Ubuntu For Beginners: How to install Skype on Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin

[Ubuntu For Beginners] Have problems installing Skype in Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin?

If yes, the solution to all your problems are here.

You might have tried to install skype on your new Ubuntu 12.04 machine by going through the google search results for “install skype in ubuntu 12.04”. I too tried the same but got stuck with quite some errors. I was not able to find any good result on getting skype running on Ubuntu 12.04.

Later I decided to try installing Skype from skype.com. The downloads page shows two versions for Ubuntu 10.04+ - 32bit and 64bit (the 10.04+ in the link title means that it works for all versions of Ubuntu starting from version 10.04, to the latest). Now before clicking on anything there, you should confirm whether you have a 32 or a 64 bit system. This can be found out by entering the following command in your terminal:

getconf LONG_BIT

Once you know which version to chose from those, just click the corresponding link and download the file. If you didnt have to select a location where the file was to be saved, it normally gets saved in your ‘Downloads’ folder. Go to your 'Downloads' folder (Places menu > Downloads) and double click the downloaded skype installation package to start the installation. Once everything is done, confirm by searching at the Dash home. Go to your 'Dash home', and enter 'Skype' at the search. Now you will be able to locate Skype, click, enter your skype username and password, and Go!
Let me know if you face any further difficulties with this.