What are you trying to chat with? Skype? As Skype has its own problems that are quite separate from basic hardware problems. (<sarcasm>I wonder if Skype will actually now get around to making a proper Linux client now that MS has bought them out... </sarcasm>)

If you are using Skype, there are, off the top of my head, three ways of installing Skype in Ubuntu: using the .deb file, using a static binary or a dynamically linked binary. I recommend using the static binary which you can download off of their website.

Of course, if you're not using Skype then the above is pointless prattle!