I use skype for at least 1 hour daily and have never encountered this problem.
Do you ALSO hear this beeping, or only the call receiver?
Are YOU always the call initiator? The beeping persists regardless of if you play the role of call receiver or initiator?
Have you tried removing then reinstall of skype?
If things are dire, be aware you always also have ooma (which involves an actual base unit) or ANC (which you and your party both must have, costing $99). They are not as well known as skype, but do offer alternatives.
The screen update is rapid for both of these, although my preference is Skype, obviously.
I use skype wirelessly, and I love it. I got something called a USB-enabled “wi-fire” antennae to strongly boost my WiFi receptivity on my notebook computer.
I have even called Japan, etc. while parked in the middle of a field, poking my special antennae up through the sunroof of my car.
If you pay just a bit more, you can secure a skype phone number —something like $20 for 3 months. If you buy a year, then that’s even cheaper.
Then, using this phone number you now have, go over to google.com/voice and sign up for google voice, designating that phone number as the one you will use. This permits you to initiate (endless) calls w/o using even one minute of your (low requirement of) skype minutes. You can also get voice messages there, and they will be transcribed & emailed to you, if you so designate.
If you have skype, googleVoice and a good wirless reception, the thought of PAYING for phone service begins to really bother you. I was one of the legions of people who was always getting these bills that were ALWAYS considerably bigger than I was always promising they would be —I got angry and disgusted.
I am now waiting to buy the much rumored G-phone, which will come out they SAY in....about 1 month from now. My hope is this will provide me a way to make very long international 802.11 calls reliably (and almost for free), and w/o having to start my computer.
I very strongly think all calls will be VOIP soon, maybe 18 months or so. VOIP will be bigger than TiVo, bigger than ITunes, etc.
It happens with calls both ways