New York — Popular communications applications outfit, Skype on Thursday unleashed Skype 5.4 beta for Mac users, which features the same Facebook integration originally introduced in Skype 5.5 for Windows.
If you are a Mac user, then this latest updated lets you chat and directly connect with your Facebook friends without leaving Skype, check your news feed and update your status in Skype for Mac.“Just like in our Windows client, you will now be able to IM and connect with your Facebook friends without leaving Skype,” Skype said in a blog post. “Users will also be able to read and update their News Feed, as well as comment and ‘Like’ your Facebook friends’ posts — all within Skype for Mac.”
To set it up and use the new Facebook integration, just sign into Skype, click on the “Connect to Facebook” tab, and enter your Facebook sign-in details. Once logged in, the Skype Home tab displays recent activity from your Skype contacts, your Facebook friends or both through a hybrid view. You can also update your status using an input bar at the top of the home screen.
Unfortunately, it comes at a cost: Skype is also adding an advertising platform in this release, so unless you are a paying Skype customer or have Skype Credit, you will be seeing display ads just like on the Skype for Windows client.
Skype 5.5 for Windows is deeply integrated with Facebook was released just two months back. Skype has not provided any release date for when the new Mac version will come out of beta. Additionally, every update comes with some new attributes for Liking and commenting, and you can also call contacts instantly using a phone icon that appears next to their name. If their number is listed on Facebook or they are on Skype already, you can call right away; and if it is not, then you will be asked to enter it manually. Both options require that you have a paid Skype subscription or Skype credit to work.
Facebook attributes were included to Skype for Windows back in October 2010. At the time, Skype also incorporated “Facebook Phonebook,” which enabled users to call and text Facebook friends directly on mobile phones and landlines with a few clicks.
The move appears almost two months after Facebook unleashed video calling with Skype, which brought Skype right into the Facebook interface. Skype CEO Tony Bates said in July that the company had been working on the Skype integration for about six months. He was not concerned that this will draw traffic away from Skype’s main service. Skype has a goal of 1 billion users and “this helps us get there,” Bates said. “We want to be as ubiquitous as possible.”
Users can download the beta from skype.com/go/download-beta.