Skype & Facebook Together On Macs

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Some particularly big names slammed into each other today to announce that they’d be working together. Skype, partially owned by Microsoft, will now work with Facebook on the Mac. The combination will allow Mac users to get the same kind of Facebook integration that Skype users on Windows machines already receive.

Basically, you’ll have to download the newest version, version 5.4 (which you may want to know is listed as a beta, so due caution should be exercised), and install it to get a variety of new features once you’ve clicked the newly-introduced Connect to Facebook tab and entered your particular set of sign-in details. This update comes hot on the heels of a different update released about a month ago. Tops on the list of new features is the Facebook integration, which allows you to not only read and update your News Feed from Skype, but also both comment on and assign likes to your friends’ posts. But one other feature will likely be much more poorly received: ads.

Yes, Skype users who aren’t paying customers or working off Skype Credit will have to suffer through a variety of display ads to get access to those new Skype features, which is approximately the same thing that Windows users are working with with their Skype integration. This will come as quite a disappointment, no doubt, to plenty of users, but any more, being advertised to is the price we all pay to get things for free. And, at least on the surface, it sounds like you’ll be getting a good array of new features to make it worth seeing a few product placements in a bid to keep the development costs down. I’ve fairly well enjoyed my Skype experience so far, so keeping a useful product on hand sounds like a smart idea.

But what do you guys think? Will advertisements on Skype destroy the experience for you? Or are you all right with a few unobtrusively placed ads to help keep the lights on for a useful service? Either way, we want to hear from you, so hit the comments section and tell us what you think!