Skype on Dell Mini 9.

Just got the Mini9. Wow, it REALLY is small...and touch typing is definitely a challenge (I am typing this on it).

I bought the stripped down Ubuntu version...and separately bought a 2gig ram stick...and a 32gig SDD from Crucial.

Ram stick worked...SDD did not...

Anywho, everything is pre-loaded in the software...except for Skype. You would think that installing skype would be no problem...you would be mistaken...

Apparently Dell distributes a specific version of Ubuntu...

Long story short...here is how to install Skype on the Ubuntu version of the Dell Mini 9.

Amazingly, in this thread on the Skype forums is a straight forward answer...I will paste the post here in it's entirety.

NickF Advanced Member Posts: 78

The problem with forcing the architecture is that it won't compare anywhere in Synaptic, so it's going to be difficult to remove it with Gdebi or apt. However, it is quite possible by typing: sudo dpkg -r skype This will completely remove the forced deb package. I rebuilt the package from Skype for the correct architecture (lpia) so it is much easier to install and uninstall. It works fine. Here's how you can do it yourself: 1. Download the Ubuntu version of Skype 2. Use the Archive manager to uncompress it. Alternatively, right click on the deb package and select "extract here" 3. Rename the uncompressed folder, by changing the ending from i386 to lpia. (the folder should be now named: skype-debian_2.0.0.72-1_lpia) 4. Open the folder 5. There are 3 files. remove the debian-binary file 6. Decompress control.tar.gz. There are tree files in it. 7. Make a folder "DEBIAN" in the main folder, and placed the 3 files you just decompressed inside it. 8. Open one of the files inside DEBIAN, "control". Change the line "Architecture: i386" into "Architecture: lpia" 9. Open the other archive data.tar.gz. There is a folder . inside. Open it (double click). Select both the folders (usr and etc) and select uncompress. 10. Remove the files control.tar.gz and data.tar.gz 11. You should now have your main folder with the following inside: DEBIAN folder with tree text files in it (conffiles, control, md5sums); a "usr" folder and a "etc" folder. 12. You are now ready to prepare your deb folder. 13. From the command line, go to the folder that contains your main skype folder you just prepared (most likely named: skype-debian_2.0.0.72-1_lpia). 14. type: dpkg --build skype-debian_2.0.0.72-1_lpia 15. Your deb package is ready. Double click on it and follow instruction. After installation it should appear in Synaptic, and from there you can remove it at any time. 16. Enjoy!!! P.S. This should work for any package with the i386 architecture.

Mon Oct 20 2008, 21:31

BTW...it is lpia (LPIA) not Ipia. I did exactly those instructions...and it worked immediately, video and audio.

Oh and one more thing...the wife likes this computer...and can easily see herself using one...so I may be buying another one soon.