Skype releases Skype 5.1 update for Macs

INTERNET PHONE AND CHAT OUTFIT Skype has released an update to Skype 5.1 for Apple's Mac OS X.

Skype 5.1 offers more features in the release, which the company made available for download yesterday.

The firm posted a download link on its blog so Apple fanbois can upgrade the voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) and online chat client application while Blighty moves to British Summer Time over the weekend.

The biggest update is a fix for detection issues with Apple's own Isight Firewire webcam. Skype 5.0 suffered detection issues and the webcam wasn't being recognised at all in previous iterations.

Skype claimed that Skype 5.1 for Macs adds better management features. Anyone hooked up to more than two users on a call can now group calls and identify active speakers. It also gives users the ability to select the previously dialled numbers stored in the dial pad.

In the Skype 5.1 user interface, the contact group has been moved over to the right side of the display, giving Mac users more room to play with in the side bar display. Skype has also added the option of user feedback with a Quality Feedback popup when users finish calls so it can monitor how its new features are working.

Skype has also made a couple of bug fixes that it claimed are minor, but it didn't say exactly what security issues it has addressed with Skype 5.1.

The company didn't add any additional features to ensure data privacy. Skype was lambasted last week by Privacy International for the way it talks the talk but doesn't actually walk the walk regarding the protection of users' personal information. µ