So, how is the Instant Messenger scene progressing on Linux?

[Johnsie]

So, how is the Instant Messenger scene progressing on Linux? Any progress on multimedia over the major IM networks or are we still stuck with text based 90's style messaging?

[jken146]

http://www.amsn-project.net/ amsn is the client a lot of ex-windows users feel most comfortable with.

Pidgin has great support for loads of protocols, but is a little basic in its other functions. I haven't checked out its plugins though.

There are other clients around, quite a few I think.

[Johnsie]

Have the AMSN people sorted out their GUI problems yet? I've noticed Skype have finally introduced video on their instant messenger. That's good. I think alot of the Linux IM software is a little old fashioned at the moment, so it's nice to see at least one company brining us into the 21st century.

[rolando2424]

I'll take simple text over giant flash animation of guitar smashing any day.

Maybe the only thing missing is the webcam support, but amsn has some of that.

[jken146]

I'll take simple text over giant flash animation of guitar smashing any day.
+1!







edit: That bit was totally wrong, so I deleted it.

[Johnsie]

text based chat is ok for some things... but when you're communicating with people you really care about like overseas family and really close friends it's good to see and hear them. I think text based chat is a bit impersonal for communicatiing with real people.

[jken146]

text based chat is ok for some things... but when you're communicating with people you really care about like overseas family and really close friends it's good to see and hear them. I think text based chat is a bit impersonal for communicatiing with real people.

I agree with you there, but what I meant before was that I'd rather have a slick, simple text-based IM client than one with twenty thousand different kinds of alerts and smilies and in-your-face animations... that's just annoying to me.

[frodon]

text based chat is ok for some things... but when you're communicating with people you really care about like overseas family and really close friends it's good to see and hear them. I think text based chat is a bit impersonal for communicatiing with real people.Use skype or ekiga.
http://www.skype.com/intl/en/download/skype/linux/beta/

[23meg]

So, how is the Instant Messenger scene progressing on Linux? Any progress on multimedia over the major IM networks or are we still stuck with text based 90's style messaging?

According to this post (http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=3881182&postcount=6), Adium developers are adding voice and video support to libpurple, which is the core library for Pidgin.

[SunnyRabbiera]

Yeh its good skype has caught up to us, really video chat is still lacking and I am wondering if we are gonna need shotguns just to get stuff working

[Sef]

For Video Chat, there is Wengo Phone. It is available through Add/Remove.