Skype under Ubuntu and Fedora Core 5
I recently signed up for computer-to-computer and computer-to-telephone service using Skype. Initially, I installed the prepared installation packages for Fedora Core 3 --on two machines running Fedora Core 5-- and for Debian (including Ubuntu) on a laptop running Ubuntu 6.06. The telephone and chat connections worked just fine. But in both cases, the Skype software would refuse to connect a call once an earlier call had not gone through properly. So, if I called and got through to a human or an answering machine, I could make another call. But, if the call didn't go through to the phone or if I hung up before someone answered, I couldn't make any subsequent phone calls unless I exited Skype and started it over again.
So, I decided to uninstall the not-quite-right pre-packaged versions and, instead, download and install the static binary tar file, which did the trick. It is a little more work to install it, but I recommend it if you want to run the most recent, stable version of Skype under either Fedora Core 5 or Ubuntu 6.06.
Basically, I followed the directions posted on the LinuxWeblog. Here is what I did in more detail than is available there.
First, open a terminal and create a directory where you will download. I created a skype directory in my home directory. Once you've created the directory, change directory so you're in it.
$ mkdir /home/john/skype $ cd /home/john/skype
Next, download the most recent version of the static binary tar file. (As of today, the most recent version is: skype-1.2.0.18.tar.bz2, but you can check here for any updates.)
$ wget http://download.skype.com/linux/skype-1.2.0.18.tar.bz2
Now, untar the file. To do that, you'll need to be root. To become root in GNU/Linux, you typically type su at the terminal prompt and then enter the root password after the terminal asks you for it. With Ubuntu, however, you use the sudo command. So, I've done the next few lines two ways. Pick the one that corresponds to the flavor of GNU/Linux you're running. Following the procedure below will install Skype as a subdirectory in the /opt directory. (The $ indicates a standard user prompt; the # indicates a prompt with root privileges.)
Fedora Core 5: $ su Password: [enter your root password] # tar -C /opt -xvjf skype-1.2.0.18.tar.bz2 Ubuntu: $ sudo tar -C /opt -xvjf skype-1.2.0.18.tar.bz2 Password: [enter your root password]
The next-to-last step is to create some symbolic links, so that Skype will run properly when you call it. You still need to be root to do this.
Fedora Core 5: # ln -s /opt/skype-1.2.0.18 /opt/skype # ln -s /opt/skype/skype /usr/bin/skype Ubuntu: $ sudo ln -s /opt/skype-1.2.0.18 /opt/skype $ sudo ln -s /opt/skype/skype /usr/bin/skype
Finally, if you'd like, you can install launcher for Skype on your desktop. (Do this as a regular user, not root.)
Fedora Core 5: # exit $ cp /opt/skype/skype.desktop ~/Desktop Ubuntu: $ cp /opt/skype/skype.desktop ~/Desktop
At this point, you should be all set to use Skype. Two other quick points. First, you may need to enter the software that controls sound-related hardware and unmute the microphone on your computer. Second, to make computer-to-telephone calls on Skype, even what are currently free calls to telephone numbers in the United States, you have to have a positive balance on your Skype account. You can call computer-to-computer, or use the Skype chat feature, for free without having to have a positive balance.