What I failed to mention is that my laptops don't have a webcam installed, and I can't get my Logitech webcam to work with Skype. Hence, can't do video calls. I don't even see anything that would allow me to set up video in Skype. Maybe that's what makes Skype more simple in Linux - no video controls.

Also, just today, Jackie was logged in to Skype and started getting a whole lot of spam through Skype - all of it sexually orientated - asking her to connect with them. Needless to say, she shut Skype down.

On Jun 30, 2009, at 11:29 PM, Shane Lofgren wrote:

Good info. Skype setup flawlessly in my Ubuntu 8.04 32-bit machine.  I actually prefer the Linux client over the windows.  They look very different. I am not sure why but the Linux one is much more simple.

On Tue, Jun 30, 2009 at 10:04 PM, John R. Carter, Sr. <john@...>wrote:
For those who (like me) got used to using a lot of Windows applications, quite often those apps are also in Linux. Skype is one of them, and I use it regularly (in Windows) to make outgoing calls - because it is my second home line.

I had some difficulty getting Skype to install and run on my 64-bit machine, but then I found the solution.

For those who want to make unlimited calls on their computer to any phone in the US or Canada (for a small annual fee), here's the solution to install on any 64-bit machine (and maybe it works specifically for Ubuntu distros).

http://macprolinux.blogspot.com/2007/10/skype-on-64-bit-gutsy.html

Yes, it says it was for a Gutsy distro, but the instructions worked perfectly for 9.04.

John C.