Starting the 1st of August 2014, users with Skype for Linux version 4.2 and older will not be able to sign in to Skype due to Microsoft retiring all old version and forcing users to update.
A lack of surprise here really, Microsoft do not seem to give a damn.
Some of us don’t want a different user interface, PulseAudio, bugs and anything a newer version tries to sell. Old version is great because it does the job:
- User interface isn’t ugly
- Screen sharing just works
- It supports ALSA
- Don’t fix stuff that isn’t broken!
How hard was it to send a notification saying that older version were going to stop functioning?
[UPDATE 2016]: tired of a buggy 32 bit official Skype client? Then Ghetto Skype might be for you! Check it out here: https://github.com/stanfieldr/ghetto-skype
Install Skype 4.3 on Debian (Obsolete – use Ghetto Skype)
Skype is a 32-bit application and it uses ia32-libs under amd64 architecture. To install Skype 4.3 on Debian Wheezy (64-bit):
# dpkg --add-architecture i386 && apt-get update # wget http://download.skype.com/linux/skype-debian_4.3.0.37-1_i386.deb # dpkg -i skype-debian_4.3.0.37-1_i386.deb # apt-get -f install
To launch a second instance of Skype 4.3:
$ mkdir ~/.Skype2 $ skype --dbpath=~/.Skype2 &
Or alternatively press Alt+F2 and type:
skype --secondary
Install Ghetto Skype on Debian
Get rid of Skype:
# dpkg -P skype
Get rid of multiarch:
# apt-get remove .*:i386 # dpkg --remove-architecture i386 # apt-get update
Install Ghetto Skype:
# wget https://github.com/stanfieldr/ghetto-skype/releases/download/v1.5.0/ghetto-skype_1.5.0_amd64.deb
# dpkg -i ghetto-skype_1.5.0_amd64.deb