Skype on Linux Mint

[#1]

Anybody use Skype successfully? I have Skype 2.0 installed on Linux Mint 7, having been prompted by a colleague to try it. When I do a search to add her as a contact it doesn't find anything. I have tried everything I can think of - her real name, Skype name, all the email addresses I know, and nothing comes up.
Also, anyone else find the documentation a bit dire? I was trying to find out what my visibility was to the outside world. Skype's website says it is very easy to change the settings, but doesn't give a single word of instruction. I think I have found what I need by randomly clicking around in the application, but still...

[#2]

email your friend and ask her to send her skype nickname.  skype will work in linux.

[#3]

Quote

When I do a search to add her as a contact it doesn't find anything. I have tried everything I can think of - her real name, Skype name, all the email addresses I know, and nothing comes up.

That sounds about right for the Skype contact search it never seems to work as you would expect. It usually works with a Skype name though...
Sykpe works fine on Linux , I use it with Ubuntu, and since Mint is based on that, it shoudl work fine.

[#4]

Quote from: artificer

email your friend and ask her to send her skype nickname.

Nickname? Is that the same as the Skype name i.e. login name? If so, I have already tried that.

[#5]

Just a thought - since Ubuntu, and presumably Mint, blocks most ports by default, could this be blocking requests from Skype?

[#6]

It didnt on my systems. Anyway you make a connection to the Skype servers so its not an incoming connection as far as the firewall is concerned. It might stop Skype operating as a 'supernode' but that's a good thing anyway, you dont want Skype using all your bandwidth...

[#7]

I asked the question on the Skype forum a few days ago, and so far have had no response. If this is what I can expect from Skype I shall have to persuade my colleague to try Ekiga instead and see if that works

[#8]

Reply to #4. When you Open a program that connects to the Internet, IT is responsible for answering the call made to it from any server it connects to. So when you start the Skype client it connects to the Skype server and the server sends it connection requests (i.e. calls) no port opening required.

[#9]

Understood, thanks.

[#10]

Latest on this - MintUpdate prompted me to install Skype 2.1, so I did, and the search now works! Never got any response from the Skype forum - not impressed.