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Pidgin 2.0 Released
An anonymous reader writes "After nearly two years of development, Pidgin 2.0 has finally been released! Originally called Gaim, Pidgin is a powerful and robust open source instant messaging client that supports many protocols. Pidgin 2.0 features a completely redesigned interface with attractive new icons and and a new status management system that was designed for optimal usability. Pidgin 2.0 also adds support for universal buddy icon management and smooth-scroll functionality for conversation windows. A comprehensive review at Ars Technica explores the new features in Pidgin 2.0 and demonstrates how to use the new D-Bus bindings with Python to make Pidgin's status system send updates to Twitter."
AOL got upset, as I recall (AIM vs GAIM)
So ... will it support VoIP?
Not this version. If you read the conclusion section of the ArsTechnica article, you will see that this is on the roadmap, but when is another matter.
Jumpstart the tartan drive.
The Psychic mode feature opens an IM window as soon as you get notification that the remote user is typing. So, you get an empty window with a typing notification before you actually receive an IM. Apparently, it works with the AIM, ICQ, Jabber, Sametime and Yahoo protocols.
Two months ago they were held back by an agreement with AOL that they wouldn't make any major releases as part of a trademark suit. A couple of weeks ago they announced that the project's name was changing, that AOL was getting off their back, and that they would resume non-beta updates. Lo and behold, they've released one.
Try not to take me more seriously than I take myself.
I've always rather liked GAIM and it has been a while since there have been real improvements, so I thought I'd take a look and see how far they've managed to come.
I liked
I disliked:
One thing that annoys me is they took the time to add spell checking for both OS's. I love having spell checking in my IM client, but it is not a function that every single program should have to supply by itself. I'm already running a spell checker in my text editor and my layout application and my e-mail client, and pretty much everything else. This is one of several functions that should be provided at the OS level to all applications that want it, not by each application individually. Will they waste time adding grammar checking next? How about translations between languages? What about dictionary/thesaurus/encyclopedia lookups?
Calling all Windows and Linux developers. It is time to catch up and make universal services a built in function of the OS so developers stop wasting time re-implementing things and concentrate on features specific to their program, like encryption and VoIP support.
http://fixxxer.cc/blog-en/?cat=9
It's still in the early stages, but it's getting there and has the advantage of being cross-platform and open-source, hoping I can use it to talk to our internal IM network from my linux box.
If you like the new sounds in Pidgin, you can thank the artist who developed them by going to Magnatune.com and buy his album. Not just because you like the Pidgin sounds, not just because you like Indie Rock, but because you like independent music and independent music publishers like Magnatune. Lot's of good karma available by buying this one.
A clever person solves a problem, A wise person avoids it. -Einstein
If you've been reading up on the whole Gaim/Pidgin thing, you'll notice their lawyers told them to not make any drastic changes until they resolved the dispute. Since that's over with, I'd expect to see a whole bunch of new shiny things in the next few months.
"I think an etch-a-sketch with an ethernet port would beat IE7 in web standards compliance."
As a Linguistics student taking a course called "Pidgins and Creoles", I should probobly explain the concept...
A pidgin is a language that combines aspects of two languages, and is created by people who have a need to talk to someone who doesn't speak their language. The language usually has words taken from one language, and syntax from another. A pidgin is a language which is used only in certain situations, like an employer giving orders to employees or merchants trading in a marketplace.
If a mixed language becomes the native language of a community, it's called a 'creole' language.
I realize that 'pidgin' has negative connotations because it often arises in social situations like slavery or colonialism, but the languages themselves are not a sign of uneducatedness but a natural result of different language communities mixing.
Note that what Pidgin(the software) does isn't pidgin - it's more like multilingualism with many protocols. A "real" pidgin would be like combining the AIM and MSN protocols into one.