Still, Linux users really want Skype, so every now and again, another story starts that Skype is going to go open-source. In the latest Skype open-source rumor, it's claimed that "We are happy to be able to inform you that Skype will from now on be part of the open source community."

The other day I found that the latest Linux Skype client, version 2.0.0.72, does not include SMS functionality. Frustrated with Skype's treating Linux users like second-rate citizens, I resolved to see what alternatives there are to Skype. I started with Ekiga.

Open the skype put your nick, password, give it sign up and go, you're logged into your Skype, you'll see your contacts and all that stuff, if you have balance you can use skype on your phone,

Skype's attitude to Linux desktop users is frankly disturbing. Take a look at the chart of software issues for the Skype client...

Skype recently released Skype 2.0 beta for Linux, which includes the ability to make video calls, a feature the Windows and Mac versions have had for some time. I tried the beta on two systems running Ubuntu 7.10 -- my desktop PC with a USB webcam and a MacBook Pro with its onboard iSight webcam -- with mixed results.

Skype is proprietary software that allows you to make calls over the Internet using your computer. Skype uses decentralized peer-to-peer technologies, so your calls do not go through a central server, but through distributed servers and other users. It uses its own proprietary communication protocol to achieve this.

This is the Skype API Plugin for Pidgin/libpurple/Adium. If you're already running Skype, you can have your Skype contacts displayed with your Pidgin/libpurple/Adium contacts. It is intended as a complete replacement for the Skype user interface, hopefully everything you can do in Skype you can do with this plugin.

Skype is a predatory virus that should be banned from your computer.
But don't take my word for it. Look at the facts. Skype can be and has been hacked.

Nearly five months after the release of the first beta, the Skype for Linux developers have announced the availability of the second beta for version 2.1 of their Linux Skype client.