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Empathy
Original author(s)	Xavier Claessens
Stable release	2.28.1 (2009-10-09; 46 days ago) [+/−]
Preview release	2.29.1 (2009-10-26; 29 days ago) [+/−]
Written in	C
Operating system	Cross-platform (Linux, Unix, BSD)
Available in	Multilingual
Type	Instant messaging client
License	GPL
Website	live.gnome.org/Empathy

Empathy is an instant messaging client which supports text, voice, video, file transfers, and inter-application communication over many different 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^[1]. Beginning from Ubuntu 9.10 and Fedora 12, it has replaced Pidgin as the default messenger in Ubuntu and Fedora. Unlike Pidgin and clients utilizing Off-the-Record Messaging (OTR), Empathy lacks any facility for enabling privacy and security through deniable encryption.

It includes a sample client with a similar overall look and feel to the earlier Gossip client for XMPP servers. It uses Jingle for voice.

[edit] Current features

Support for multiple protocols:
- Salut
- most protocols supported by Pidgin:
  - Bonjour (Apple's implementation of Zeroconf)
  - Gadu-Gadu
  - Internet Relay Chat
  - Lotus Sametime
  - MySpaceIM
  - .NET Messenger Service (commonly known as MSN Messenger or Windows Live Messenger) (video and audio calls)
  - Novell GroupWise
  - OSCAR (AIM/ICQ/.Mac)
  - QQ
  - SIMPLE
  - SILC
  - XMPP (Google Talk, LJ Talk, Gizmo5, ...)
  - Yahoo (only basic chat and file transfers)
  - Zephyr
Auto away and extended away using gnome-screensaver
Auto re-connect using NetworkManager
Private and group chat with smileys and spell checking
Theme engine for conversation windows
Log conversations, view / search in logs and prepend logs in new chats
Voice and video calls using SIP, MSN and XMPP (including support for Google Talk voice calls)
File transfer for XMPP
Geolocation of contacts (can display contacts on a map)
Python bindings for libempathy and libempathy-gtk
Collaborative work using Tubes