Pidgin is a chat program which lets you log in to accounts on multiple chat networks simultaneously. This means that you can be chatting with friends on MSN, talking to a friend on Google Talk, and sitting in a Yahoo chat room all at the same time.
To install Pidgin open a Terminal window (Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal) and copy+paste the following lines:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ferramroberto/pidgin
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install pidgin
When installed you can find Pidging under Applications -> Internet -> Pidgin Internet Messenger.
Pidgin 2.7.11 is a maintenance release that includes a variety of bug fixes and updates.
General:
Our bundled libgadu should now build on HP-UX.
Fix some instances of file transfers never completing. (Cristi Posoiu) (#12472)
Pidgin:
Sort by Status no longer causes buddies to move around when you click them.
Fix embedding in the system tray on older GTK+ releases (such as on CentOS 5.5 and older Fedora).
No longer require libstartup-notification for startup notification support. GTK+ has included support for years, so use it instead. (David Benjamin) (#13245)
AIM:
Fix a bug where some buddies from your buddy list might not show up. Affected non-English ICQ users the most. (#13386)
Send keepalives for all types of network connections. Will hopefully make chat rooms more reliable. (#1449)
MSN:
Fix bug that prevented added buddies to your buddy list in certain circumstances. (#13298)
XMPP:
Fix building on platforms with an older glib (inadvertantly broken in 2.7.10). (#13329)
Don’t treat the on-join status storms as ‘new arrivals’. (Thijs Alkemade) (#a14527)
Extend the /join command to support room JIDs, enabling you to join a room on any server. (Solarius, Matěj Cepl, Tirtha ‘wyuka’ Chatterjee) (#4526)
Add support for receiving a limited amount of history when joining a room (not currently supported by Pidgin and Finch). (Thijs Alkemade) (#10986, #a14219)