RSSSigns of a total rethink of Skype in its 4.0 beta
By Tim Conneally | Published June 20, 2008, 5:03 PM
Skype's 4.0 beta has moved away from Instant Messenger style layout consisting of multiple small windows, and has instead opted for a single, full-screen video chat window.
The tabbed "buddy list" window prominent since the very beginning of the product, has been replaced by a simple left-hand toolbar with the contact list as the primary feature, and buttons for "Call Phones," "Directory," and "Shop."
"Call Phones" retains the keypad layout of previous versions, but has a banner across the top listing Skype rates (currently starting at €.017), and now features an SMS button where the "end call" button logically should be.
"Directory" is similar to the Skypefind search engine in prior versions. It is a search engine geared toward finding local businesses within the "what" and "where" criteria, or individuals in the "Find People" category. Like Skypefind, the criteria for searches may currently be a little bit loose and data a bit irregular. The city of Baltimore, for example, yields 100 listings, ranging from a Toyota dealership with a partial address, phone number and user reviews, to a listing simply called "angel" with a cell phone number and one review saying only "sexy."
Under Directory are buttons for "Chat Rooms" and "Skype Prime." The latter does not yet work, but the Chat Rooms tab links to the service known as Skypecast beta in previous versions of Skype. Undoubtedly one of the oddest-sounding things that can be done with Skype, these audio chat rooms provide an international platform for cross-linguistic conversations -- complete with full digital artifacting and obnoxiously loud delay and feedback. The result sounds either like a Pink Floyd album or like listening to a dozen separate underwater conversations simultaneously.
The redesign looks to take the emphasis off of simple IM and VoIP calling, and refocus on video conferencing. Audio and video sync are adequate, given the participants are using suitable hardware, but actual audio quality still borders on the sub-par. It is interesting that a system developed essentially around voice calling should have such issues, with less trouble in delivering video.
For practical uses, Skype video chat is still best classified as a novelty. When new conversations invariably take upwards of five minutes just for setup, and the requisite "Can you hear me nows," even the novelty fades rapidly.
Skype has historically been one of those products that has hovered somewhere in-between invaluable and, as Tim put it, novelty. It began as a hybrid voice/IM service that uses a P2P infrastructure, and as such, it has been ingenious. But from a functional standpoint up to now, it has insisted on being modeled after instant messaging, as though typing text messages were Skype's principal function, and all this voice -- and later video -- were just add-ons.
Not any more -- at least, not from my initial take of the first Skype 4.0 beta. This is a completely redone product; yes, it uses the Skype communications structure we've all come to know and (not) love. But now the weights of the program seems to be shifting toward where it belongs, as a video and/or audio communications program that uses text chat as an accessory feature -- typically for typing those necessary messages like, "I can't hear you" and "I can't see you."
Now, everything is being moved into one functional window. The focus is no longer on Skype's equivalent of a buddy list, and how great it is that you get to have this huge list in its own window taking up space on your screen. If you're a businessperson rather than a social networking wannabe, having a big list of names taking up space on your screen is not a boost to your ego or morale. Under the new scheme, the users' list is catalogued under "Presence." It helps you quickly determine who's here and who's not. Then when the conferencing begins, it gets out of the way, making room for a bigger display.
It is not a perfectly designed system just yet. For example, in the lower right corner of the screenshot, you'll notice a toggle-switch device whose purpose is to reduce the video display size and make room for that text messaging line. That function is not exactly self-explanatory; there needs to be something more intuitive in place of that switch. And the fact that it's a sliding rocker with intermediate, in-between states, when the text line is either on or off and the switch should be binary, doesn't really make much sense.
It's peculiarities like this one that come up in the first public beta of a completely rethought product, though, and based on what I'm seeing so far, I'm hopeful that Skype can pull off a much-needed reinvention of its very useful public service.
Skype 3 can be run as a portable app, you just need the single EXE it uses, then call it from a .bat or .cmd containing :
@echo off
set PROFILE=%~dp0Profile
if not exist "%~dp0Profile" mkdir "%~dp0Profile"
start "Skype 3" /D"%~dp0" "%~dp0skype.exe" /datapath:"%PROFILE%" /removable
that even retains the sound effects, this is an excellent feature I hope is maintained in skype 4.
on the new UI it looks terrible, I don't have a webcam and 99% of the time don't communicate with people using webcams, also for memory footprint I wouldn't want so many resources loaded all the time to handle a feature I'm never using.
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|Without testing this, I have a simple comment to make. If the Skype team do not offer both interfaces as options in Skype v4.0, they are making a grave mistake. Some people enjoy keeping Skype open and find the smaller version to be more maintainable, while the larger version might be fun for personal use.
Adobe is 'rethinking' its CS4 interface, and they have at least stayed sane enough to allow users the choice (http://www.macrumors.com...terface-and-screenshots/)
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|Tried it and switched back a day later. Garbage.
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|If you want a bit of distraction from the Skype issues, ponder why after a few days of adequate performance, Firefox3 loads like COLD molasses!!!
How does one backout to FF2 without losing resource data (and why do none of the browsers have a SIMPLE 'Backup all bookmarks to (.../folder)' function to a resource location we specify!?)
My bookmark/resource list is one of the most useful resources I have - yet none of the major browsers have an elegant backup function nor a simple expandable hierarchical view where we can simply drag and drop the links at will - nor a simple way to print a complete listing of bookmarks with both the logical name and the linked (complete and untruncated) url next to it for a hardcopy resource list.
Sorry for the hijack, but such problems have distracted me from the awkward skype UI... ;-)
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|Firefox 3 may not have a "SIMPLE 'Backup all bookmarks to (.../folder)' function to a resource location we specify!?)", but you can certainly back them up to a location of the user's choosing. In fact, I backup my bookmarks as the .json format and 'Export' them in the FF2 .html format, to a location of my choosing.
Bookmarks > Organize Bookmarks > Import & Backup > Backup (or Export HTML) > select location.
ps-oh, your right, it's not simple
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|backup to location in json or html format is available in the bookmark organiser.
Slow loading encroaches as you add plugins that check for updates, FF checks for updates, and the phishing protection system gets db updates.
The latter has caused problems on linux particularly because of an sqlite bug, disable it if you want.
other than that, I hope this is the last of the total thread derailing.
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|FF3 is a memory leak in Safe Mode with NO add-ons or plug ins!
If that were the ONLY problem!
Its perhaps the worst release of any major product in years!
At least Skype only suffers from a goofy and utterly user UNfriendly and unconfigurable interface while the underlying technology works great.
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|egads its hideous
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|I've been using it for a few days, It's not too bad. But I really don't like the full screen thing. I would at least like an option to not have it open on full screen, but in say, windowed mode or something.
When someone does send you a chat, you have to go through your chat log so to speak, to find who's left you a new message.
More work to be done on the interface.
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|The interface took me aback a little, but on reflection that's close to how we use it - a multisite, multi-timezone IT support group. We use video almost always, sometimes chat, sometimes file transfer. The presence is handy. I always *liked* the minimalist interface. The all-in-one may be OK, if we can shrink-in unused parts.
Personally I don't mind the bandwidth sharing - seems a fair trade for a good free service (better quality than my cell!).
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|@Kushan i totaly agree!
the new interface sucks!! i'll have to use 3.X in the future or replace skype with something else
and option to choose between the new interface and the current one would be great!
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|Since I never use the video feature I don't really care. It's interesting, video phones were touted as the next great leap forward in telecommunication, yet I don't know anyone who regularly uses one. People seem happier and prefer just to talk, and not be seen.
Nice pic of you Scott, although you do look slightly threatening.
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|I use Live Messenger for this, set to auto-answer (only close friends and family).
One note: Live Messenger doesn't care if both ends have a webcam or mic connected, it just uses what is available when a vid-call is initiated.
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|Hmmmm....
I will have to wait to see...
As far as Skype's current UI: It couldn't be much worse!
And one still might wonder why say, I have to have a camera attached to Receive someone else's video transmission?!?
And I love the above reference to "functions(s) that are not exactly self-explanatory"! LOL! Heck, it could be worse, you could contact Skype support (in itself one of the most convoluted @ss backward experiences imaginable) - only to exchange 18 emails (in my case) only to receive the most utterly non-sequitur responses I have ever encountered! It makes relatively speaking) those pigeon English Chinese translations found in some product user manuals not only humorous, but useful!
In all, Skype offers much, IF you are willing to tolerate an utterly braindead, awkward, counter-intuitive non-configurable interface coupled with the same @$#%& equivalent in user support. It is as if the designers all first failed at the ICQ UI institute!
If only they would get their design together!
And to give you perhaps a truer perspective and feel for the issue - they would move light years ahead if they would simply copy Yahoo Msgr's UI! Scary, huh?!
But SkypeOut absolutely rocks.
Few products engender such an intense love hate relationship. But the existing UI Absolutely SUX!!!
I would almost go so far as to say that ANYTHING would be an improvement! But if the ideas for design improvement are originating solely from within Skype, I shudder to imagine... And I am a Skype user (In spite of the UI!)! LOL!
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|Noooooooooooooo!
That looks so s***, they better have the option to have multiple windows again.
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|OMG CHANGE!!!!!! WE CAN"T HAVE THAT!
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|Change the Interface back Skype Team. It's Hideous
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