Skype for Linux 4.0 released, moves out of beta

Skype 4.0 running on Linux Mint

Skype has released version 4.0 of its Linux client, leaping version numbers and shedding the beta label at the same time. This is the first major update on Linux since Skype 2.2 Beta was made available in April 2011. Since then the company has become a division of Microsoft, which initially led to worries that the Linux client would be dropped. The newly released update reworks the user interface for its text chat and call windows – similar to the previous generation of Skype on Windows and Mac – improves audio and video call quality and offers better support for webcams.

Skype has recently introduced an in-call advertising function which has caused some controversy with users, but it is not clear if this function has been incorporated in the new Linux version as well. Features that are in Skype 4.0 for Linux include the ability to save phone numbers with Skype contact details, faster loading of chat history, new icons and emoticons, and an assertion from the company that the new version will suffer less freezing and locking up. The proprietary Skype client can be downloaded for 32- and 64-bit versions of Ubuntu and Debian as well as 32-bit versions of Fedora and openSUSE.

(fab)