Empathy is an

instant messaging Instant messaging (IM) technology is a type of online chat allowing real-time text transmission over the Internet or another computer network. Messages are typically transmitted between two or more parties, when each user inputs text and trigge ...

(IM) and

voice over IP Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also called IP telephony, is a method and group of technologies for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. The terms Interne ...

(VoIP)

client Client(s) or The Client may refer to: * Client (business) * Client (computing), hardware or software that accesses a remote service on another computer * Customer or client, a recipient of goods or services in return for monetary or other valuabl ...

which supports text, voice, video, file transfers, and inter-application communication over various IM

communication protocol A communication protocol is a system of rules that allows two or more entities of a communications system to transmit information via any kind of variation of a physical quantity. The protocol defines the rules, syntax, semantics and synchroniza ...

s. Empathy was created by forking the Gossip project started by Michael Hallendal, Richard Hult and later maintained by Martyn Russell. It was forked because there were disagreements amongst contributors about the backend at the time. It was initially completely

XMPP Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP, originally named Jabber) is an open communication protocol designed for instant messaging (IM), presence information, and contact list maintenance. Based on XML (Extensible Markup Language), ...

based (similar to Google Talk and Facebook's chat implementations), but others wanted it to use the

Telepathy Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...

stack. This led to the forking and new name Empathy. Empathy also provides a collection of reusable

graphical user interface The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows User (computing), users to Human–computer interaction, interact with electronic devices through graphical icon (comp ...

widgets for developing instant messaging clients for the GNOME desktop. It is written as extension to the

framework, for connecting to different instant messaging networks with a unified

user interface In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine f ...

. Empathy has been included in the GNOME desktop since its version 2.24, in Ubuntu since version 9.10 (Karmic Koala), and in

Fedora A fedora () is a hat with a soft brim and indented crown.Kilgour, Ruth Edwards (1958). ''A Pageant of Hats Ancient and Modern''. R. M. McBride Company. It is typically creased lengthwise down the crown and "pinched" near the front on both sides ...

since version 12 (Constantine); Empathy has replaced

Pidgin A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn from s ...

as their default messenger application. Empathy is no longer under development by the GNOME team.

Features

Empathy natively supports protocols, implemented in telepathy framework:

(including configuration for Facebook IM, Google Talk, though Gizmo5, LiveJournal Talk, Nokia Ovi and other Jabber servers also supported), salut link-local XMPP for local network peer discovery, MSNP (to Microsoft Messenger service as used by ''MSN Messenger'' or ''

Windows Live Messenger MSN Messenger (also known colloquially simply as "Messenger"), later rebranded as Windows Live Messenger, was a cross-platform instant-messaging client developed by Microsoft. It connected to the Microsoft Messenger service and, in later versio ...

''), IRC and SIP. Additional protocols are supported with libpurple plug-in: OSCAR ( AIM/ ICQ/ MobileMe), Bonjour (Apple's implementation of

Zeroconf Zero-configuration networking (zeroconf) is a set of technologies that automatically creates a usable computer network based on the Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP) when computers or network peripherals are interconnected. It does not require ma ...

), MySpaceIM, QQ, MXit, Novell GroupWise, YMSG, Gadu-Gadu, Lotus Sametime, SIMPLE, SILC,

Zephyr In European tradition, a zephyr is a light wind or a west wind, named after Zephyrus, the Greek god or personification of the west wind. Zephyr may also refer to: Arts and media Fiction Fiction media * ''Zephyr'' (film), a 2010 Turki ...

. 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 A smiley, sometimes referred to as a smiley face, is a basic ideogram that represents a smiling face. Since the 1950s it has become part of popular culture worldwide, used either as a standalone ideogram, or as a form of communication, such a ...

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: * Voice and video calls using SIP, MSNP and XMPP (including support for Google Talk voice calls) * File transfer for XMPP *

Geolocation Geopositioning, also known as geotracking, geolocalization, geolocating, geolocation, or geoposition fixing, is the process of determining or estimating the geographic position of an object. Geopositioning yields a set of geographic coordinates ...

of contacts (can display contacts on a map) * Python bindings for ''Telepathy'' * Collaborative work using Tubes * Desktop sharing (remote control) * Automatic configuration of Google Talk accounts (with GNOME Online Accounts)

Reception

Ryan Paul at

Ars Technica ''Ars Technica'' is a website covering news and opinions in technology, science, politics, and society, created by Ken Fisher and Jon Stokes in 1998. It publishes news, reviews, and guides on issues such as computer hardware and software, sc ...

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 2009, after Empathy replaced

(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 ǈubunčić 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 ''Tom's Hardware'' is an online publication owned by Future plc and focused on technology. It was founded in 1996 by Thomas Pabst. It provides articles, news, price comparisons, videos and reviews on computer hardware and high technology. The si ...

reviewer Adam Overa referred to the switch to the "much less popular and compatible Empathy client", as " obably 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'' (abbreviated as CW) is an ongoing decades old professional publication which in 2014 "went digital." Its audience is information technology (IT) and business technology professionals, and is available via a publication website ...

'' magazine.

Security

Unlike clients supporting Off-the-Record Messaging (OTR), Empathy lacks

privacy Privacy (, ) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively. The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of a ...

and

security" \n\n\nsecurity.txt is a proposed standard for websites' security information that is meant to allow security researchers to easily report security vulnerabilities. The standard prescribes a text file called \"security.txt\" in the well known locat ...

facilities enforced through technical means. Empathy's developers do not consider it within the client's scope to implement OTR, while leaving the possibility of supporting potential future protocol-level encryption standards open.

References

External links

* {{GNOME 2003 software Applications using D-Bus Free instant messaging clients Free Internet Relay Chat clients Free software programmed in C Free VoIP software GNOME Applications Instant messaging clients that use GTK Unix Internet Relay Chat clients Videotelephony Voice over IP clients that use GTK Yahoo! instant messaging clients

Features

Reception

Security

See also

References

External links