In this beta, we’ve focused on fixing bugs to get 2.8 ready for its Gold release. We’ve paid particular attention to Skype Access, which lets you pay by the minute for WiFi using your Skype Credit – it’s possibly the coolest new feature in this release (sorry, screen sharing) so give it a try and let us know what you think.

We’ve also done a bit more sprucing up of the interface, and have added an account window (Account > View Account), much like you find in Skype for Windows, so that you can buy Skype Credit, edit your Skype To Go speed dial numbers, and so on – all from within Skype.

As always, we welcome your feedback – let us know what you think of Skype Access in particular. Your comments will help us make Skype for Mac even better.

Update: The more technically minded of you might be interested in the release notes document (PDF)

Update: this promotion has now ended – thanks for taking part

As a special treat, we’re giving away 10,000 minutes of Skype Access completely free – simply connect as normal for up to 30 minutes at a time, and you won’t pay a thing.

For those of you who are in the dark about Skype Access, here are the basics:

Skype Access is a super-cool feature only found (at the moment) in Skype 2.8 Beta for Mac. It lets you pay by the minute for WiFi using your Skype Credit – except, of course, that until the 10,000 minutes run out, you won’t actually pay at all.

To get started, make sure you’re running Skype 2.8 Beta for Mac, find a compatible hotspot, and surf away

1. From March 17th 2pm GMT up to March 23rd 00.00 GMT (the ‘Promotional Period’), Skype registered users shall be entitled to use Skype Access for free, in accordance with these terms and conditions (‘Promotion’). Usage of Skype Access is possible in sessions each lasting for 30 minutes or less. Skype reserves the right to end the promotion upon reaching 10000 free minutes given away. End of this promotion will be communicated on Skype for Mac blog.
2. To qualify for this Promotion you must have downloaded the Skype for Mac 2.8 Beta software and you must have a valid and active Skype user name and account (‘Participant’).
3. Skype reserves the right to suspend, shorten or extend, change or cancel the Promotion at any time. Skype also reserves the right to change and amend the terms of this Promotion at its own discretion at any time without notifying you of such changes.
4. To the maximum extent permissible under applicable law, Skype shall not be liable in contract or tort (including negligence) or breach of statutory duty or in any other way, for the loss or damage howsoever arising suffered by the user resulting directly or indirectly from this Promotion.
5. Skype reminds users of the nature and limitations of the Internet and is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunctions of any communications network, online system or computer hardware or software that may affect access to the Promotion.
6. Although Skype will use reasonable efforts to ensure that all information relating to this Promotion is accurate, Skype will not be responsible for any inaccuracies in the promotional material.
7. If Skype has suspicions or knowledge that any user has misused the Promotion, or been involved in any fraudulent or illegal activity relating to the Promotion, Skype reserves the right to exclude any user from the Promotion at any time and at its sole discretion.
8. Skype Access is provided by Boingo and is subject to Boingo’s Terms of Service.
9. Sponsor: Skype Communications S.a.r.l, 22/24 Boulevard Royal, Luxembourg, L2449 Luxembourg.

Dan York’s excellent video shows off screen sharing in action, and it’s worth reading the rest of his comprehensive blog post for highlights of the other additions to this beta version.

Dan expresses some frustration that things aren’t the same on different platforms:

Perhaps most annoyingly, I am currently in a position where I am helping some Windows users get started with Skype and so I'm trying to help them with their Skype client… when mine is markedly different. It's a frustrating experience. I do hope Skype's new management can help converge the product streams so that the user experience (and technical support experience) is closer between platforms (while, yes, acknowledging that platforms have UI/behavior differences). We'll see.

This is a perennial challenge at Skype – making all of our products behave and look like Skype, and at the same time adhering to the conventions of different operating systems and platforms.

As Mac users, you (rightfully) expect Skype for Mac to behave like the very best Mac app – but at the same time you also (rightfully) expect it to act like Skype. Where the balance lies is something for our developers to work on, but as always, if you have specific feedback on how we can improve things one way or the other, please leave a comment below, join the discussion in the Skype Community or pitch in on Jira, our public issue tracker.

There’s been plenty of discussion of Skype Access, particularly the rates – comments range from the positive to the I-wouldn’t-touch-this-with-a-bargepole, but I’ll repeat my comment on Pat Phelan’s blog here for the benefit of the doubters:

The appeal of Skype Access is the fact that you can pay with your Skype Credit, and pay by the minute - [particularly] if you just need to make a quick call or send a couple of emails, you can connect for a few cents/pence with a few clicks.

For me at least, that’s where Skype Access comes in incredibly handy – definitely my favourite of the new features.

Last, you’ll have noticed that we’ve done a bit of sprucing-up of some of the icons and other bits and pieces of the interface, and our user interface researchers would love to hear what you think. You can find a selection of screenshots on Flickr, so please add your comments there if you're a Flickr user; of course, you can also drop a comment below. And keep that feedback coming. The more we get, the better Skype for Mac will be

Download the new Beta now – and read on for more details.

Ever been in a café, airport or on a train, wanted to get online and had to fiddle around with credit cards and login details for WiFi networks? Or been in a situation where you want to make a quick Skype call or send a couple of emails, but didn’t want to fork out for an hour’s WiFi access?

Say hello to Skype Access – pay by the minute for WiFi access using your Skype Credit with a single click.

Where can I get Skype Access?

Skype Access is available in over 100,000 places around the world – and our partner Boingo (who actually make the WiFi bit work) have a hotspot finder so you can hunt some out ahead of time. You’ll know you’re in a Skype Access area when you open Skype, connect to a public WiFi network, and a pop up window appears informing you that WiFi is available via Boingo.

How does it work?

Click Start in the Skype Access window to kick things off – and that’s it. You only pay per minute for what you use, and there are no sneaky hidden charges. When you’re finished, click the Stop button in the Skype Access window.

Skype Access provides full access to all internet services – no nasty blocking or filtering, though you’ll have to comply with Boingo’s Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy just to make sure you’re not getting totally out of control ;)

How much does it cost?

A very reasonable €0.14 / $0.19 / £0.11 per minute (€0.16 / $0.22 / £0.13 including Luxembourg VAT at 15% where applicable). You can keep tabs on how much you’ve spent by signing in to your account on the Skype website. When you stop Skype Access, the amount will be deducted from your Skype Credit balance. Simple.

Screen Sharing

I’m sure you’ve been talking to someone on Skype and wanted to show off something you’ve been working on, or explain to them how to do something in iPhoto, or prove to them just how many unread emails you have. Well, if you’re using Skype 2.8 Beta for Mac, you can.

How do I share my screen?

During a call, choose Share Screen from the Share button in the call window – and away you go.

You can share your screens with Skype for Windows and Skype for Linux users too, but you won’t be able to see theirs (yet) ;)

So long as your Mac meets the system requirements for Skype, you should be able to share your screen. However, it may not work on some Panther (Mac OS X 10.3) installations.

Other new features

Improved chat management

If (like me) you’re in loads of Skype chats at the same time – my current count is 192 – you’ll welcome this one. You can now sort chats in the drawer and set priorities to chats, so you can deal with the most important messages first.

Quick Add

It’s now much easier to add people to chats. Click Add in a chat window toolbar, and the Quick Add window appears. Start typing and it’ll search your contact list. To add someone to the chat, click their name in the Quick Add window.

Mood message chat

You can use the mood message chat to keep up with your friends’ updates, and also update your own mood message. It’s a bit like Twitter, but don’t tell them we said that.

To switch on the mood message chat, check Show buddy mood messages in chat in the Advanced section of the Preferences window.

Large profile pictures

Just like Skype 4.0 Beta 2 for Windows, you can now use images of up to 256 x 256 pixels. No more screwing up eyes.

Hidden avatars in incoming contact requests

A small minority of Skype users have profile pictures which others may find unpleasant, and so they’re now hidden by default in contact requests.

Add notes to contacts

You can add notes to a contact in their profile window – handy for keeping track of who’s who.

Do let us know what you think of these new features – your feedback will help us make the final version of Skype 2.8 for Mac even better.

In the words of Ron Burgundy - I don't know how to put this but this version of Skype is kind of a big deal. This latest release is all about those features you may not see, but make a big difference to how you use Skype on your Mac.

We've made Skype for Mac smarter in the manner it "just works" as it now supports NAT-PMP and uPnP which means Skype can now 'talk' to your internet connection in order to get the best connection, and thus give you the best Skype experience. The other major change we've made is something I've been looking forward to - it's for all our friends out there in colleges and dorms the world over or for those of you that must enter a username and password to use the Internet on your Mac. With this version Skype "just works" as it supports "Authenticated Proxies" - so if Safari works for you, so should Skype.

Thanks again for your constant feedback, bug reports and support - it's meant we've been able to fix a bunch of bugs and updated our non-English versions of Skype for Mac. If you wish to read the full technical release notes, check them out over at developer.skype.com.

So please go and download it now, and remember - stay classy.

Ok, I'll admit - I really this version. Today we released Skype 2.7 for Mac, and it has just the kind of features that us, Mac users, love. In our last version, we made Skype sound better, and in Skype 2.7 we've made it look better. We've enabled improved video quality on all the current Mac desktops or laptops. We've also introduced a feature you've all been asking for: contact grouping. With this version you will now be able to group your friends and family so you can keep an eye on those you care about.

Not only have we made it look good, but we've introduced my favourite feature of Skype for Mac after video: address book integration. This feature will save you loads of time -- you can now see someone who is in your address book from within Skype's contact list and be able to call them directly. And don't worry, these numbers are not sent to anyone or stored on any Skype servers. We're only displaying those that exist on your own computer.

We've made it better and easier to use. We've streamlined the way you send and receive files so they are all grouped within the new file transfer manager, we've introduced the ability to automatically redial busy numbers (so now you can get through to those pesky radio competition hotlines), and made it easier to change your volume and audio settings whilst you're in a call.

We haven't forgotten about the quality of Skype for Mac either -- we've fixed a whole load of bugs, Skype for Mac is now available in русский язык (Russian), Čeština (Czech) or Norsk (Norwegian Bokmål) - thanks to Igor, Lukáš and Kenneth.

Best of all, Leopard users will purr since its ready for Mac OS 10.5 Leopard.

Download the new Skype for Mac and let us know what you think of it by commenting this post or forums.

Like a lot of people in the Mac community, we're excited that Mac OS X Leopard is now out in the wild. As you may have read, Skype runs into trouble when Leopard's firewall is activated. At the moment, this affects a minority of Skype users.

However, we wanted to let you know that we're embracing Apple's new security efforts. By doing so, we're continuing to ensure that Skype for Mac is the most secure internet-calling platform a Mac user can get. Our engineers are tweaking Skype for Mac and as soon as safely possible, the issue will be resolved.

In a few weeks, the fix will be included in an updated version of Skype that has a loving relationship with the Leopard firewall.

Now you can organise your contacts into as many groups as you need. While there are some pre-defined groups (like Online, Recently Contacted, Address Book Contacts), you’re free to add new ones that suit your life. This is very useful to those who are very popular and have a contact list with hundreds of people. Explore this feature under the cogwheel icon on the main screen and selecting 'Show Contact Groups'. See the user guide.

Here's what else is new:

* See your Apple Address Book contacts in Skype - easily call or SMS anyone who has a phone number in their address-book profile. When sending a SMS, just make sure the number you're sending to can receive SMS.
* Create and manage public chats by clicking on Chats in the menu bar and choosing Start Public Chat. A public-chat assistant will walk you through the necessary steps.
* Auto Redial for busy or unconnected calls. When your call hits the busy signal, Skype will give you the option of automatic redial every two minutes until the call goes through. This setting can also be adjusted in Skype > Preferences > Calls.
* Easy sound controls – when you need to tweak the sound level during a call, use a simple slider in the call window, or change your device by clicking this icon.
* Overhauled file transfer – wearing a more fashionable jacket, file-transfer now looks elegant and acts even nicer, especially when receiving many files at once

Oh, and one last thing: if the default language on your Mac is Czech or Norwegian, Skype 2.7 Mac beta will automatically follow suit.

Read more about Skype Pro.