Skype Improves Contact Lists, Video Calls On All Desktop Platforms


Windows/Mac/Linux: Video chat app Skype released updates today for Windows, Mac and Linux. Each comes with its own new improvements and bug fixes. Here’s what’s new.

Skype has gotten to the point where it’s a little different on every platform, but it’s good to see an update to all three versions on the same day. Here’s what each app has in store:

  • Windows users should find that their contact list is a bit easier to navigate. You have the ability to “pin” your favourite contacts to the top, and (finally!) merge your Facebook and Skype contacts into one unified list. They’ve also fixed some video calling issues and made premium subscriptions easier to understand.
  • On the Mac, you’ll find a slimmer, completely redesigned contact window that you can resize and reposition separate from the main Skype window. It also works better with mobile video calls, automatically rotating the video when your partner rotates his or her phone so you don’t end up with sideways video.
  • Lastly, Linux users won’t see too many new features, but the interface looks much better, and both video and audio quality are much better than they were before. They’ve also fixed a lot of bugs and added one or two small improvements to the contact list.

You can read more about each new release at the official blog posts below. Skype, as always, is a free download for Windows, OS X and Linux.

Skype 5.10 for Windows: Now with favourite Contacts & Contact List Design Updates [Skype Garage Blog]
Skype 5.8 for Mac: Your Contact List Just Got Slimmer, While Video Calls with Mobile Users and Group Screen Sharing Got Even Better. [The Big Blog]
Skype 4.0 for Linux [Skype for Linux Blog]


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

Here are the cheapest plans available for Australia’s most popular NBN speed tier.

At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

Comments


5 responses to “Skype Improves Contact Lists, Video Calls On All Desktop Platforms”

Leave a Reply