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Pidgin (formerly named '''Gaim''') is a multi-platform Instant Messaging Client that supports many commonly used instant messaging Protocols . Pidgin is Free Software available under the GNU General Public License . FEATURES
Supported protocols
Included since 2.0.0:
Future protocol support currently in development
Encryption Messages can be encrypted using an -Plug-in for Pidgin There is also a Pidgin-Encryption plugin, which uses RSA Encryption.'' Pidgin Encryption '' NAMING DISPUTE 2.16.0]] Pidgin was originally known as GTK+ AOL Instant Messenger. In response to pressure from AOL , the program was renamed to the acronymous-but-lowercase '''Gaim'''. As AOL's IM program 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 ", which describes communication between people who do not share a common language. 3 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. 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 .4 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".5 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.6 CRITICISMS AND CURRENT DEFICIENCIES See The Pidgin developer site for the current list of outstanding issues. Because the Pidgin project uses 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.7 A Google Summer Of Code project aims to add peer-to-peer functionality in 2007.8 Like similar programs, saved Password s 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 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 only require 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.9) Pidgin does not currently support video and audio conferencing. 10 The developers plan on implementing multimedia messaging in the future,1112 but there has been parallel development with the uncompleted gaim-vv library. The GTK+ build packaged with Pidgin has been known to cause errors with GIMP in Windows.13 This was, however, determined to be a bug in GIMP , which made improper assumptions about configuration files.14 RELATED SOFTWARE PhoneGaim is a software based on Pidgin (and thus also available under the GPL) that uses the SIP Protocol to gain voice communication over the Internet via VoIP . ScatterChat is an encrypted instant messaging client based on Pidgin. Adium and Proteus are instant messaging clients for Mac OS X that support multiple protocols through libpurple. OpenWengo is a hybrid SIP -based VoIP and Instant Messaging client which uses libpurple for messaging support. Meebo is a multi-protocol web-based instant messaging client that uses libpurple. Pidgin is also available in a portable form in the following packages:
SEE ALSO
REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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