Author: Joseph Moran
After more than six months of field testing and a succession of beta versions based on user feedback, Skype 4.0 for Windows has been officially released and is available for free download. Version 4.0 of Skype's VoIP software has been given a significant overhaul from its 3.8 predecessor, with a revamped and easier-to-use interface and changes under the hood designed to improve audio and video call quality.
As before, Skype's software offers free instant messaging, audio and video calls, and file transfers between Skype users. Pay a per-minute or monthly subscription fee and you can also use Skype to place calls or send texts to phones (domestic or international, landline or mobile), or purchase a phone number for your Skype account to receive calls (and voice mails) from phones. Detailed information on Skype's myriad pricing options is available here.
New Interface
Skype 4's interface makeover ditches the familiar columnar window its predecessor used in favor of one that's spacious, quasi-rectangular and dual-paned. The left pane shows the contact list while the right displays detail info and all the communications history for the selected contact; Skype calls this the "conversation," and it encompasses any form communication with a contact might take, be it audio, video, text or a file transfer.
This conversation metaphor helps simplify the task of keeping on top of ongoing communications you're engaged in with different people during the course of a day. Adjacent to the Contacts list tab is one that displays all recent conversations and makes it easy to find and resume a specific one, as opposed to having to hunt for a name in a lengthy contact list. If you want to participate in multiple simultaneous conversations, a button in the upper-right corner of the program window (next to the standard minimize, maximize and close controls) will detach the Conversations window, letting you have a separate one for each.
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