When Skype was bought out by Microsoft earlier this year, it was an indication that Microsoft wanted to expand its instant-messaging horizons, which is why the plans for the termination of Windows Live messenger next year didn’t come as a surprise to many. However, Microsoft is working hard to make those Windows Live Messenger users jump ship to its Skype service and with the new Skype 4.1 application released for Linux, we’re beginning to see the transition techniques that Microsoft is implementing into Skype for Linux to aid its Windows Live Messenger users to adjust to Skype’s service.
The updated Skype application brings the option of merging your Skype account with your Microsoft account in order to be able to log in with it. At the moment we can confirm, that this only allows you to log in to Skype with your Microsoft account email, contacts from your Microsoft account will not be imported and we are unable to work out whether contact imports will be incorporated in future.
Additionally, it should be noted that the application is multi-arch supported, meaning one application will determine whether your system is eligible for the 32-bit or 64-bit version of the application. However, for some reason the 64-bit version doesn’t enable the tray icon but the 32-bit version does. It is also recommended that you uninstall previous versions of Skype for Linux to minimize any conflicting errors.
We feel that this a great update for users because for it allows Windows Live Messenger users to use the service without the hassle of registration, and also for the fact that Skype for Linux is actually being updated regularly, which makes a change considering Skype was reluctant to update the service for Linux users before being bought out.
We hope to see Microsoft update the application more often, and to also offer more connectivity improvements for Windows Live Messenger users.
Source: OMG Ubuntu!