whats the opinion on skype these days?

[thomaskc]

Hey everyone,

I would like to hear peoples opinion on skype and versions for mac osx these days. I find a lot of written material, but mostly fairly outdated, stating that the old version 2.8 is by far better, faster, uses less memory etc than the later version 4.x and now 5.x

Is this still the view / any data proof? that people find since I know skype has been updated a fair bit lately, yet I don't know if it has changed much for osx ?

what is your experience? thanks!

the kind of updates im thinking of is this for instance:
http://9to5mac.com/2012/06/14/skype...contact-list-full-10-8-mountain-lion-support/

 

[Macman45]

I gave it up a while back...Found it unreliable and I use FaceTime for my friends who have Macs. If you regularly call people on the Windows platform I guess Skype is the way to go...It seems to be built in to everything now...Even my new Sony 46" Bravia has it..It's no longer free in the UK which was one of the reasons I ditched it, but not everyone has access to a MAc and FT.

 

[curtisinoc]

I only wish facetime had "screensharing" like Skype . . that would be sweet

 

[thasan]

Hey everyone,

I would like to hear peoples opinion on skype and versions for mac osx these days. I find a lot of written material, but mostly fairly outdated, stating that the old version 2.8 is by far better, faster, uses less memory etc than the later version 4.x and now 5.x

Is this still the view / any data proof? that people find since I know skype has been updated a fair bit lately, yet I don't know if it has changed much for osx ?

what is your experience? thanks!

the kind of updates im thinking of is this for instance:
http://9to5mac.com/2012/06/14/skype...contact-list-full-10-8-mountain-lion-support/

im using it but its awful. i dont se the point of contact list. hidden beneath is a bloated software. video chatting typically pushes ur processor past 100% in my last november MBP with 8 GB ram (thats right!). i wish i could avoid it..but there are no viable options. and to be fair, it is more reliable than imessage when it comes to sending messages/chatting

 

[NazgulRR]

I only wish facetime had "screensharing" like Skype . . that would be sweet

+1

(and a Windows version )

People should get used to writing Apple more, they don't read forums:
http://www.apple.com/feedback/

 

[MacDawg]

I use Skype for video calling quite a bit when I am on the road and prefer it over FaceTime
Video quality and reliability has been better for me

 

[gumblecosby]

Version 5 is still woeful. I still use 2.8. Version 5 loses messages on me even after updates, uses 3 times the amount of ram and the UI looks like something I would make. Stick with version 2.8 is my opinion of Skype on mac.

 

[GGJstudios]

I still use Skype, but it's on its way out. I use the older version (2.8) because the newest version eats up too much screen space. I find myself using it less and less and I'll probably replace it when Viber releases Windows and Mac desktop versions of its iPhone app.

 

[numbersyx]

I still use Skype, but it's on its way out. I use the older version (2.8) because the newest version eats up too much screen space. I find myself using it less and less and I'll probably replace it when Viber releases Windows and Mac desktop versions of its iPhone app.

Is there any chance of Viber doing this? Their phone app is pretty good but it's voice only. What makes you think they're going to go into a video app?

 

[GGJstudios]

Is there any chance of Viber doing this?

Viber to offer PC and Mac desktop clients for cross-platform messaging

What makes you think they're going to go into a video app?

I didn't say anything about video. I rarely use video on Skype.

Skype vs Viber: The Android Phone App Face-Off!

 

[crazyk4952]

After trying FaceTime, Skype, Google Hangouts, and ooVoo, here are my thoughts:

FaceTime:

This consistently has the best video and audio quality. Unfortunately, you have to have an Apple product to use it. Also, it does not support conference calling.

Skype:

Overall, it works pretty well (although I wish they would update their Linux client). Both video and audio quality were pretty good and had little latency. Skype premium allows conference calling. I have tried conference calls with a total of three people and it worked surprisingly well.

Google Hangouts:

The video quality is not as good as FaceTime or Skype. The video was poor quality and had a low frame rate. Also, I was hearing a terrible echo when we had three people in the hangout. I do like the different apps you can use (such as Google Docs). Another nice feature is the ability to call telephone numbers and add them to the Hangout for free.

ooVoo:

This is my least favorite option. The client software has lots of annoying ads (although you can pay $30/yr for ad-free). The video quality was poor and it had a slow frame rate as well.


Overall, I would have to say that I use Skype the most since it is cross-platform and has a good conference feature.

 

[GGJstudios]

Skype:

Both video and audio quality were pretty good and had little latency.

This is one advantage I see in Skype vs Viber (that I mentioned earlier). Skype has better audio quality than I've heard in Viber. I don't know how much of that was due to individual connections or due to the app itself.