Webcam doesn't work in Skype, but works in Cheese

If your video camera doesn't work in Skype on Ubuntu, but it works in other applications (like Cheese), just run the following script:


sudo echo '#!/bin/bash' > /usr/local/bin/skype
sudo echo "LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libv4l/v4l1compat.so /usr/bin/skype" >> /usr/local/bin/skype
sudo chmod ogu+x /usr/local/bin/skype


If you're running 64-bit Ubuntu, the path is somewhat different:


sudo echo '#!/bin/bash' > /usr/local/bin/skype
sudo echo "LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib32/libv4l/v4l1compat.so /usr/bin/skype" >> /usr/local/bin/skype
sudo chmod ogu+x /usr/local/bin/skype


No Flash player on amd64 linux

The Adobe Flash player is only available in 32-bit binaries for Linux. Because the Flash player is proprietary, you can't fix this yourself. Although Adobe has released the Flex libraries under the MPL, that doesn't do us much good if we can't actually run anything. There's a petition circulating with over 10k signatures asking Adobe to flip a switch and fix this. No youtube on my living room TV unless I reinstall with a cramped 32-bit OS. Update: turns out you can install a 32-bit version of Firefox and the 32-bit flash player, or use ndispluginwrapper. Either way, it's a pain in the ass. Come on, Adobe, get with the program.

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Update:

This is now available as flashplugin-nonfree in the universe repository on Ubuntu. It works, too. Thanks Adobe.