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Monday, October 19, 2015

Viber 4.2 For Linux Available For Download

Quick update for Viber users: Viber for Linux was updated to version 4.2.x recently, finally catching up with the Windows version. Unfortunately, the application continues to be available for 64bit only.

Skype 4.3 For Linux Released With Updated User Interface, Other Changes

Skype 4.3 for Linux has been released today with an updated UI, cloud-based Group Chat experience, support for PulseAudio 3 and 4 and various other changes and bug fixes.

Changes in the latest Skype 4.3 for Linux:

updated user interface (login window, the main window, options, etc. - see screenshots below);
new cloud-based Group Chat experience;
more reliable file transfer support when using multiple devices at once;
greater accessibility by blind and visually impaired users;
PulseAudio 3.0 and 4.0 support;
Lot of bug fixes.

It's also important to note that starting with Skype 4.3, the application no longer supports Alsa.

A thing I've noticed, which is not available in the official Skype 4.3 for Linux release announcement, is that starting with this version, Skype uses its own interactive notifications by default and in my test under Unity, they slightly overlap with the top panel:

There is an option to use the built-in system notifications, but you must manually enable it for each notification action, which is pretty annoying:

Also, some of the tray/indicator icons are now dark, which isn't exactly great news for Ubuntu, which uses dark indicator menus by default:

Have you tried the new Skype 4.3 for Linux? What do you think?

Download Skype 4.3 for Linux

Download Skype

Ubuntu users:

The Skype package available in the official Ubuntu repositories should be updated to the latest Skype 4.3 version soon (I don't know exactly when).

If you want to install Skype right now, download the deb by using the link above (for Ubuntu 64bit, make sure you download the "Ubuntu 12.04 (multiarch)" package).

Then, before installing the newly downloaded Skype version, make sure you don't have Skype from the Ubuntu repositories installed, or else you won't be able to install the latest version downloaded from the Skype website - to do that (and remove Skype), simply use the following command:

sudo apt-get remove skype skype-bin:i386 skype:i386

And also, make sure sni-qt is installed and it's not marked for removal (so you don't lose the Skype AppIndicator) by using the following command:

sudo apt-get install sni-qt:i386

Then you'll be able to install the Skype 4.3 deb downloaded from the Skype website.

Also see: Fix Skype Not Using The Desktop GTK Theme In Ubuntu 64bit [Quick Tip]

Sigram: Native Linux Desktop Telegram Client

Telegram is a free messaging app that focuses on speed and security, at least that's what its developers say. There are official Telegram applications available for iOS and Android as well as various unofficial clients for Windows, Mac OS X and Windows Phone.

Sigram is a native, open source Telegram client for Linux desktops, written in C++, C, Qt, QML.

The application supports chatting with your Telegram contacts (obviously) as well as sending and receiving images (it uses Limoo image viewer under the hood) and emoticons. Unfortunately, Sigram doesn't support secret chats and sending audio/video files for now.

As for the desktop integration, Sigram can display notifications on new messages and comes with a tray icon which allows you to show the application (which can be closed to the tray) or open its configuration. There's also an option to change the chat background.

That's it for now, but the application is quickly evolving. From its bug reports, I see that the app should get an option to add contacts soon, option to change the avatar and so on. And since it's open source, you can contribute to its development!

I've received a tip from Sialan Labs, the Sigram developers, more than a week ago, but back then the application only worked on Ubuntu 14.04 and the settings/gear icon didn't work. These bugs have been fixed and Sigram has worked great in my test today, so I finally decided to write about it. So if you've previously tried Sigram and stumbled upon these issues, give it another try.

Download Sigram

Sigram, the open source Telegam Client for Linux desktops, can be download from Sialan Labs - there are Ubuntu debs, Arch Linux AUR packages, rpm packages as well as generic Linux binaries available for download, along with the Sigram source.

Report any bugs you may find @ GitHub.

Also see: Telegram Unity WebApp Integrates Telegram With Ubuntu's Messaging Menu, Unity Launcher

thanks to Sialan Labs for the tip!

Install Snakefire (Campfire Linux Client) In Ubuntu Via PPA

Snakefire is a Qt Linux client for Campfire, a team collaboration tool with real time chat, popular among developers.

Because there were no Ubuntu packages for Snakefire, failsdownloads reader +Rael has created a PPA so you can easily install it and stay up to date with the latest releases.

Snakefire features chat alerts and reporting of what was discussed while you were away as well as a tray icon / Ubuntu appindicator (via sni-qt) so the application doesn't get in your way. You can also quickly and easily upload anything through Snakefire, via drag and drop.

Install Snakefire in Ubuntu

To install Snakefire in Ubuntu via PPA, use the following commands:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:rael-gc/snakefire
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install snakefire

If you're using KDE, also install snakefire-kde:

sudo apt-get install snakefire-kde

Arch Linux users can install Snakefire via AUR.

For other Linux distributions, download the latest release source from HERE. Or grab the latest code from GitHub.

thanks to Rael for the info and PPA!

Add Telegram Support To Pidgin With Telegram Purple

Telegram Purple is a Pidgin (and other Libpurple-based messengers) plugin which adds support for Telegram.

The plugin is based on Telegram-cli, a full-featured terminal-based client for Telegram, and is in early (pre-alpha) development stages. Right now, it supports the following features:

chats / group-chats:

send / receive messages;
discover buddies/chats;
discover buddy state and info;

profile pictures: download and use profile pictures;

Update Nov 24, 2014: Telegram Purple was updated to version 0.5, receiving the following new features / changes:

display incoming photos;
respect received user and chat property updates;
support changing own profile picture;
support adding new contacts;
display service messages;
works with libpurple proxy settings.

Features which will probably be added to Telegram Purple in the future include:

encrypted chats;
picture, audio and video messages;
file transfers;
geolocation;
multiple accounts on one client;

If you're looking for a more featureful Telegram client for Linux desktops, see: Sigram and Telegram Unity WebApp.

Even though it lacks some important features for now, Telegram Purple has some advantages over stand-alone solutions, like the ones mentioned above: since you can use it with Pidgin, you don't have to open multiple chat clients and you have all your contacts in a single list. And since it's under heavy development, we'll hopefully see some of these missing features implemented soon.

Tip: to use the Telegram iOS or Android Emojis, download them from HERE, copy the Emoji folder to ~/.purple/smileys/ and select the new smiley theme from the Pidgin preference (Themes > Smiley Theme).

Install Telegram Purple plugin for Pidgin

To make it easier to install in Ubuntu / Linux Mint (and derivatives), I've packaged Telegram Purple and uploaded it to the main failsdownloads PPA. Add the PPA and install the plugin using the following commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nilarimogard/failsdownloads
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install telegram-purple

If you don't want to add the PPA, you can download the Telegram Purple deb from HERE.

Arch Linux users can install the latest Telegram Purple from Git via AUR.

For other Linux distributions, check out the installation instructions available on Telegram Purple's GitHub page.

To report bugs or contribute to Telegram Purple, see its GitHub page.

Using Telegram Purple with Pidgin

Using Telegram Purple with Pidgin is pretty easy. After installing the plugin (see above), start Pidgin (restart it if it was already running) and from its menu select Accounts > Manager Accounts. Here, click "Add" and from the protocol drop-down list, select Telegram.

Next, enter your phone number under "Username" (including the country prefix) and click "Add":

The first time you add your Telegram account, a popup will be displayed, asking you to enter the Telegram code you've received via SMS:

Enter the code and you're done setting up Telegram with Pidgin.

Telegram Purple seen @ lffl.org

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