced a brand new version of its VoIP client. Until now, the Linux Skype client was lagging way behind its counter-parts on other platforms.

The new Skype for Linux Alpha which is being hugely welcomed by the community features an updated user interface and an entirely new architecture — it doesn’t yet have all the features available for Windows, Mac, iOS, or Android. But Skype plans to continue rolling out new features and improvements.

Also, it uses the same calling architecture as Skype for those platforms, and the new version of Skype for Linux uses the same WebRTC protocol for voice and video calling as Skype for Web. WebRTC, in essence, is an open-source initiative that lets users communicate in real-time through both voice and video by using a Real-Time Communications (RTC) compatible browser. This means we do not need to install any plugins.

At launch, Skype for Linux can make voice calls, but not video. And you can only make those calls to folks using the latest versions of Skype for other platforms.

Not just this, Microsoft has updated Skype for Web as well. Skype voice calls can be made using a Chromebook now. Previously Chrome OS users could only use Skype for Web for text-based chats.
Skype launched support for voice and video calling using a web browser in April but at the time it was only available on Windows computers with the Microsoft Edge browser. Now Voice calling is also available on Chrome OS or you can use the Chrome browser for Linux if you don’t want to install the new Skype for Linux Alpha.

Skype for Linux, is available in DEB and RPM formats, which means you can install it on a wide range of operating systems including Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and Fedora.