You’ll need to have or install Skype 4.x or less then 4.x version if you havent done so yet.
sudo apt-get install skype
Now you need to create new copies of the installed Skype. Open up a terminal and run the following commands:
cp -r ~/.Skype ~/.Skype.first cp -r ~/.Skype ~/.Skype.second
So now you have two installed instances of Skype. That was pretty dang easy, right? We now need to link up to those, so lets create a launcher for the two different Skypes.
This might be redundant, but lets make sure you have this installed first. Install gnome-panel package using this terminal command….
sudo apt-get install --no-install-recommends gnome-panel
Now make a folder off of your home directory to put the launchers in. I made one called “myapps”, but you can name yours whatever you want. Open a terminal and type this:
mkdir 2skype
Now run this command:
gnome-desktop-item-edit ~/2skype
/ --create-new
A new launcher box will pop up. Name it what you want (Skype1) and pick an icon what you want (download use the one down below if you’d like). Now type in the command field the following command:
skype --dbpath=~/.Skype.first
And lets do this again for the second Skype launcher (name it Skype2 or whatever)…
gnome-desktop-item-edit ~/2skype
/ --create-new
and same thing
skype --dbpath=~/.Skype.second
So your launchers are both made and can be found in your new /home/2skype
directory. Open up your file browser and go there and you should see the two new instances of Skype. Click the first one and after it opens, pin it or lock it to your Ubuntu Unity launcher. Do the same with the second and lock it to the launcher.
If you already have one Skype installed you may just do next
Right click on gnome panel>>Add to panel>>Custom Application Launcher >>Double click
Name: Skype2
Command: skype --dbpath=~/.Skype.second
Congratulation! Now you can run multiple instances of Skype in the your versions Ubuntu!