LinuxHub » Instant messaging

Pidgin on Ubuntu (Jaunty): Configure pidgin to use gtalk and facebook chat

Vivek — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:33:39 +0000

One of my favourite IMs is Pidgin. Though I don’t use it on my Windows partition, it’s a must piece of software on my Ubuntu partition. With Pidgin, I don’t have to miss gtalk client on Ubuntu. Moreover, I can also configure my facebook chat to see my facebook friends if they are online and chat with them without having to login to facebook (which I hate to). Let’s see how to install the facebook plugin for pidgin.

Home Page

http://www.pidgin.im/

Description

Pidgin is an easy to use and free chat client used by millions. Connect to AIM, MSN, Yahoo, and more chat networks all at once.

Supported chat networks:

AIM
Bonjour
Gadu-Gadu
Google Talk
Groupwise
ICQ
IRC
MSN
MySpaceIM
QQ
SILC
SIMPLE
Sametime
XMPP
Yahoo!
Zephyr

Installing facebook plugin

1. Go to the following link to download the facebook plugin for Pidgin.

http://code.google.com/p/pidgin-facebookchat/

2. Download the deb file. Click here to download it directly.

3. Double click the downloaded deb file (pidgin-facebookchat-1.53.deb) to install the facebook plugin for pidgin.

Setting up Facebook chat in Pidgin

1. After starting pidgin click Accounts > Manage Accounts.

2. Click Add to bring up the Add Account window.

3. From the protocol dropdown select facebook.

4. Enter your facebook credentials and your facebook chat account is now configured with pidgin.

5. Following is how the facebook contacts will appear on pidgin.

Now chat with your facebook contacts without having to login to facebook.

Install Skype {Best Instant Messenger} on Ubuntu: How-to

Vivek — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 06:06:46 +0000

Skype is a service that redefines instant messaging. It wont be an exaggeration if I called skype as the most advaanced, state of art instant messaging, voice and video call service. However, till sometime back the service wasn’t available for Linux. But as Linux has been accepted more and more by common users so is the necessecity for companies to make their product work with Linux as well. This is exactly the case with skype and we are going to see how to install skype on your Ubuntu (jaunty jackalope) installation.

Home page

http://www.skype.com

Description

We all love something for nothing. With Skype’s free software – by the way, it works seamlessly with your internet connection – you can chat away with free Skype-to-Skype calls and never worry about cost, time or distance. Share the love and get your friends to download Skype so you can talk, instant message (IM) or make video calls for nothing. You can also make local, long distance and international calls to phones and mobiles at great rates too.

Installation

Download the deb file for skype for Ubuntu here.
Double click on the downloaded deb file (skype-debian_2.0.0.72-1_i386.deb) to begin installation.

This should install skype on your machine.

Running Skype

1. In order to start skype post installation go to Applications > Internet > Skype.

2. You should see the End User License window. Click agree to start skype

3. Enter your user name and password to start using Skype

Have fun skyping on Ubuntu!