At the bleeding edge with Skype 2.0 beta

I installed the new Skype 2.0 beta for Windows the other day – and uninstalled it yesterday.

Lots to like about it, especially the video calling capability which worked faultlessly when I tried it with a Philips Toucam webcam. Overall, this new Skype version has a rather bright program interface for my taste plus pathetic new ringtones (Skype, please fix those in the release version!), but it’s a highly-impressive new offering.

The trouble is, Skype voicemail doesn’t work properly for me with this version. If someone calls me and leaves a voicemail, they’ll get my greeting but no beep to indicate when they need to start speaking. Not only that, I don’t get any notification of any pending voicemails, as I learned when I uninstalled this version and installed again the latest release version 1.4.0.84 – six voicemails waiting since mid last week which I didn’t know were there.

It is beta, don’t forget, and Skype does offer it with a clear caveat:

Try it out but remember, it’s just a beta. (Some of you might prefer to wait for the shiny final version.)

I’m all for being at the bleeding edge with new software, but I just can’t afford to have this voicemail situation. So I’ll pass on the beta and wait for the shiny final version.

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Walt Mossberg has a review of his overall good experience with Skype 2.0 beta (I guess he doesn’t have the Skype voicemail service). His review also includes highly favourable comments on the Linksys CIT200 Skype phone; also see this comprehensive review by Tom Keating. I definitely want one of these!