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Skype 5 for Mac Exits Beta, Group Video Calling Now Premium Feature

Why?

I really cant believe what a step backward Skype 5 is on Mac from 2.8 (truly a PC inspired disaster).

Completely agree the UI is OTT bloated in size and dressed in appearance, I use a second monitor regularly with my MacBook Pro and it still feels messy and greedy for space.

Very difficult to orientate around even after a few hours of familiarity and I am a seasoned computer user of 18 years. I dread to think how elderly friends on Skype will cope.

The inability to separate text chats from the video window is maddeningly frustrating. Often I have a video chat open while responding to other persons in a chat. WHY????

Also the removal to make a selected area for screen share rather than having to share the whole screen was much more useful ...

I understand Skype wish to monetise there technology to a degree so I cant begrudge them charging for multiuser video chats. iChat does this for free if you really need this functionality. I use skype on a daily basis as a paid call plan subscription user and am a huge fan of the service but this is really a traumatic step backward.

The Mac has many UI examples which exemplify the simplicity of a decent UI and I am including Skype 2.8, a lick of paint would have been enough!

Back on Skype 2.8
http://download.skype.com/macosx/Skype_2.8.0.863.dmg
 
I wish I hadn't updated before seeing this :) Not only does it drop calls more frequently than the last version (even after ensuring who I was chatting with upgraded to the latest windows version) which was a major disappointment - but also now I find out features have been removed and made pay-to-use only on the Mac and not on Windows ? :D

Greeeeat! My only consolation is I had only played with the conferencing/multi chat feature a few times so it's not something I was using daily.
 
I'm back on the old version. Version 5 UI sucks.

Wow. The app takes up way too much screen space. I have a 15" MacBook Pro as my main machine. I liked having the chat window barely visible, like only 4 or 5 lines of text so I can concentrate on my work and chat with someone on the side. Why take away my option to minimize it as much as I want? I don't run Skype as a main screen app. I want the option for Skype to be small and unobtrusive. If I am running a video call, then I will put it front and center.
 
singe said:
I really cant believe what a step backward Skype 5 is on Mac from 2.8 (truly a PC inspired disaster).

Completely agree the UI is OTT bloated in size and dressed in appearance, I use a second monitor regularly with my MacBook Pro and it still feels messy and greedy for space.

Very difficult to orientate around even after a few hours of familiarity and I am a seasoned computer user of 18 years. I dread to think how elderly friends on Skype will cope.

The inability to separate text chats from the video window is maddeningly frustrating. Often I have a video chat open while responding to other persons in a chat. WHY????

Also the removal to make a selected area for screen share rather than having to share the whole screen was much more useful ...

I understand Skype wish to monetise there technology to a degree so I cant begrudge them charging for multiuser video chats. iChat does this for free if you really need this functionality. I use skype on a daily basis as a paid call plan subscription user and am a huge fan of the service but this is really a traumatic step backward.

The Mac has many UI examples which exemplify the simplicity of a decent UI and I am including Skype 2.8, a lick of paint would have been enough!

Back on Skype 2.8
http://download.skype.com/macosx/Skype_2.8.0.863.dmg
Click to expand...

Can't really agree with you that its a PC-inspired disaster. The Windows version includes Group Conferencing for free and to be honest stability issues (calls dropping, etc) are resident on both the mac and the PC for me sadly. The UI is definitely better on the PC and still includes the option to share a particular part of the screen so I don't see how this is a PC-inspired disaster, as their Windows application is significantly better in comparison.
 
Sargiel said:
I wish I hadn't updated before seeing this :) Not only does it drop calls more frequently than the last version (even after ensuring who I was chatting with upgraded to the latest windows version) which was a major disappointment - but also now I find out features have been removed and made pay-to-use only on the Mac and not on Windows ? :D

Greeeeat! My only consolation is I had only played with the conferencing/multi chat feature a few times so it's not something I was using daily.
Click to expand...

You should download the old app again. http://mac.oldversion.com/Skype.html (or another similar site if that doesn't work)
 
ouimetnick said:
I hate it. The UI is more bloated. And really multiple video calling... a premium feature? iChat has group video chat for FREE. And iChat isn't bloated with a crazy UI.

Skype 2.8 was a LOT better.
Click to expand...

I hear you, but windows users don't have ichat. as much as I'm waiting for my folks' pc to go kaput, skype is the best option for webcamming.

That said, we don't use multiple user calling and I can never see us needing it.
might be worth it every once in a while, but not to pay every day. that's just silly.
 
don't know if this has been said before - while the UI does lack finesse - and is larger than it needs to be, with no way to resize to smaller screens...

i have had some success using the Contacts Monitor (Window | Contacts Monitor) which does display a nice translucent and relatively compact list of online contacts and minimizing the main skype window to the dock.
 
design isn't my biggest problem , the CPU usage is too high , even on idle is between 5 and 20% .. back to 2.8
 
snakebitesmac said:
Better? No.

My 2.8 contact list window area is 247x412 px. I can see 21 contacts. In the beta how many? 5?

I consider myself a skype power user, with 30+ chats open at any given time. A force upgrade to 5.0 would cause me to rethink the use of skype as a corporate communication tool.

The unified window theory fails 90% of the time because people multitask.

*disappointed*
Click to expand...

seriously. the new interface is bloated with some major feature creep. back to 2.8 I go.
 
Group calling is a business oriented feature

Skype does not intend for group video calling to be used by everyday users. They are targeting the corporate world, and their solution is much cheaper than other video conferencing solutions. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't iChat limited to 3 plus yourself?

I've used several chat clients, and NONE of them have the audio quality that Skype does, along with cross-platform usability.

Skype has just about the best audio and video clarity of all those I've tried.

One to one video is still free, audio is still free, text is free. Skype out is not, Skype in is not, Skype voicemail is not, and now, group video is not. Those features are targeted towards business use of Skype.

What a bunch of whiners....
 
maylen said:
design isn't my biggest problem , the CPU usage is too high , even on idle is between 5 and 20% .. back to 2.8
Click to expand...

This is my biggest concern. I did a video call and it was stuck on 100% usage. 2.8 is 50% usage max. I witnessed no extra quality in the call either. skype 5 is fail lol
 
Doju said:
Definitely still staying on Skype 2.8. The UI is just atrocious compared to the previous one, tiny contact list that can sit anywhere on my screen and a very simplistic, easy to use call menu. I love the separate windows and loathe this new combined interface.

I keep trying the new Skype 5 (just the disk image, not putting it in my Applications folder) and I don't know why I keep trying, it's just not comparable to the simplicity and ease of use of the old version. I use it to call some friends and do some group homework assignments, and to be able to simply see my contacts and call them, is great. It was focused on that, now it's just bloated.
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more. I didn't like the Beeta and I don't like this UI either. I'm so glad I kept Skype 2.8. They really need to give users the option for a more sensible experience. This UI looks like it was designed to work on the iPad, but that does not translate into optimal usability on the Mac desktop.
 
Btw, does it finally support REAL offline messaging??? I find it highly annoying in the old Skype that I can only receive my offline messages when both I and the person who sent them are online.
 
jon08 said:
Btw, does it finally support REAL offline messaging??? I find it highly annoying in the old Skype that I can only receive my offline messages when both I and the person who sent them are online.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, it appears not. A real dealbreaker for me.
 
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