Empathy (software)
Encyclopedia
Empathy is an instant messaging
client
which supports text, voice, video, file transfers, and inter-application communication over various IM protocols.
Empathy also provides a collection of re-usable graphical user interface
widgets for developing instant messaging clients for the GNOME desktop
. It is written as extension to the Telepathy framework, for connecting to different instant messaging networks with a unified user interface
.
Empathy has been included in the GNOME desktop since version 2.24.
In Ubuntu
since release 9.10 (Karmic Koala) and Fedora
since release 12 (Constantine), it has replaced Pidgin
as their default messenger.
(including configuration for Facebook IM
, Google Talk
, though Gizmo5
, LiveJournal Talk
, Nokia Ovi and other Jabber servers also supported), salut link-local XMMP for local network peer discovery, .NET Messenger Service
(commonly known as MSN Messenger or Windows Live Messenger
), Internet Relay Chat
and SIP
. Additional protocols are supported with libpurple
plug-in: OSCAR
(AIM
/ICQ
/MobileMe
), Bonjour
(Apple's implementation of Zeroconf), MySpaceIM
, QQ
, MXit
, Novell GroupWise
, Yahoo! Messenger
, Gadu-Gadu
, Lotus Sametime
, SIMPLE
, SILC
, Zephyr
).
Automatic features include Auto away and extended away using gnome-screensaver, and auto re-connect using NetworkManager
. One-on-one and group chats include smiley
s and spell checking
. Conversation windows can be themed
. Conversations can be logged, which can be viewed or searched, and prepended to new chats.
Additional features include:
wrote in March 2009, "Empathy's highly modular design, basic video chat capabilities, and excellent support for desktop integration are all major assets." He stated that it had "improved", but it was "rough around the edges", noting that at the time it had not yet "been included in any major Linux distribution" citing an Ubuntu usability study. In November, after Empathy replaced Pidgin
(and Ekiga) in Ubuntu 9.10, Ryan wrote, "Although Empathy has improved a lot over the past year, it's still not stable. It crashed quite a few times during my tests and exhibited a number of other minor bugs. It's adequate for basic chatting ...".
In his extended review of Ubuntu 9.10, Igor Ljubuncic was terse about the switch from Pidgin to Empathy: "Personally, I see no value in the change, especially since Empathy supports less networks."
Tom's Hardware reviewer Adam Overa referred to the switch to the "much less popular and compatible Empathy client", as "[p]robably the most controversial change in Ubuntu 9.10", noting that a "firestorm of debate has been raging over this topic among developers and users alike ever since the announcement to replace Pidgin was made ... " in 2009.
In 2010 Empathy was listed as one of "5 open source VoIP softphones to watch" by Rodney Gedda of ComputerWorld
magazine.
(OTR), Empathy lacks privacy
and security
facility through deniable encryption
. Work to add encryption capabilities to certain protocols natively began in 2009.
Instant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
client
Client (computing)
A client is an application or system that accesses a service made available by a server. The server is often on another computer system, in which case the client accesses the service by way of a network....
which supports text, voice, video, file transfers, and inter-application communication over various IM protocols.
Empathy also provides a collection of re-usable graphical user interface
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
widgets for developing instant messaging clients for the GNOME desktop
GNOME
GNOME is a desktop environment and graphical user interface that runs on top of a computer operating system. It is composed entirely of free and open source software...
. It is written as extension to the Telepathy framework, for connecting to different instant messaging networks with a unified user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
.
Empathy has been included in the GNOME desktop since version 2.24.
In Ubuntu
Ubuntu (operating system)
Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...
since release 9.10 (Karmic Koala) and Fedora
Fedora (operating system)
Fedora is a RPM-based, general purpose collection of software, including an operating system based on the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat...
since release 12 (Constantine), it has replaced Pidgin
Pidgin (software)
Pidgin is an open-source multi-platform instant messaging client, based on a library named libpurple. Libpurple has support for many commonly used instant messaging protocols, allowing the user to log into various services from one application.The number of Pidgin users was estimated to be over 3...
as their default messenger.
Features
Empathy natively supports protocols, implemented in telepathy framework: XMPPExtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol
Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol is an open-standard communications protocol for message-oriented middleware based on XML . The protocol was originally named Jabber, and was developed by the Jabber open-source community in 1999 for near-real-time, extensible instant messaging , presence...
(including configuration for Facebook IM
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, Google Talk
Google Talk
Google Talk is a freeware voice over Internet protocol client application offered by Google Inc. The first beta version of the program was released on August 24, 2005...
, though Gizmo5
Gizmo5
Gizmo5 was a Voice over Internet Protocol communications network and a proprietary freeware soft phone for that network. On November 12, 2009, Google announced that it had acquired Gizmo5...
, LiveJournal Talk
LiveJournal
LiveJournal is a virtual community where Internet users can keep a blog, journal or diary. LiveJournal is also the name of the free and open source server software that was designed to run the LiveJournal virtual community....
, Nokia Ovi and other Jabber servers also supported), salut link-local XMMP for local network peer discovery, .NET Messenger Service
.NET Messenger Service
The .NET Messenger Service is an instant messaging and presence system developed by Microsoft in 1999 for use with its MSN Messenger software and used today by its current instant messaging clients, Windows Live Messenger and Microsoft Messenger for Mac...
(commonly known as MSN Messenger or Windows Live Messenger
Windows Live Messenger
Windows Live Messenger is an instant messaging client created by Microsoft that is currently designed to work with Windows XP , Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Mobile, Windows CE, Xbox 360, Blackberry OS, iOS, Java ME, S60 on Symbian OS 9.x and Zune HD...
), Internet Relay Chat
Internet Relay Chat
Internet Relay Chat is a protocol for real-time Internet text messaging or synchronous conferencing. It is mainly designed for group communication in discussion forums, called channels, but also allows one-to-one communication via private message as well as chat and data transfer, including file...
and SIP
SIP
-Business and economics:* Sales Incentive Plan and Share Incentive Plan, employee motivation schemes* Systematic Investment Plan, investment strategy...
. Additional protocols are supported with libpurple
Pidgin (software)
Pidgin is an open-source multi-platform instant messaging client, based on a library named libpurple. Libpurple has support for many commonly used instant messaging protocols, allowing the user to log into various services from one application.The number of Pidgin users was estimated to be over 3...
plug-in: OSCAR
OSCAR protocol
OSCAR or Open System for CommunicAtion in Realtime is AOL's flagship instant messaging and presence information protocol. Currently, OSCAR is in use for AOL's two main instant messaging systems: ICQ and AIM....
(AIM
AOL Instant Messenger
AOL Instant Messenger is an instant messaging and presence computer program which uses the proprietary OSCAR instant messaging protocol and the TOC protocol to allow registered users to communicate in real time. It was released by AOL in May 1997...
/ICQ
ICQ
ICQ is an instant messaging computer program, which was first developed and popularized by the Israeli company Mirabilis, then bought by America Online, and since April 2010 owned by Mail.ru Group. The name ICQ is a homophone for the phrase "I seek you"...
/MobileMe
MobileMe
MobileMe was a subscription-based collection of online services and software offered by Apple Inc. Originally launched on January 5, 2000, as iTools, a free collection of Internet-based services for users of Mac OS 9, Apple relaunched it as .Mac on July 17, 2002, when it became a paid subscription...
), Bonjour
Bonjour (software)
In computing, Bonjour is Apple Inc.'s trade name for its implementation of Zeroconf, a group of technologies that includes service discovery, address assignment, and name resolution...
(Apple's implementation of Zeroconf), MySpaceIM
MySpaceIM
MySpaceIM is the official instant messaging client for the social networking site MySpace.In 2009, a web-based client dubbed was released to all English-speaking countries, allowing users to interact with friends and non-friends alike to grow their network...
Tencent QQ
Tencent QQ, generally referred to as QQ, is the most popular free instant messaging computer program in mainland China. As of July 11, 2011, the active QQ users accounts for QQ IM totaled 812.3 million, possibly making it the world's second largest online community. The number of simultaneous...
, MXit
MXit
MXit is a free instant messaging application developed by MXit Lifestyle Ltd. in South Africa that runs on multiple mobile and computing platforms...
, Novell GroupWise
Novell GroupWise
GroupWise is a messaging and collaborative software platform from Novell that supports email, calendaring, personal information management, instant messaging, and document management. The platform consists of the client software, which is available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, and the server...
, Yahoo! Messenger
Yahoo! Messenger
Yahoo! Messenger is an advertisement-supported instant messaging client and associated protocol provided by Yahoo!...
, Gadu-Gadu
Gadu-Gadu
Gadu-Gadu is a Polish instant messaging client using a proprietary protocol. Gadu-Gadu is the most popular IM service in Poland, with over 15 million registered accounts and approximately 6.5 million users online daily. Gadu-Gadu’s casual gaming portal had some 500,000 active users at the end of...
, Lotus Sametime
IBM Lotus Sametime
IBM Sametime is a client–server application and middleware platform that provides real-time, unified communications and collaboration for enterprises. Those capabilities include presence information, enterprise instant messaging, web conferencing, community collaboration, and telephony capabilities...
, SIMPLE
SIMPLE
SIMPLE, the Session Initiation Protocol for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions, is an instant messaging and presence protocol suite based on Session Initiation Protocol managed by the IETF...
, SILC
SILC (protocol)
SILC is a protocol that provides secure synchronous conferencing services over the Internet.- Components :...
, Zephyr
Zephyr (protocol)
Created at MIT, as part of Project Athena, Zephyr was designed as an instant messaging protocol and application-suite with a heavy Unix background. Using the "do one thing, do it well" philosophy of Unix, it was made up of several separate programs working together to make a complete messaging...
).
Automatic features include Auto away and extended away using gnome-screensaver, and auto re-connect using NetworkManager
NetworkManager
Network Manager is a software utility aimed at simplifying the use of computer networks on Linux-based and other Unix-like operating systems.- Overview :...
. One-on-one and group chats include smiley
Smiley
A smiley, smiley face, or happy face, is a stylized representation of a smiling human face, commonly occurring in popular culture. It is commonly represented as a yellow circle with two black dots representing eyes and a black arc representing the mouth...
s and spell checking
Spell checker
In computing, a spell checker is an application program that flags words in a document that may not be spelled correctly. Spell checkers may be stand-alone capable of operating on a block of text, or as part of a larger application, such as a word processor, email client, electronic dictionary,...
. Conversation windows can be themed
Theme (computing)
In computing, a theme is a preset package containing graphical appearance details, used to customize the look and feel of an operating system, widget set or window manager....
. Conversations can be logged, which can be viewed or searched, and prepended to new chats.
Additional features include:
- Voice and video calls using SIPSession Initiation ProtocolThe Session Initiation Protocol is an IETF-defined signaling protocol widely used for controlling communication sessions such as voice and video calls over Internet Protocol . The protocol can be used for creating, modifying and terminating two-party or multiparty sessions...
, MSNMSNMSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
and XMPP (including support for Google Talk voice callsJingle (protocol)Jingle is an extension to the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol . It implements peer-to-peer session control for multimedia interactions such as in Voice over IP or videoconferencing communications. It was designed by Google and the XMPP Standards Foundation. The multimedia streams are...
) - File transfer for XMPP
- GeolocationGeolocationGeolocation is the identification of the real-world geographic location of an object, such as a radar, mobile phone or an Internet-connected computer terminal...
of contacts (can display contacts on a map) - PythonPython (programming language)Python is a general-purpose, high-level programming language whose design philosophy emphasizes code readability. Python claims to "[combine] remarkable power with very clear syntax", and its standard library is large and comprehensive...
bindings for Telepathy - Collaborative work using Tubes
- Desktop sharing (remote control)
- Automatic configuration of Google Talk account (with GNOME Online Accounts)
Reception
Ryan Paul at Ars TechnicaArs Technica
Ars Technica is a technology news and information website created by Ken Fisher and Jon Stokes in 1998. It publishes news, reviews and guides on issues such as computer hardware and software, science, technology policy, and video games. Ars Technica is known for its features, long articles that go...
wrote in March 2009, "Empathy's highly modular design, basic video chat capabilities, and excellent support for desktop integration are all major assets." He stated that it had "improved", but it was "rough around the edges", noting that at the time it had not yet "been included in any major Linux distribution" citing an Ubuntu usability study. In November, after Empathy replaced Pidgin
Pidgin (software)
Pidgin is an open-source multi-platform instant messaging client, based on a library named libpurple. Libpurple has support for many commonly used instant messaging protocols, allowing the user to log into various services from one application.The number of Pidgin users was estimated to be over 3...
(and Ekiga) in Ubuntu 9.10, Ryan wrote, "Although Empathy has improved a lot over the past year, it's still not stable. It crashed quite a few times during my tests and exhibited a number of other minor bugs. It's adequate for basic chatting ...".
In his extended review of Ubuntu 9.10, Igor Ljubuncic was terse about the switch from Pidgin to Empathy: "Personally, I see no value in the change, especially since Empathy supports less networks."
Tom's Hardware reviewer Adam Overa referred to the switch to the "much less popular and compatible Empathy client", as "[p]robably the most controversial change in Ubuntu 9.10", noting that a "firestorm of debate has been raging over this topic among developers and users alike ever since the announcement to replace Pidgin was made ... " in 2009.
In 2010 Empathy was listed as one of "5 open source VoIP softphones to watch" by Rodney Gedda of ComputerWorld
Computerworld
Computerworld is an IT magazine that provides information for senior IT leaders. It is published in many countries around the world under the same or similar names. Its publisher is International Data Group. Computerworld serves the needs of IT management via print and online...
magazine.
Known issues
Unlike Pidgin and other clients with off-the-record messagingOff-the-record messaging
Off-the-Record Messaging, commonly referred to as OTR, is a cryptographic protocol that provides strong encryption for instant messaging conversations. OTR uses a combination of the AES symmetric-key algorithm, the Diffie–Hellman key exchange, and the SHA-1 hash function...
(OTR), Empathy lacks privacy
Privacy
Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively...
and security
Security
Security is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...
facility through deniable encryption
Deniable encryption
In cryptography and steganography, deniable encryption is encryption that allows its users to convincingly deny that the data is encrypted, or that they are able to decrypt it. Such convincing denials may or may not be genuine. For example, although suspicions might exist that the data is...
. Work to add encryption capabilities to certain protocols natively began in 2009.
See also
- Comparison of instant messaging clientsComparison of instant messaging clientsThe following tables compare general and technical information for a number of instant messaging clients. Please see the individual products' articles for further information. This article is not all-inclusive or necessarily up-to-date...
- Comparison of Internet Relay Chat clientsComparison of Internet Relay Chat clientsThe following tables compare general and technical information between a number of IRC client programs. Please see the individual products articles for further information.- General :...
External links
- "Empathy: Chat online". Linux FormatLinux FormatLinux Format was the UK's first Linux-specific magazine, and is currently the best-selling Linux title in the UK. It is also exported to many countries worldwide. It is published by Future Publishing...
. January 2010. Issue 127.