Raspberry Pi 4 is not a replacement for a real PC, (as it doesn't have Skype) sorry!

[ShacharD]

While I do admire the work and the product (and the price), one has to buy the product first and then find out that basic features are missing and reviews simply ignore. In 2019, where everyone use skype for video chat, this feature is missing in all Raspberry Pi 4 OS. This could have been just a tiny issue if there was a replacement, but... no, no other software exist to date that allows video chat.
The funny thing is the huge amount of posts in the forum here that use skype to communicate for IT support

And please do not suggest skype over the browser, at least not before you actually tried it...

Hopefully this would be solved in the future...

Best,
Sean

[ukscone]

obviously different people have different needs but as far as i'm concerned skype is pretty much dead. i personally haven't even loaded it in 3 years (after using it pretty much daily for years before that) and haven't met anyone in the last couple of years who uses it even people I used to be on skype with several times a week for both business and general gossiping have stopped using it.

[W. H. Heydt]

...where everyone use skype for video chat...

Who is this "everyone" of which you speak?

[Gavinmc42]

First post whinger is sorry Pi4's are a total failure?
So is there any "Skype" like apps that do work?
I am obviously a failure as a communicator as I don't use it.

[RossDv8]

What a strange view on life..

I'm sure I used a real PC before Skype ever existed. Many of us at IBM used a proprietary messaging program. And almost everyone IU knew used IRC. When AOL became available a lot of us used that.

Then there were so many other options for contact. Yahoo and MSN etc. My ICQ number used t be (is?) 755935 , and that was my 'second' number after I forgot my original login. Checking Raspbian I see that if I wanted to use ICQ, I still can.
As a previous reply says, many people no longer use Skype. But should I want to I can easily use Facebook Messenger and a number of other communication tools.

A quick look around the Raspbian repo suggests:

This program can be used as an IRC server which forwards everything you say to people on other chat networks: Jabber (which includes Google Talk), ICQ, AIM, MSN and Twitter.
This package contains a plugin that adds support for Facebook Messenger's chat protocol.

So it should be possible to get FBN and Twit connections.

On an 'unreal PC'

[W. H. Heydt]

On the serious "Pi4 as a desktop machine" threads I have stated why that isn't a complete solution for me. Skype has nothing to do with it. The OP needs to understand that for some people a Pi4B (or even a Pi3B) is a complete desktop system that supports everything they do in that context. Indeed, there are probably a majority of "PC" users for whom a Pi4B would be a quite adequate substitute.

Is it a universal replacement? No. There will always be those whose usage patterns require programs that are written solely for for x86 systems or whose hardware requirements exceed the capability of any Pi.

While Skype, as a specific program won't run on a Pi, a quick apt-cache search turns up two VOIP programs, mumble and twinkle. Whether or not either of those is compatible with Skype, I don't know, but it does show that there are VOIP programs in the repository. The OP needs to broaden his horizons.

[dustnbone]

Nothing stopping Microsoft from writing a Skype client for Linux. Same as there's nothing stopping Apple from making iChat for Android.

The fact that both are proprietary standards prevents anyone but their parent companies from doing it, hence no open source clients for either.

[RossDv8]

We used to have a Skype client for Linux. I think Microsoft changed something and the people who wrote it got fed up with having to fix it all the time. I haven't checked recently to see if it is there.
Last chat thing I put on my Linux PCs was a home made FB Messenger program, because the ones in the repos were useless.

E D I T

Skype for Linux is currently available in various packages including 'snap' from MS, so somebody must be still using it..

[Gavinmc42]

Skype is not open source so unless MS want to make a Pi version it won't happen.
A test for good open source software is - Will it compile to Pi's Arm32 and Arm64?

MS have been open sourcing code but what meta data is Skype acquiring?
Non open source apps that collect data? Fearless OP.

[HawaiianPi]

In 2019, where everyone use skype for video chat, this feature is missing in all Raspberry Pi 4 OS.

I know of no one who still uses that crappy proprietary nonsense in 2019. What rock are you living under?

While I don't necessarily disagree with your conclusion that the Pi 4B is not a true desktop replacement, your reasoning is seriously flawed. Skype is a proprietary Microsoft product, which means it's only available for systems they want to support. If there is no support for the Raspberry Pi, then it's Microsoft's fault, and if you want it you should be complaining to them.

Also, it's not exactly a secret that Skype isn't available for the Pi. You didn't have to buy one to learn that, so that's on you! Next time do some research if you have some absolutely critical application you must have.

Brilliant first post there. Way to make a good impression.

[Heater]

ShacharD,

...one has to buy the product first and then find out that basic features are missing and reviews simply ignore.

Only if one is in the habit of buying stuff without having a clue what they are or what they are for.

In 2019, where everyone use skype for video chat,

No they don't.

...this feature is missing in all Raspberry Pi 4 OS.

You will have to take that up with Microsoft.

The funny thing is the huge amount of posts in the forum here that use skype to communicate for IT support

"Huge"? You mean like almost none.

Hopefully this would be solved in the future...

Who are you expecting to work on this for you?

Is there some kind of troll post factory out there that generates these absurd and provocative posts?

[Gavinmc42]

Is there some kind of troll post factory out there that generates these absurd and provocative posts?

Probably.
Wonder if it uses AI?
Uses an Algorithm to search for propriety apps and then complains Pi don't support that?
It has taken nearly 6 months to get to this one.

All RPF's fault for not having a list of things that don't work on Pi's?
But nobody would read that before buying Pi's would they?

A glass half empty is useless mentality?
While some people might find these troll type post as annoying, I find them useful.
Learning about what Pi's don't do makes me question what they can do instead.
Finding alternatives to certain apps is part of the learning process.

I thought Discord was the "In" app or is that only for gamers?
Pi4 does not do Battlefield2
Therefore it is s..t game box.

Actually a video chat thing for Pi's could be fun, lots of Pi's out there now.
On the positive side, thanks to OP for making me think about this.

Pi camera is working now in 64bit OS's?
USB3 Webcams yet?
Can a video chat app be made to talk to AI Pi's?
How close could it get to passing the Turing test?
Yes more brain dumping but questions without answers is part of the scientific process.

[Imperf3kt]

I mean... I've been using my mobile phone (several actually) for the past five or six years as my "main PC"
It does everything I need and even things I don't need.

The definition of a "real PC" needs clarification please.

[fruitoftheloom]

While I do admire the work and the product (and the price), one has to buy the product first and then find out that basic features are missing and reviews simply ignore. In 2019, where everyone use skype for video chat, this feature is missing in all Raspberry Pi 4 OS. This could have been just a tiny issue if there was a replacement, but... no, no other software exist to date that allows video chat.
The funny thing is the huge amount of posts in the forum here that use skype to communicate for IT support

And please do not suggest skype over the browser, at least not before you actually tried it...

Hopefully this would be solved in the future...

Best,
Sean

Actually it a Microsoft who have as yet not offered a Linux Client for ARM, so equally applies to any ARM based SBC (unless they run Android). Though there is always:

http://www.pidgin.im/

https://packages.debian.org/buster/pidgin

https://github.com/EionRobb/skype4pidgi ... /README.md

[mattmiller]

I think the OP makes a legitimate point in that there doesn't seem to be a video conversation program for the Pi to enable it to talk users on other devices.

But, like many other users, I gave up on Skype a number of years ago and use WhatsApp on my phone for video conferencing so it isn't a deal breaker.

IMO the Pi4 4GB IS the first Pi that can be used by a "normal" person as a "proper" working Linux computer.

I have seriously considered connecting my headless Pi4 to my monitor and making it my main machine and accessing my Windows machine headlessly - but I don't have the right HDMI cable

[LTolledo]

@OP dont (as in NEVER ever!) make generalizations based on your limited experience with the RPi!

the RPi is not a real replacement for your use-case... but not for others who found it useful as a replacement PC for their use-case.

[tongri]

Another video conferencing that may help is Jitsi Meet. Works well on raspbian buster, chromium.

[RossDv8]

IMO the Pi4 4GB IS the first Pi that can be used by a "normal" person as a "proper" working Linux computer.

I'm getting a bit annoyed with statements like that!
But not for the reason one would imagine. They remind me to go and turn my "proper" working Linux computer ON so I can keep the inkjet nozzles clean.

I did that yesterday.. And since it is connected to the same 55" UHD TV as the Pi 4, I ran a comparison test between the Pi and the Brix playing the same video clip in 1080p, 720p and 2160p.

The Pi aced it. 1080p and 720p on the Pi looked like 2160p, while on the Brix, they looked 'ok'. And while the Brix wouldn;t even attempt to play it at 2160p, the Pi played it with just a little stuttering.

But that is off topic here.
Except that, while some people might laugh at me being considered "normal", the raspberry Pi 4 has, to all indented porpoises, completely replaced my 'Real PCs'.

[bomblord]

I feel like these "Pi 4 is not a desktop replacement because.." are getting increasingly obtuse and odd.

What's next?
Because it doesn't have adobe after effects?
Because it doesn't run Call of Duty Modern Warfare?
Because the board has no built in RGB?

I get it OP it can't specifically replace a desktop for you without some difficulty because the Skype web version isn't up to your standards. I understand but seriously lol?

[Heater]

bomblord,

Yes, obtuse and odd. I'm sure normal humans do not think like that.

I'm sure there is a troll farm out there generating these posts. For whatever reason.

Often they are first posts of new members. Often they are the last post of said member.

[W. H. Heydt]

I feel like these "Pi 4 is not a desktop replacement because.." are getting increasingly obtuse and odd.

I spend a fair amount of time playing an on-line MMO. The only client is x86, and only runs (natively) on various versions of MS Windows. With that single exception, I Pi4B would--I think--be a perfectly acceptable desktop system for me. But I don't run down the Pi4 as a desktop system just because I have a single program that gets a lot of use that won't run on it.

[Daniel-J]

This is an individual problem and depends on how you use the system. For example, I have never had a webcam and I don't understand why I need one. I'm a musician from a part of the world and my work with it is a microphone.

[Heater]

jcyr,

Qualifying one as odd or obtuse says more about the source than the target,

Maybe. In this case the odd an obtuse part is in the claims of the OP:

..one has to buy the product first and then find out that basic features are missing...

Not so. One does not have to buy stuff that one has no knowledge or understanding of. One could ask before purchase if it's a real concern. And since when was Skype or any video conferencing a "basic feature" of a $35 SBC? That is news to me. Why would one expect an ARM based SBC to be running Windows software anyway? It's all bogus.

..and reviews simply ignore.

Yeah. Like reviewers of sports cars don't often talk about how useful a Ferrari is as as dump truck. Whichever way round you want that analogy to fit.

In 2019, where everyone use skype for video chat,

I think not. And even if they did why would they expect to do so on a Pi or other SBC?

This could have been just a tiny issue if there was a replacement...

It is in fact a tiny issue. No, it's not an issue at all.

The funny thing is the huge amount of posts in the forum here that use skype to communicate for IT support

A claim pulled out of thin air of course. If it's even relevant at all.

[thagrol]

@diogen151:

I'm not sure what point you're trying to make.

A lack of a single application does not invalidate the general claim. There are many, many uses for a desktop that a 4B does, and does well.

The OP's disappointment and position is in a very large part due to their own actions. Skype is critical to their desktop usage but they failed to check before purchasing whether a suitable client was available.

It's like buying an Android phone then complaining that Facetime isn't available so the phone is completely unfit for any purpose.

Common sense says that if a function is critical for you, you check before purchase whether that function is supported. Sadly common sense is remarkably uncommon.

[jamesh]

Here's a thought exercise for all of you.

The OP says that it cannot be a desktop PC because it has no Skype. This means that any device that does not have Skype installed cannot be a desktop PC.

My 'device that is a computer on a desktop` at home has no Skype installed. therefor by the OP's definition, it is not a desktop PC.

However, if I INSTALL Skype, it suddenly becomes a desktop PC.

If I UNINSTALL Skype, it suddenly isn't a desktop PC.

So one could argue it's the capability of being able to install Skype that make a device a desktop PC? What happens when MS no longer support Skype? Do all those machines that had the capability of installing Skype but not longer do, due to MS doing something, do they suddenly stop being desktop PC's

The above really makes no sense. Why is it Skype that says whether a device is a desktop PC or not? Why not a word processor, or a spreadsheet program? What about Photoshop? That doesn't run on the Pi. Or my desktop Linux machine at home.


I think it's fairly obvious that stating a specific program as defining whether something is a desktop PC or not is a completely stupid way of doing it, because everyone has a different view of what that program is.


So can people stop arguing about it?