Pidgin (software) explained
Pidgin (formerly named
Gaim) is a multi-platform instant messaging
client. The software supports many commonly used instant messaging
protocols, allowing the user to log into various different services from one application.
The number of Pidgin users was estimated to be over 3 million in 2007.[1]
Released under the terms of the GNU General Public License, Pidgin is free software.
Features
Pidgin has support for multiple operating systems, including Windows as well as many Unix-like systems such as Linux, BSD, and AmigaOS (through the X11 engine). It is notable for its support for multiple instant messaging protocols. It has built-in support for NSS, offering client-to-server message encryption for protocols that support it. The program is extendable through plugins, including "Off-the-Record Messaging" and Pidgin encryption, providing end-to-end message encryption.
- On-action automated scripts for contact status changes (called Buddy Pounces)
- Tabbed message windows for conversation management
- Grouping multiple buddies into a single "contact"
- Conversation and chat logging
- Notification pop-ups available through the Guifications plug-in and libnotify plug-in
- Contact aliasing
- Spell checking
- Notification area integration[2]
Supported protocols
Encryption
Messages can be encrypted using an Off-the-Record Messaging (OTR) plug-in.[6]
There is also a Pidgin-Encryption plugin, which uses RSA Encryption.[7]
History
The program was originally written in or before 1999 by Mark Spencer, an Auburn University sophomore, as an emulation of AOL's IM program AOL Instant Messenger on Linux using the GTK+ toolkit.[8] It was named GAIM (GTK+ AOL Instant Messenger) accordingly. The emulation was not based on reverse engineering, but instead relied on information about the protocol that AOL had published on the web; development was also assisted by some of AOL's technical staff.[9][8] Support for other IM protocols was added soon.[8]
Naming dispute
In response to pressure from AOL, the program was renamed to the acronymous-but-lowercase Gaim. As AOL Instant Messenger gained popularity, AOL trademarked its acronym, "AIM", leading to a lengthy legal struggle with the program's creators, who kept the matter largely secret.
On April 6 2007, the project development team announced the results of their settlement with AOL, which included a series of name changes: Gaim became Pidgin, libgaim became libpurple, and gaim-text became finch.[10] The name Pidgin was chosen in reference to the term "pidgin", which describes communication between people who do not share a common language.[11] It also harks back to its original name, as the pigeon bird is a popular game bird and messenger. The name "purple" refers to "prpl", the internal libgaim name for an IM protocol plugin.
Due to the legal issues, version 2.0 of the software was frozen in beta stages. Following the settlement, it was announced that the first official release of Pidgin 2.0.0 was hoped to occur during the two weeks from April 8, 2007.[12] However, Pidgin 2.0 did not release as scheduled, and on April 22, 2007, Pidgin developers announced the reason for the delay having to do with the preferences folder ".gaim".[13]
Pidgin 2.0.0 was released on May 3, 2007. This was the first release version to be called Pidgin, and contained a completely new graphics design.[14]
Criticisms and current deficiencies
- Due to the Pidgin project's use of reverse-engineering to interact with some proprietary protocols, there are disparities in functionality between official clients and the Pidgin client.
- File transfers through the .NET protocol are slow, as data is routed through MSN servers to the receiver, instead of utilizing a faster peer-to-peer functionality.[15] A Google Summer of Code project aimed to add peer-to-peer functionality in 2007.[16]
- Like similar programs, saved passwords are stored in a cleartext file. This password file is readable by anyone who uses the same user account on that computer, or to anyone who has access to the administrative account. (The developers' stated reason for this is that saved passwords must be stored in a way that is readily accessible to the program. If they were encrypted by the application, decryption by third parties would require only access to the application's source code, including any encryption key. The developers believe that saving the passwords in a cleartext format avoids a false illusion of security.[17])
- Pidgin does not currently support video and audio conferencing, nor any form of audio/video communication.[18] The developers plan on implementing multimedia messaging in the future.[19][20] Parallel development was planned with the uncompleted gaim-vv library but the project has been declared dead by the developers.[21]
- The GTK+ build packaged with Pidgin has been known to cause errors with GIMP in Windows.[22] This was, however, determined to be a bug in GIMP, which made improper assumptions about configuration files.[23]
- Pidgin does not currently support "skins", though its "sister project" Adium does.
- Recent controversy has centered on the fact that version 2.4 lacks the ability to manually resize the text input box of conversations. It automatically resizes to either 2,3, or 4 lines depending on how much is typed. Developers are working on a better solution but are reluctant to bring back manual resizing at this time.[24]
Related software
- Adium and Proteus are instant messaging clients for Mac OS X that support multiple protocols through libpurple.
- ScatterChat is an encrypted instant messaging client based on Pidgin.
- Meebo is a multi-protocol web-based instant messaging client that uses libpurple.[25]
- OpenWengo is a hybrid SIP-based VoIP and Instant messaging client which uses libpurple for messaging support.
- PhoneGaim is a SIP-based Voice over IP communications client; it is based on Pidgin and thus is also available under the GPL.
See also
External links
Notes and References
- http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;1641709366;pp;1;fp;2;fpid;4 Luke Schierer discusses Pidgin, Open source and life
- Web site: About Pidgin. 2007-05-12.
- Pidgin Tlen – Download of the Tlen.pl plugin for Pidgin
- Gfire – Download of the Gfire plugin for Pidgin
- Skype API Plugin – Download of the Skype API plugin for Pidgin
- Off-the-Record Messaging – Download of the OTR-Plug-in for Pidgin
- Pidgin Encryption
- Matthew Herper: Better Instant Messaging Through Linux Forbes.com, , 16 July 2002
- http://web.archive.org/web/19990210175349/http://www.marko.net/gaim/ GAIM: GTK+ America OnLine Instant Messenger
- Web site: SourceForge.net: gaim-i18n. 2007-04-11. "Pidgin" for gaim itself, "libpurple" for libgaim, …and "finch" for gaim-text..
- Web site: Important and Long Delayed News. 2007-05-01.
- Web site: News — Pidgin. 2007-04-11. Now that the settlement is signed, we hope to have the final Pidgin 2.0.0 release late this week or early next..
- Web site: Working towards 2.0.0. 2007-04-22.
- Web site: Identity vs. Account Orientation. 2007-05-01.
- Web site: Protocol Specific Questions — FAQ — Pidgin. 2007-05-12.
- Web site: UpdateMsnSupport — Pidgin — Trac. 2007-07-18.
- Web site: Plain Text Passwords — Pidgin. 2007-05-18.
- Web site: Pidgin 2.0.1 Review. 2007-06-14.
- Web site: FAQ — Pidgin. 2008-03-02.
- Web site: Sean Egan tells here that vv support won't necessarily come with 3.0.0. 2007-05-18.
- Web site: Peter Lawler declares that gaim-vv is "completely dead now.". 2008-01-25.
- Web site: Bug 314529 (on BugZilla). 2007-04-11.
- Web site: Bug 458457 (on BugZilla). 2007-08-15.
- Web site: Text box resizing issue. 2008-03-08.
- http://blog.meebo.com/?p=170 Blog posting about the beginnings of Meebo
