335 days

Athima Chansanchai

Chat with Facebook friends -- on Skype

If you're the type of person who likes to stick to only one IM program, and that happens to be Skype, now you can chat with your Facebook friends from there to consolidate your banter in one place.

Last fall, Skype updated to a version where Facebook friends could be imported, but users still could not directly IM them from Skype. But, you could see friends' statuses, update your status, and voice call Facebook friends.

The new Skype 5.5 Beta version for Windows includes the ability to click on the Facebook contacts tab to see who's online and IM to your heart's delight from Skype. Mac users, stay tuned: Skype is working on bringing this to you, too.

While video calls are the bread and butter of the service — in the fourth quarter of 2010, video calls accounted for approximately 42 percent of all Skype-to-Skype minutes — instant messaging and chat are also getting more interest.

Skype gave us these highlights of the recent upgrade:

• Facebook Instant Messaging — chat with your Facebook friends directly from Skype.
• Facebook Contacts Tab — a new tab within Skype dedicated to your Facebook contacts list.
• "Like" and even comment on a Facebook status — You can also use the Facebook News Feed within Skype to easily "like" a friend's status or comment on it without logging into Facebook.
• New Call Control Toolbar — featuring redesigned graphic icons.
• Improvements to the saving of a phone number in the "Call Phones" section.
• Visual improvements to placing a call on hold.

Try it out and let us know how you like (or dislike) it: Skype 5.5. Beta for Windows.

More stories:

• Skype your Facebook friends
• Skype down again, but slowly getting back up
• Skype Android app updated: Security fixes and 3G calls
• Facebook Chat to be part of Windows phones
• Facebook to bring back 'clear chat history'

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