# Skype or Chromium ... I think



## Geezer (Nov 11, 2021)

I only really use chromium for skype, and it has been working fairly well for some time now.

I just upgraded chromium from the ports to version 94.0.4606.81. I am not sure what version it was just before.

Now skype works ... mostly. Video works, I can see them and they can see me. They can hear me, but I cannot hear them.

Sound does work in chromium, I can play videos on youtube and listen to them. In fact in skype sound sort of works. When I phone someone, I get the skype-ish ringing tone. But as soon as it connects, I hear nothing. This is even so with a test call.

I don't know if this is a skype-for-web problem or a chromium problem. All I want to do is revert to the previous version of chromium.

I use the ports with synth, and have kept the ports up to date with `git -C /usr/ports pull` . I am currently on 2021Q4. I seem to feel that the version from 2021Q3 worked.

How can I get the port for chromium for 2021Q3?

Is there anyone else that uses skype, who has recently upgraded? And does it work for you?


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## SirDice (Nov 11, 2021)

Geezer said:


> How can I get the port for chromium for 2021Q3?


Switch branches.


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## sko (Nov 11, 2021)

Have a look at the excellent guide on Using Git to manage ports by ShelLuser :



ShelLuser said:


> Now let's say for the sake of argument that we have a server which tracks quarterly, and we need to _urgently_ re-configure ("customize") one of the packages. Now what?! I mean... sure: download ports collection, build port and then diving head first into dependency hell?! *Nope!*
> 
> Now we can resolve this problem very easily thanks to Git:
> 
> ...


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## Geezer (Nov 11, 2021)

SirDice said:


> Switch branches.



Have done `git -C /usr/ports switch 2021Q3` and then `git -C /usr/ports pull` gives me

```
remote: Enumerating objects: 48, done.
remote: Counting objects: 100% (48/48), done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (33/33), done.
remote: Total 33 (delta 23), reused 0 (delta 0), pack-reused 0
Unpacking objects: 100% (33/33), 21.28 KiB | 369.00 KiB/s, done.
From https://git.FreeBSD.org/ports
   6bf0135b415e..d3db7630c797  main       -> origin/main
Already up to date.
```

How should I be switching branches? Or better still, can I merely change branch for one port (and dependencies)?


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## eternal_noob (Nov 11, 2021)

Geezer said:


> How can I get the port for chromium for 2021Q3?


I don't know if it's smart to use an outdated browser, securitywise. I'd fix the problem with the recent version of Chromium.


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## Geezer (Nov 11, 2021)

eternal_noob said:


> I don't know if it's smart to use an outdated browser, securitywise. I'd fix the problem with the recent version of Chromium.



I would prefer not to use chromium at all. But I will accept the moderate security issue and only use it for skype.


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## VladiBG (Nov 11, 2021)

Do you have sound in chromium from other web sites, let's say from YouTube?


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## eternal_noob (Nov 11, 2021)

VladiBG said:


> Do you have sound in chromium from other web sites, let's say from YouTube?





Geezer said:


> Sound does work in chromium, I can play videos on youtube and listen to them.


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## Geezer (Nov 11, 2021)

VladiBG said:


> Do you have sound in chromium from other web sites, let's say from YouTube?



Yes.

It is just a skype thing. I can hear sound in skype, the ringtone, just cannot hear the other person.


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## SirDice (Nov 11, 2021)

Geezer said:


> How should I be switching branches?


`git checkout <branchname>` You can tell what branch you're on by looking at `git status`.


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## astyle (Nov 11, 2021)

Geezer : Does the web cam work? Is yours built-in or USB?

I realize this is a bit of a tangent, but depending on how this conversation goes, I might do something similar myself.

Edit: have you tried Firefox or Konqueror for this?


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## eternal_noob (Nov 11, 2021)

Geezer said:


> I will accept the moderate security issue


JFYI:

Security:    https://vuxml.freebsd.org/freebsd/a7732806-0b2a-11ec-836b-3065ec8fd3ec.html (27 security fixes)
Security:    https://vuxml.freebsd.org/freebsd/47b571f2-157b-11ec-ae98-704d7b472482.html (11 security fixes)
Security:    https://vuxml.freebsd.org/freebsd/3551e106-1b17-11ec-a8a7-704d7b472482.html (19 security fixes)
Security:    https://vuxml.freebsd.org/freebsd/b6c875f1-1d76-11ec-ae80-704d7b472482.html (1 security fix)
Security:    https://vuxml.freebsd.org/freebsd/777edbbe-2230-11ec-8869-704d7b472482.html (4 security fixes)
Security:    https://vuxml.freebsd.org/freebsd/7d3d94d3-2810-11ec-9c51-3065ec8fd3ec.html (4 security fixes)

English is not my mother tongue but i think "moderate" means something different.


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## Geezer (Nov 12, 2021)

SirDice said:


> Switch branches.



Switching branches seems to work going forwards, but not backwards. In the end, I created another dataset (/user/ports_previous) and did `git clone https://git.FreeBSD.org/ports.git -b 2021Q3 /usr/ports_previous`. That did it.

Unfortunately, after trying to build chromium-92.0.4515.159_1, I got
`error: use of undeclared identifier 'hb_subset_input_set_retain_gids'; did you mean 'hb_subset_input_set_flags'?`

I did go to my laptop, where I had locked the package for iridium a long time ago, and tried to run it now, and got
`ld-elf.so.1: /usr/local/share/iridium/iridium: Undefined symbol "hb_subset_input_set_retain_gids"`

Maybe it is just not possible to run an older version of chromium anymore.



astyle said:


> Geezer : Does the web cam work? Is yours built-in or USB?
> 
> I realize this is a bit of a tangent, but depending on how this conversation goes, I might do something similar myself.
> 
> Edit: have you tried Firefox or Konqueror for this?



Webcam works perfectly. Plug in USB.

Have tried firefox. Need to change the user-agent. But even so, strange things happen. Each party sees themselves not the person they are talking to. 

Have not tried konqueror, and don't want to go down KDE dependency hell.

If you can get it working, [the_big] _if_ [/the_big], then I would highly recommend it.



eternal_noob said:


> English is not my mother tongue but i think "moderate" means something different.



You seem pretty adept at English. Hope your German is as good.


Still baffled.


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## eternal_noob (Nov 12, 2021)

Geezer said:


> You seem pretty adept at English. Hope your German is as good.


Thanks for the compliment, i try my best. My German is better, though.


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## Geezer (Nov 12, 2021)

For the time being, I am using zoom on firefox, which still works.


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## Geezer (Nov 13, 2021)

PR 259811


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## grahamperrin@ (Nov 13, 2021)

Geezer said:


> `ld-elf.so.1: /usr/local/share/iridium/iridium: Undefined symbol "hb_subset_input_set_retain_gids"`



<https://github.com/harfbuzz/harfbuzz/commit/942636ae1300e56dfe599b5f961719f044bdf828>

<https://bugs.freebsd.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=258607#c3> reminds me that for a while, I locked down harfbuzz and harfbuzz-icu to 2.9.1.


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## Geezer (Nov 14, 2021)

So far, no one has acknowledged the PR. They probably don't want to. Can of worms. Is the bug in chromium or skype? The maintainers might give this PR the elbow.


In the meantime, I have recompiled chromium, but changed the options from the default of SNDIO to the dreaded PULSEAUDIO.

Incredibly, that sort of fixed it ... badly. Sound and microphone both work, but with howling feedback. I can get rid of the feedback if I turn the microphone down so low that I cannot be heard. It would probably be alright with a headset. (Ain't got one, don't want one.)

I never got feedback before, when it was on sndio. Is that one of the differences between sndio and pulseaudio then, feedback? I had always assumed that the lack of feedback on a skype call was a function of skype itself. Trouble is, I get feedback even when I am not on a call with skype. The microphone is on all the time. All the [expurgated] bloody [/expurgated] time. Is that a pulseaudio thing?


Is there no one else here who uses skype - under Freebsd that is and not [shock-horror] windows [/shock-horror]? Do you have perennial problems?


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## astyle (Nov 14, 2021)

Geezer said:


> Is there no one else here who uses skype - under Freebsd that is and not [shock-horror] windows [/shock-horror]? Do you have perennial problems?


I'm actually interested in getting Skype to work under FreeBSD - and Geezer , your posts suggest to me that it's possible. But for now, I'm just on the sidelines, gathering info, and watching others take the time to fight through the pitfalls and develop workarounds. I might take the plunge next year - if I don't have too much other stuff on my plate at that point.


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## grahamperrin@ (Nov 15, 2021)

Geezer said:


> … no one has acknowledged the PR. …



If you mean, no response from maintainers, it could be that none of the maintainers uses Skype for Web.

Or (more likely) other bugs are much higher priority; 258573 bugging many people is a show-stopper to some things.


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## Geezer (Nov 15, 2021)

astyle said:


> I'm actually interested in getting Skype to work under FreeBSD ... I might take the plunge next year - if I don't have too much other stuff on my plate at that point.



Dear astyle I recommend skype under Freebsd, and there is no reason to wait. While there may be a few issues occasionally, there are certainly fewer issues than using windows. When it works, it seems to work magically.

There is very little to do. Install www/chromium,or build from ports. There are only two options really, sndio or pulseaudio. You may want to try them both. I have got it working on both my laptop, with built in webcam and microphone, and desktop with plugin webcam and a different microphone plugged into the soundcard (as opposed to the microphone built into the webcam).

It takes a bit of messing around, and waiting a few hours for the build. Skype does seem to log itself off at random times, and there is always the uncertainty that new versions of chromium or skype will change things.

If you have people that you want to communicate with by skype, I recommend it.


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## Geezer (Nov 15, 2021)

grahamperrin said:


> If you mean, no response from maintainers, it could be that none of the maintainers uses Skype for Web.
> 
> Or (more likely) other bugs are much higher priority; 258573 bugging many people is a show-stopper to some things.



Yup.


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## MeowMan (Dec 5, 2021)

I am sorry, but what is the difference between Skype and Chromium?


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## astyle (Dec 5, 2021)

MeowMan said:


> I am sorry, but what is the difference between Skype and Chromium?


 Skype is for video chat. Chromium is a browser on which Google's Chrome and Microsoft Edge are based. I agree, this thread's title is a bit confusing. If you get Skype going under FreeBSD, then the browser in which you run Skype doesn't really matter. However, at this time, it looks like Chromium on FreeBSD does a better job than others in getting along with Skype. Haven't tried that for myself yet, though.


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## Geezer (Dec 6, 2021)

> I am sorry, but what is the difference between Skype and Chromium?



No.
No, no.

Dear astyle I know you want to help, but I do not really think this needs answering.


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## MeowMan (Dec 6, 2021)

astyle said:


> Skype is for video chat. Chromium is a browser on which Google's Chrome and Microsoft Edge are based. I agree, this thread's title is a bit confusing. If you get Skype going under FreeBSD, then the browser in which you run Skype doesn't really matter. However, at this time, it looks like Chromium on FreeBSD does a better job than others in getting along with Skype. Haven't tried that for myself yet, though.



Yeah, I know what Skype is. I am still using it. But about the rest: I thank you for your explanation :3


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## astyle (Dec 6, 2021)

MeowMan said:


> Yeah, I know what Skype is. I am still using it. But about the rest: I thank you for your explanation :3


YW. It does look like users are expected to do at least some Googling and research on their own. These forums are generally a good place to ask questions like that, but we do have our share of people who abuse that forum feature and don't do their own homework. We're generally happy to point people in the right direction, but we don't want to do the thinking for the other person, as well. This thread is a good example of that.


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## Alain De Vos (Dec 6, 2021)

Chromium is one way to skype ? If you don't mind building with python 2?


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