gHacks technology news » skype 4 http://www.ghacks.net A technology blog covering software, mobile phones, gadgets, security, the Internet and other relevant areas. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:11:12 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 Skype 4 Lite http://www.ghacks.net/2009/04/08/skype-4-lite/ http://www.ghacks.net/2009/04/08/skype-4-lite/#comments Wed, 08 Apr 2009 13:33:17 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/2009/04/08/skype-4-lite/ skypeSo called lite applications try to bring down the storage requirements and resource usage of bloatware to increase performance by removing components and features that are not needed by the majority of users. Well known examples for lite applications are Nero Lite or Adobe Reader Lite.

The voice over IP client Skype 4 is another example of a lite application. It tries to optimize Skype 4 by blocking several of its components during installation. There are two ways of achieving this. The first is by downloading a Skype 4 Lite installer which is a execute and install type of approach. The second is by downloading Skype 4 Business which comes as a msi file. This msi file can be run with parameters that block several components from being installed.

The components that will not be installed are the Skype plugins for web browsers like Firefox and Internet Explorer, the Skype Plugin Manager and Skype Toolbar. Furthermore autostart of Skype 4 will be disabled and the generation of the Skype icon on the computer desktop will be blocked.

What are the benefits of this installation method? Skype 4 will noticeable startup faster and overall performance during usage is increased. You can download the custom installer for Skype 4 at the Custom Installers homepage.

Download Skype 4 Business from the Skype homepage for the second method. This will download SkypeSetup.msi to the local computer. To install Skype 4 Lite issue the following command (via MSFN Forum)

start /wait msiexec /i SkypeSetup.msi INSTALLLEVEL=1 STARTSKYPE=FALSE ALLUSERS=1 TRANSFORMS=:removeStartup.mst TRANSFORMS=:removeDesktopShortcut.mst /qr

The most important parameter is setting the installlevel to 1 which will tell the installer only to install the phone components and not the plugins or the plugin manager. The other parameters should be pretty much self explanatory.

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]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2009/04/08/skype-4-lite/feed/ 6 Should you try Skype 4.0 Beta ? http://www.ghacks.net/2008/06/19/should-you-try-skype-40-beta/ http://www.ghacks.net/2008/06/19/should-you-try-skype-40-beta/#comments Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:07:41 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/?p=5041 Skype just recently the first beta of their new Skype 4.0 client that is currently only available for Windows. The focus of this release is to receive user feedback to work further on the client and provide a release version after the summer. Major changes have been made to the interface which comes completely redesigned and provides fullscreen access to the features.

Skype 4.0 is missing several essential features when it is compared to the current release version 3.8 of the VOIP client for Windows. Among other functions Skype Prime, the History, Sending Contacts and Skypecasts are missing in the initial 4.0 release of Skype. A full list of features currently missing from the beta release can be seen at the Skype announcement of this version.

This essentially means that if one of the features is a requirement for your work you should wait with the upgrade until they have implemented it. The new version overwrites the old one and there is no obvious way to go back to the old version of Skype once the beta has been installed on the system.

skype 4

The only possible way would be to use a System Restore Point to go back. This beta version does not allow multiple Skype instances from being launched which is unfortunate for those users who either use Skype extras that require that feature and also for those that use several Skype instances for work, home and other activities.

The window can be resized up to a point but not further than that. Looks pretty much like 800×600 on my screen taken up by Skype as a minimum which is definitely unfortunate.

The major shift in this version will be away from concentrating on phone conversations to video conversations which is unfortunate for me because I do use Skype mainly as a way to call and send messages to some of my friends.

My advise would be to forget about installing this beta client in a work environment. It should not be that problematic for most home users though who would like to test the new client. Everyone else probably fares better with the 3.8 client.

Have you tried Skype 4.0 ? What is your opinion about the software ?

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