Skype for Linux 1.4 out of beta

Skype 1.4 for Linux after five months of testing. Now that it’s officially out of beta — along with a slew of bug fixes and new features — developers are calling it a recommended release.

Skype for Linux is available for eight distributions, including Ubuntu, Fedora 6 and 7, Debian, and MEPIS. System requirements include 256MB RAM, 20MB free disk space, 400MHz processor, Qt 4.2.1, and D-Bus 1.0.0.

The release is codenamed Panacea because it “cures” a host of issues that plagued Skype for Linux 1.3, most notably in the area of sound quality. Other improvements include:

• Keyboard/keypad can now be used to enter DTMF numbers in call window
• Drag and drop functionality for file sharing, contacts, and chats
• Chat toolbar with Add People, Send File(s) to Chat, History, and Leave Chat buttons
• Option added to Sound Devices to enable and disable automatic mixer adjustment
• Command-line switches
• File transfer menu

Early reports indicate some issues with getting a microphone to work, but at least one solution has already been discovered.