How To Automatically Mute Music When Receiving VoIP Calls [PulseAudio]

<div style="text-align: justify;">By default, in Ubuntu and probably other Linux distributions<b>, if you're playing music </b>in Rhythmbox, Audacious and so on<b> while receiving a call in applications such as Skype, Ekiga Softphone, SFLphone VoIP Client and other VoIP applications, the music continues to play even after answering the call. PulseAudio has a feature that allows pausing or muting the music when receiving a call, but it's not enabled by default, at least in Ubuntu, so here's how to enable it. </b></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UMehKWHe-qE/Ua8i9PBsL9I/AAAAAAAAPaA/DUTL94Hei_k/s1600/audacious-muted-skype-pulseaudio.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="skype call audacious muted" border="0" height="205" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UMehKWHe-qE/Ua8i9PBsL9I/AAAAAAAAPaA/DUTL94Hei_k/s320/audacious-muted-skype-pulseaudio.png" title="skype call audacious muted" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;">To be able to use this PulseAudio feature, you need to enable two PulseAudio modules (one is already enabled in Ubuntu): "<i>module-role-cork</i>" and "<i>module-augment-properties</i>" and for applications that don't support this by default, to add a <i>media.role</i> to the application desktop file. Rhythmbox, Banshee and Skype (probably other applications too) already have this build-in so for them, you only need to load the PulseAudio modules I was talking about earlier (see below). </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Here's the behavior you should expect after using the instructions below:</b></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>for some applications that have this feature built-in, the music player (Rhythmbox, Banshee) will pause the music when answering a call on Skype, SFLphone, etc.;</li><li>some applications that have this feature build-in will mute the sound when answering a call on a VoIP applications. Example of such an app: Totem (Videos); </li><li>for applications that don't support this by default, like Audacious and Linphone for instance, the music will be muted when answering a phone call.</li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Please note that this doesn't currently work with web browsers</b> so if you're watching a video on YouTube in Firefox, Chrome, etc., the video won't be paused or muted when receiving a call.</div><br /><br /><br /><h2>PulseAudio: automatically mute music when answering calls in Skype, other VoIP apps</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The instructions below have been tested in Ubuntu, but they should work in other Linux distributions as well, that's why I've added generic instructions too.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>1.a. Ubuntu: </b>firstly, let's load the "module-role-cork" PulseAudio module ("module-augment-properties" is already enabled by default in Ubuntu):</div><br />- <b>for Ubuntu 12.10, 13.04 and newer:</b><br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>pactl load-module module-role-cork</code></pre><b>- for Ubuntu 12.04 or older:</b><br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>pactl load-module module-cork-music-on-phone</code></pre><br />This will only load the module for this session and the changes will be lost after a system restart so let's make this permanent. To do this, open <i>/etc/pulse/default.pa</i> as root with a text editor - I'll use Gedit below:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo -H gedit /etc/pulse/default.pa</code></pre><div style="text-align: justify;">(<i>I've used "sudo" instead of "gksu" because "gksu" is no longer available by default in Ubuntu 13.04 and it seems the developers want to stop supporting it anyway</i>)</div><br />and:<br />- <b>for Ubuntu 12.10, 13.04 or newer</b>, search for "<i>load-module module-role-cork</i>" and uncomment that line (to "uncomment" means to remove the "#" from the beginning of the line);<br />- <b>for Ubuntu 12.04</b> or older, the module name is different so search for "<i>load-module module-cork-music-on-phone</i>" and uncomment this line (to "uncomment" means to remove the "#" from the beginning of the line).<br /><br />Then save the file. <br /><br /><b>1.b. For other Linux distributions:</b> make sure both "module-role-cork" and "module-augment-properties" PulseAudio modules are loaded:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>pactl load-module module-role-cork<br />pactl load-module module-augment-properties</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The first one might be called "module-cork-music-on-phone" on older PulseAudio versions so you may want to try that too if PulseAudio is older than 2.1. If you get an error when running the commands above, it may mean that the module was already loaded.</div><br />Then, open <i>/etc/pulse/default.pa</i> as root with a text editor - I'll use Gedit for the command below:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo -H gedit /etc/pulse/default.pa</code></pre><br />Then search for "<i>load-module module-role-cork</i>" (if you can't find it, search for "<i>load-module module-cork-music-on-phone</i>" instead) and "<i>load-module </i><i>module-augment-properties</i>" and uncomment both lines (to "uncomment" means to remove the "#" from the beginning of the line). And finally, save the file.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Ubuntu and other Linux distributions: for Skype, </b><b> SFLphone, Rhythmbox and Banshee (and probably other applications), that's all you have to do</b>. Now when you answer a call, Banshee or Rhythmbox should be automatically paused.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>2. Only for applications that don't support this by default</b>, such as Audacious and Linphone: you need to edit the application desktop file (which you'll find in <i>/usr/share/applications/</i>) and add the following at the bottom of the file:</div><br />- for music apps (example: Audacious):<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>X-PulseAudio-Properties=media.role=music</code></pre>- for VoIP / SIP apps (example: Linphone):<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>X-PulseAudio-Properties=media.role=phone</code></pre>After making the changes, close the application and start it again from the menu / Dash.<br /><br /><b>Example:</b> for Audacious, you need to edit the <i>/usr/share/applications/audacious.desktop</i> file so open that file as root with a text editor - I'll use Gedit below:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo -H gedit /usr/share/applications/audacious.desktop</code></pre>and at the bottom of this file, add "X-PulseAudio-Properties=media.role=music" (without the quotes), save the file, close Audacious and start it from the menu / Dash. Now, if Audacious is playing when receiving a call on Skype for instance, the music will be muted when answering the call.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Basically, PulseAudio will mute any application with "media.role=music" when some other application with "media.role=phone" starts makes use of the sound </b>(although when ringing, the music isn't muted until you answer the call, at least that's how it has worked in my test with Skype).<br /><br />For video players (e.g.: VLC, which doesn't support this PulseAudio feature by default), you could add "media.role=video", but you can also simply stick with "media.role=music" since that will get the job done for any type of application or even games. See all the supported PulseAudio media roles, <a href="http://freedesktop.org/software/pulseaudio/doxygen/proplist_8h.html#a06b7c7a5bfc7a20974b7785031169596">HERE</a>. <b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One more thing: remember to start those applications from the desktop files (from Unity Dash, the menu, etc.) and not from the command line or else this won't work (except for applications which support this feature by default, like Rhythmbox or Banshee.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><i>via <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/1a2h9m/getting_voip_applications_and_music_applications/">reddit </a></i></div></div>

How To Automatically Mute Music When Receiving VoIP Calls [PulseAudio]

By default, in Ubuntu and probably other Linux distributions , if you're playing music in Rhythmbox, Audacious and so on while receivin...

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Skype 4.2 For Linux Released With Minor Improvements And Bug Fixes

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7Ws8rwDm6uw/UZtS8j3hzAI/AAAAAAAAPUc/Pv-uK75_cvY/s1600/skype4.2-linux-about.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Skype 4.2 Linux" border="0" height="248" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7Ws8rwDm6uw/UZtS8j3hzAI/AAAAAAAAPUc/Pv-uK75_cvY/s320/skype4.2-linux-about.jpg" title="Skype 4.2 Linux" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Skype 4.2 for Linux has been <a href="http://blogs.skype.com/2013/05/20/skype-for-linux-4-2">released</a> today and it includes various bug fixes, increased stability when using a Microsoft Account, optimized Voice messaging as well as some minor new features.</b></div><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><b>Changes in the latest Skype 4.2 for Linux:</b><br /><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">add subscription status and link to the account brief view in the main window;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">increased the stability when logging in from a Microsoft Account;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">add a button to enable voice message from the options dialog;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">you no longer have to re-type your password when entering via "My Account" if you are already logged-in with the client;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">when sharing the screen in a multiple monitor setup, share the one where the call window is at the moment;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">add Messenger predefined group when logged-in with your MSA account;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">create an entry point to hold a conference call from the conversations view;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">new sizes for the Skype icon.</li></ul><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_mjjMkRgveo/UZtTKIg4M8I/AAAAAAAAPUk/O_3G4qRu6RY/s1600/skype4.2-linux.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Skype 4.2 Linux" border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_mjjMkRgveo/UZtTKIg4M8I/AAAAAAAAPUk/O_3G4qRu6RY/s320/skype4.2-linux.jpg" title="Skype 4.2 Linux" width="320" /></a></div><br />Among the bugs fixed in this release are:<br /><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">artifacts in the contact list after changing topic or picture in a multichat;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">searching in the chat window when ‘Ignore poster names’ is set might lead to client crash;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Skype crashes on attempting to stop sharing selection being in a call on hold</li><li style="text-align: justify;">disabling Birthday notification doesn’t work;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">clicking on certain contact request notifications lead always to the wrong contact request against ‘live’ contact;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">call hold overlay icon goes away giving the idea the call is resumed when is not;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">do not show the login window if autologin plus start Skype minimized are enabled;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">do not allow more than 256-length conversation’s topic;</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://blogs.skype.com/2013/05/20/skype-for-linux-4-2">more</a>. </li></ul><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Although the official announcement doesn't mention this, I've also noticed in my test that the new version comes with a fix (or at least on my system, tested with Bumblebee/Nvidia Optimus) for the <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/04/fix-skype-not-working-in-ubuntu-1304.html">bug</a> that caused it not to start in Ubuntu 13.04 with some proprietary graphics drivers. The version available in the Ubuntu 13.04 repositories has received a workaround for this, but a real fix is should now be available with Skype 4.2.</div><br /><br /><br /><h2>Download Skype 4.2 for Linux</h2><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://www.skype.com/en/download-skype/skype-for-linux/">Download Skype 4.2 for Linux</a></b></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Ubuntu:</b> if you've installed Skype from the official Ubuntu repositories, you'll firstly have to remove it:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get remove skype skype-bin</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Then install the Skype deb downloaded from its website, either using Ubuntu Software Center, Gdebi or via command line (assuming you've copied the deb in your home folder):</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>cd<br />sudo dpkg -i skype*.deb</code></pre><br />If the tray / appindicator Skype icon is missing, make sure sni-qt is installed:<br /><br />- 32bit:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install sni-qt</code></pre>- 64bit:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install sni-qt sni-qt:i386</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Also, on Debian / Ubuntu 64bit, if you experience audio instability issues, also install the following package:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install libasound2-plugins:i386</code></pre>

Skype 4.2 For Linux Released With Minor Improvements And Bug Fixes

Skype 4.2 for Linux has been released today and it includes various bug fixes, increased stability when using a Microsoft Account, optimize...

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Fix Skype Not Working In Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail [For Users With Proprietary Nvidia Or AMD Drivers]

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Some Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail users are <a href="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/nvidia-graphics-drivers-310/+bug/1134030">having</a> <a href="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/skype/+bug/1155327">issues</a> with Skype not starting when using the proprietary Nvidia graphics drivers (it crashes / segfaults). So here's a work-around you can use to get it to work until this is fixed in Ubuntu / Skype.</b><br /><br />Update: some users have confirmed that <b>this fix also works if you're using proprietary AMD / ATI drivers</b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hG6_u0xEbK0/UWgqapkaq3I/AAAAAAAAO9M/06q5XUkave4/s1600/skype-ubuntu.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Skype Ubuntu" border="0" height="227" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hG6_u0xEbK0/UWgqapkaq3I/AAAAAAAAO9M/06q5XUkave4/s320/skype-ubuntu.png" title="Skype Ubuntu" width="320" /></a></div><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br /><h2>Get Skype to work In Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail (with proprietary Nvidia / AMD graphis drivers)</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>1.</b> To get Skype to work in Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail with proprietary Nvidia / AMD drivers, firstly we'll rename the Skype executable from "skype" to "skype-bin":</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo mv /usr/bin/skype /usr/bin/skype-bin</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>2.</b> Now let's create a file called "skype" under <i>/usr/bin/</i> - for this we'll launch a text editor as root (I'll use Gedit in the instructions below):</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>gksu gksu gedit /usr/bin/skype</code></pre><div style="text-align: justify;">(I've used "gksu" twice in the command above so Gedit doesn't open a blank tab along with <i>/usr/bin/skype</i>)</div><br />And in this file, paste the following:<br /><pre class="source-code"><code>#!/bin/sh<br />export LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/mesa/libGL.so.1<br />exec skype-bin "$@"</code></pre>Then save the file.<br /><br /><b>3.</b> And finally, run the following command in a terminal:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo chmod 0755 /usr/bin/skype</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>That's it. Now Skype should work in Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail.</b></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">If you want to revert the changes made by using the instructions above, use these commands:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo rm /usr/bin/skype<br />sudo mv /usr/bin/skype-bin /usr/bin/skype</code></pre><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Note: I didn't test this on an Nvidia-only system but on my Optimus-based laptop. Initially, running "optirun skype" (so I've used <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/02/bumblebee-31-released-with-primus.html">Bumblebee</a> to test this) didn't work but it did work after following the instructions above.</div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><i>seen on <a href="http://www.ubuntudicas.com.br/blog/2013/04/rodando-o-skype-4-1-no-ubuntu-13-04/">ubuntudicas.com.br</a></i></div>

Fix Skype Not Working In Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail [For Users With Proprietary Nvidia Or AMD Drivers]

Some Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail users are having issues with Skype not starting when using the proprietary Nvidia graphics drivers (it c...

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Skype 4.1 For Linux Released, Adds Option To Chat With Windows Live Messenger Users

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Skype 4.1 for Linux</b> has been released yesterday. Unfortunately, there's no official changelog, but one new feature is obvious: an option to <b>sign in with a Microsoft account and chat with your Windows Live Messenger friends from Skype</b>.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://netupd8.com/w8img2/skype-4.1-linux.png"><img alt="Skype 4.1 ubuntu" src="http:///netupd8.com/w8img2/skype-4.1-linux_thumb.png" /></a></div><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">When you start Skype 4.1 for Linux, you'll have two login options: one using your regular Skype account and another option to log in using your Microsoft (Windows Live Messenger) account. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you choose the WLM option, you will be asked to merge your Skype and Live accounts if you haven't done this already. This is only done once and don't worry, you can still sign in using your regular Skype account if you want: simply sign out and you'll get both login options again.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Once you've logged in using your Microsoft account, you'll be able to talk to both your Windows Live Messenger and Skype friends from a single interface.</div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/get-skype/on-your-computer/linux/">Download Skype 4.1 for Linux</a></div><br /><br /><h2>Skype 4.1 Ubuntu fixes</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">If you get an <b>error when installing Skype 4.1 or you can't install it at all due to dependency issues</b>, firstly remove any previous Skype version you may have installed:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get remove skype skype-bin</code></pre>And then try to install the downloaded Skype .deb file.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>If you're using Ubuntu 64bit and the tray / indicator icon no longer shows up</b>, make sure sni-qt is installed for 32bit architecture:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install sni-qt:i386</code></pre><br />For other issues, including green, scrambled or black video image, see the Skype 4.1 <a href="http://pastebin.com/raw.php?i=rKXfyfC6">known issues</a>.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><i>Thanks to bhaismachine for the tip!</i></div>

Skype 4.1 For Linux Released, Adds Option To Chat With Windows Live Messenger Users

Skype 4.1 for Linux has been released yesterday. Unfortunately, there's no official changelog, but one new feature is obvious: an optio...

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