Sunday, October 14, 2007

Microphones and Skype on Ubuntu 7.10

I wrote a post a while back about getting Microphones and Skype working in Ubuntu. This has been one of my most viewed posts, and as Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) is about to be released, I thought I would update my previous post.

Turning on the Microphone
Getting the microphone working in Ubuntu 7.10, was really easy, I did the following:

  • Plugged the Microphone in.
  • Double clicked on the volume icon in the panel.
  • Clicked Edit then, Preferences.
  • Ticked the Microphone, Mic boost, and Capture boxes.
  • Once they were ticked a Recording/Capture tab and a Switches/Options tab appeared in the volume control panel.
  • I went through each volume setting and made sure nothing was turned down or muted.
  • In the Switches/Options tab select Mic Boost.
Done, the microphone worked just fine, I tested the Mic using the Sound Recorder tool found in: Applications -> Sound and Video -> Sound Recorder

Installing Skype
  • Add the Skype repository (If you don't know how to add repositories please see: Repositories/Ubuntu) deb http://download.skype.com/linux/repos/debian/ stable non-free
  • Reloaded or updated the package information
  • Install Skype: # sudo apt-get install skype
Security and Skype
I no longer have the need to use Skype, however there is a security problem with Skype running on Linux, for more information please see: http://forum.skype.com/index.php?showtopic=95261

I suggest using AppArmor, (which is now a default application on Ubuntu 7.10) to create a security profile for Skype.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi,
Tried using this to fix my microphone on Ubuntu 7.10 and Dell Optiplex 745. I had no luck. The sound recorder opens fine and shows the options, but when I try recording on either the capture, Microphone, Mic Boost or Line in, nothing is recorded. Any suggestions are welcome.

Kris said...

I've had a bit of a look around, and I'm afraid I can't find any answers for you.
My only suggestion would be trying the latest version of the alsa-driver, from here:
# wget ftp://ftp.alsa-project.org/pub/driver/alsa-driver-1.0.15.tar.bz2
# tar -xjf alsa-driver-1.0.15.tar.bz2
# cd alsa-driver-1.0.15
# ./configure
# sudo make
# sudo make install


I can't guarantee it will work but it might be worth a try.

Anonymous said...

Hi,

Thank you for your all help, I have installed the skype on my laptop but when I am trying to connect with it is giving me error like "P2P connection failed".

can you please help me out with problem...

Regards
Noddy

Kris said...

Hiya Noddy,
A P2P connection problem would suggest to me that your having firewall, proxy or other network issues. This page may help you: I am having trouble logging in, what can I do?

Otherwise, can you please send me some more information on the exact problem you are having? Like for instance log output, firewall/proxy details.

You can also check out the support section at Skype.com here: Skype Support.
I hope this helps you out, Cheers Kris

Anonymous said...

I went through the list and did what was written.
Result: Success!!!

Anonymous said...

Who knows where to download XRumer 5.0 Palladium?
Help, please. All recommend this program to effectively advertise on the Internet, this is the best program!