Pidgin tips and enhancements

After the rename and the new version Pidgin became more popular than ever. Some people started calling it "The Firefox of the instant messengers". However I think that Pidgin needs a lot of time and hard work to deserve such words. I've been using it for the last few days and here are some useful or not that useful but interesting tips I've found on the web:

How to configure Pidgin to work with Google Talk

Manast.com offers a working (at least for the most people) solution. Pidgin doesn't have all of the features of Google Talk client. However I feel much better using one application for most of the instant messaging protocols.

How to install Pidgin 2.0.0 on Ubuntu Feisty Fawn (7.04)

There are a lot of different solutions around the web but I prefer the Debuntu solution. Just add the Debuntu repository and then download and install Pidgin.

Visual enhancements

Here are some Pidgin themes, icons and emoticons:

• Original Yahoo and MSN emoticons for Pidgin - preview and download
  
• Human Theme - great for Ubuntu fans - preview and download
• Windows Vista style icons - preview and download
• OSX style icons - preview and download

Using Amarok? Show your friends what you are listening to

Get this Amarok script - it updates your Pidgin status message with what you are
currently listening to.


That is the list for now. I'll keep looking for other interesting tips and news related to Pidgin and I'll post them here.

Yahoo! Messenger for the Web

Techcrunch announced few hours ago that the Flash-based Yahoo! Web Messenger will be launched today. You can chat with both Yahoo! and Windows Live Messenger friends because of the integration with the Microsoft's messenger. It doesn't have all the features of the desktop Yahoo! Messenger but it's looking very promising to me.

To start the web instant messenger go to http://webmessenger.yahoo.com or http://web.im.



More web based instant messengers are listed here.

iVisit - Video Conferencing for PC and Mac

iVisit is an application which can be used for multi-party video conferencing. You can share all kind of files (pictures, videos, music, etc.) during the conversation. It has versions for both PC and Mac. You can interact privately one on one, in eight way videoconference rooms, 100 party channels. iVisit is great for teams, business meetings, schools, communities. The lite version is absolutely free.

Related: What to do if you forget your iVisit password.

Textbased MSN Client

TMSNC (from Textbased MSN Client) is a textbased (console) client for the MSN Messenger protocol. It works on Linux, MacOS and BSD systems. The goal of this project is to create a client like MSN Messenger (with sound, webcam and file transfer support), but without any graphical features. The current version of this messenger is 0.3.2. You can download Textbased MSN Client here.

KMess - Open Source Messenger for Linux

KMess (current version: 1.5-pre2) is an open source chat client for Linux which allows you to chat with your friends who are using MSN Messenger. It focuses on the specific features of MSN.

Some of the main features of KMess are:

• Support for group chats with multiple contacts.
• Picture and file transfers.
• Emoticons and text formatting are supported.
• Chat logging.

You can read more about its features here and download it here.

ooVoo - Video Messenger

ooVoo is a free application which you can use to talk face-to-face with your friends with high quality video and audio. Using ooVoo you are able to:

• Include up to five people in your conversation.
• Send video messages to a specific person or a group of them.
• Of course, text messages and file transfers are possible.

The application has a nice 3d video interface which is convenient and intuitive and nicely compliments the Vista style. All you need is a webcam and a headset (or separate microphone and speakers, of course). The installation takes up to 20 MB.

It seems that ooVoo is trying to be a competitor of Skype. Unfortunately, with ooVoo you cannot call out to standard phones. However there is click-to-call, and the ability to send video messages to non-ooVoo users. The quality of the video and the sound is definitely noticeable.

The ooVoo instant messenger is definitely a very interesting and useful application. One of the biggest problems would be to convince your contacts to switch to ooVoo.

I've found here an interesting story of two people who married using the ooVoo messenger. I don't know if it's real but it sounds like a funny and exciting story.

More Web-Based Instant Messengers

About an year and a half ago I've posted a list of some of the most popular web-based instant messengers. Meanwhile many new versions and new messengers appeared. Here is a list of those of the messengers I've found most impressive and interesting:

• Ninja IM - Instant messaging for office ninjas
  http://www.ninjaim.com/
  Now you can IM with your friends and co-workers in the office! For all you who work in an office where IM clients like MSN messenger, Yahoo! messenger and Google Talk are prohibited, you'll love this.
  
• KoolIM
  http://www.koolim.com/
  KoolIM.com is a web messenger application that allows you to stay connected with your favorite Instant Messenger almost anywhere. You need a computer with just a browser only. You can sign in to AIM, MSN, Yahoo, Google Talk and ICQ.
  
• Meetro
  http://www.meetro.com/
  Meetro is the world's first location-aware IM client and real-time social network - which means Meetro allows you to meet real people in your neighborhood. It works with MSN, Yahoo, Google Talk and AIM.
  
• RadiusIM
  http://www.radiusim.com/
  You can use your MSN, Yahoo and AIM accounts here. The most interesting thing here is that the users are placed on a map and you can see where your friends are and find more people in a region specified by you. You should definitely try it.
  
• Plugoo
  http://www.plugoo.com/
  You can use Plugoo to chat directly from your favorite instant messenger with any visitor of your blog or any website you own. When you’re logged into your instant messenger (Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, AIM, Google Talk, Jabber, ICQ), you can receive in real time all the comments of your visitors or any question they might ask, and answer instantly!
  

And these are the messengers I've already written about but they are worth mentioning again:

• Meebo
  http://www.meebo.com/
  In my opinion, this is best web-based messenger I've seen.
  
• Goowy
  http://www.goowy.com/
  Goowy is a service that offers you simple, intuitive tools for communicating and sharing on the web.
  
• Google Talk inside Gmail
  https://mail.google.com/
  Of course, everyone knows about the chat integrated into Gmail. One of the best additions to the Gmail interface.
  

Cool IM Websites (Part 1)

All the emoticons and national flags available in Skype are listed here.

Wondering if your friends at Yahoo Messenger are trying to be invisible? Check here - Buddy Spy will also tell you whether your friend is in a Chat Room or even if their Web Cam is online.

If you don't like to minimize Skype/Google Talk/MSN to look at your RSS reader, you can get your favorite feeds directly in your favorite messenger with Anothr.