2014-07-02 02:00:57 +02:00
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Skype and camera issues
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-----------------------
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It has been pointed out by a lot of users that skype has problems with
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some cameras, in most cases this leads to green screen or no video at
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all. This happens because V4L API (legacy) has been dropped from newer
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2013-11-12 04:44:08 +01:00
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kernels, and pixel format decoding has been pushed to user space.
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Moreover, V4L2 does not support kernel space decoding. Since skype
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2014-07-02 02:00:57 +02:00
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supports only V4L, easiest way to get it working is to preload it with
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V4L compatibility library, and call skype like this:
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2013-11-12 04:44:08 +01:00
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LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libv4l/v4l1compat.so /usr/bin/skype
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If you are still having problems, try adding the following as aswell:
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XLIB_SKIP_ARGB_VISUALS=1
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Included with this package is an alternative desktop file modified to
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include those variables. For easy use, just copy it to your home
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directory:
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2014-07-02 02:00:57 +02:00
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cp /usr/doc/skype-4.3.0.37/skype-alternative.desktop \
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2013-11-12 04:44:08 +01:00
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~/.local/share/applications
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2014-07-02 02:00:57 +02:00
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Skype and pulseaudio dependacies
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--------------------------------
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With the introduction of skype 4.3 series, all built-in ALSA support
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has been completely removed. What this means is that we now have one
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more dependancy to deal with, and for 64bit Slackware users this makes
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things even more complex, because they have to build 32bit counterparts
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and use convertpkg script to make them installable on their systems.
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At the time of writing this, pulseaudio also requires json-c and speex
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dependancies, so if you are on a 32bit system, it should be enough to
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build these and installpkg them.
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For a 64bit setup, you will have to build all three dependancies, and
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in the end you will end up with a total of six packages, three for each
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platform. To do this, you will obviously need multilib packages from
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Eric Hameleers, so make sure you check README that comes with them.
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After 32bit packages are built, convert them like this:
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convertpkg-compat32 -i json-c-0.11-i486-1_SBo.tgz -e tgz
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convertpkg-compat32 -i speex-1.2rc1-i486-3_SBo.tgz -e tgz
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convertpkg-compat32 -i pulseaudio-5.0-i486-1_SBo.tgz -e tgz
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And installpkg resulting packages as usual.
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Skype with a grain of salt
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--------------------------
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Running binary-only applications might give open source literate people
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a ceritain dose of unease. Even more so when this application runs at
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computer start up, has constant outbound network access, becomes a
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supernode when open ports from the internet are detected, effectively
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accepting random connections from other users on the internet. If you
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are not scared enough already, think about access to your sound card,
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camera, and precious files after reading the above!
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Sure, some will argue that privacy is a thing of the past, and not to
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run such applications if you don't want to, but sometimes you simply
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don't have a choice. Whether it's your long distance family members or
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coworkers and friends, price is the same, you are left with an ugly
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written app (just look at that 64bit support) that is probably full of
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horrible holes, intentional or not (really :^)
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While safest thing, of course, is to avoid using it, and probably turn
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off your computer for good, right before you put on that tin foil hat
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or burry your head in a hole somewhere, we wont be exploring those
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options in this awesome README!
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Instead, we will start from the obvious, firewall unused ports on your
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computer, in most cases it's fine to close them all down. Next in line
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are also obvious things, if you do not trust that little light on your
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camera, unplug it when your haircut is not presentable to the world.
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Same goes for your mircrophone, and if it's an integrated one, take it
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from the pro's in the police department that use adhesive tape to cover
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it up :-)
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Now that manual labour is out the way, we come to a much more fun part,
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protecting your precious files in $HOME. For this we take advantage of
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multi-user enviroment, and simply run skype under another user with
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basic access. Without further ado, create another user and group with:
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groupadd -g 666 spyke
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useradd -u 666 -d /home/spyke -m -s /bin/bash -g spyke spyke
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Optionally give this user access to hardware:
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usermod -G audio,video,pulse -a spyke
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If you previously had skype set-up that you wish to keep, move it with:
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cp -a $HOME/.Skype /home/spyke
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chown -R spyke:spyke /home/spyke/.Skype
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Allow group execution:
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echo "%spyke ALL=(spyke) NOPASSWD: /usr/bin/skype" \
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>> /etc/sudoers.d/66_spyke
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Add your user to this new group:
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usermod -G spyke -a USERNAME
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Finally, run it like this:
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xhost +local: \
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&& sudo -u spyke /usr/bin/skype
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Attention, due to lack of goofyness in this README, anagrams were used
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to fill that void. Together with some number crafting, level of Slack
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has peaked, and the trumpets were blown.
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