For anyone that extensively uses Skype on Linux, you will probably want to head on over to the Linux Skype Developer page to fetch the latest beta. Skype has just rolled out the first 2.1 beta (2.1.0.47 Beta) of the Linux Skype client, which adds several new features and also brings a number of fixes and other improvements.

The new Skype Linux features are high quality video codec support, Skype's SILK audio codec support, PulseAudio compatibility, SMS sending support, chat messaging editing/removing capabilities, contact groups support, typing notification in chat, chat picture support, mood messages, video/mobile icons are now visible in the contact list along with bookmarked chats, and also added are contact labels/tags.

Beyond these key features to Skype 2.1 for Linux, the beta release also brings a number of improvements ranging from better ALSA support (including USB headsets) to an enlarged tray icon. Officially, there are also 75 bug fixes on top of all of these new features and other improvements. The complete change-log is available from the developer release notes.