Empathy is a software program

I guess my last post used too many strange words like Speex, Theora and Jabber. What is Jabber and why should I care. Jabber is a method of connecting people via a packet based networks. Gone are the days when running 2 22 gauge copper wires to your business meant people could use your services. Jabber is built on XMPP The last 2 Ps stand for Presence Protocol which is an idea that copper wires don't afford. If my icon is green then I am available, if it is yellow then you take your chances and if it is black then you can't get a connection. It makes a lot of sense if you are trying to get a hold of someone in the morning and you are not sure if they are awake and the other person after waking up goes online to read the news. At the bottom of this post is a little green light if I am available to chat and hey you don't even have to sign up. You will just chat with me as guest.
Arthur Amendt

Speex + Theora = Empathy

Ok, ok you might need telepathy and few other files like telepathy-sofiasip if you want to make sip calls. Guillaume Desmottes does a nice job of updating the empathy personal package archive. Google search It sure takes a lot of time to get all the parts of the software together. We are almost there. Christian Schaller is even doing video already. I have been using it for file transfer and chatting. In 2.27.2 it shows that option, but there are some bugs. By the time Ubuntu 9.10 is released we should be communicating via open source files like Speex and Theora.
To install the latest Empathy software just search for "ppa empathy" in google which will take you to launchpad. Add Desmottes ppa to System > Administration > Software Sources. Click on 3 party and click add. Copy and paste. Remember to add both
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/telepathy/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/telepathy/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main
Remember to add the public key which can be found at Ubuntu key Server here The advantage of adding a repository is that the developer's improvement are automatically updated on your computer. If you want to watch a nice video of someone doing this click here.

Android vs Iphone

Well, I just got off the phone with Rogers. There is nothing I can do short of buying the Android out right to get one of those phones. O well I guess I am going to add the word Android into my Grande Prairie kijiji rss feed to see if someone has one for sale. Maybe I can swap someone for my iphone or Black Berry. This is the last time in human history that open source will lag behind proprietary companies.