Skype on 64-bit Gutsy

Forget about all the complicated tutorials and installing a billion libs. This is the quick and easy way:

  1. Make sure you have the latest 32-bit libs
    apt-get install ia32-libs
  2. Download the latest static version of Skype. Right now it is:
    wget http://skype.com/go/getskype-linux-static
  3. Extract it with
    tar -xf skype_static-1.4.0.118.tar.bz2
  4. Move it to /usr/local
    mv skype_static-1.4.0.118 /usr/local/
  5. Create a symbolic link to it
    ln -s /usr/local/skype_static-1.4.0.118 /usr/local/skype
  6. Create another one in /usr/bin/
    ln -s /usr/local/skype/skype /usr/bin/
  7. Run it
    skype
Update: If you want to create an icon on your Desktop for Skype, than:
  1. Create a file called Skype.desktop
    gedit ~/Desktop/Skype.desktop
  2. Copy-paste this into the file
    [Desktop Entry]
    Encoding=UTF-8
    Version=1.0
    Type=Application
    Terminal=false
    Exec=skype
    Name=Skype
    Icon=/usr/local/skype/icons/SkypeBlue_48x48.png

That's it. Have fun!

Posted byvfxdude at 4:29 PM  

10 comments:

Anonymous said... October 29, 2007 at 3:45 PM  

thank you very much! at last some easy way to get it working!

any ideas on how to make opera work same way?

vfxdude said... October 29, 2007 at 10:42 PM  

Hi,

glad it worked for you!

Getting Opera running is following the same principle of using the static compiled packages.

1. Go to the Opera download page
http://www.opera.com/download/

2. Under "Select distribution and vendor", choose "Other/Static DEB" to download the static package.

3. Install it with
dpkg -i --force-all opera_whatever.deb

4. Run with
opera

Have fun!

Anonymous said... December 1, 2007 at 7:43 PM  

these instructions are useful and compact. thanks a lot!

Anonymous said... January 17, 2008 at 6:51 PM  

Nice and easy, I like it.

Will it work with a newer version of skype? This one does not seem to use my webcam (however that could be because my drivers are not installed yet).

Anonymous said... January 19, 2008 at 6:25 PM  

Sure. It works the same way with the latest 2.0 beta. Check it out!

Anonymous said... February 25, 2008 at 2:13 PM  

I'm having some problems in step 7. When I try to run skype error message shows:

error while loading shared libraries: libsigc-2.0.so.0: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory.

Is it possible to get libsigc--2.0.so.0 for CentOS, and if is, where could I get it?

mr91nk said... May 25, 2008 at 10:52 AM  
This comment has been removed by the author.
mr91nk said... May 25, 2008 at 10:53 AM  

Kudos for a very simple and straightforward description. Works like a dream for me! :)

Anonymous said... June 16, 2008 at 8:55 PM  

thanks, great!

Anonymous said... November 27, 2008 at 11:07 PM  

Thanks for the very easy guide! My problem is that when I try to run Skype, I get a message "No protocol specified". Is the problem with my newest Kubuntu (8.something, if I remember correctly)? My Skype package is therefore 2.0.0.72 instead of what you had on the example. Anyway, if someone could help me solve this, I would appreciate it!

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