Changes between Version 62 and Version 63 of Using Pidgin

Timestamp:

Sep 22, 2007, 11:16:34 PM (16 years ago)

Author:

John Bailey

Comment:

More FAQ migration from the old site, plus expansion on voice and video.

Using Pidgin

@@ -356 +356 @@
 
 The X.org X11 server provides a COMPOSITE extension that allows applications to have true translucency, but it is X.org-specific and it requires support at the GTK+ level (if it is to be per-widget).  Support for this is apparently scheduled for inclusion GDK 2.12, but we are not currently interested in implementing support for it (note that a plugin could provide this functionality).  Pseudo-translucency offered by other programs (by copying a section of your background image, tinting it, and plastering it onto a window) will never be implemented in Pidgin.
+
+== Voice and Video (Microphone and Webcam) Support (Not Implemented Yet) ==
+
+=== Does Pidgin support webcams (video)? ===
+=== Does Pidgin support MSN video chat? ===
+Not currently.  It is planned.  See below.
+
+=== Does Pidgin support microphones (voice)? ===
+=== Does Pidgin support libjingle? ===
+Not currently.  It is planned.  See below.
+
+=== When will voice and video be implemented? ===
+We plan to implement these features eventually, but it is a daunting task.  Not all of our developers care about these features, and because of that don't want to work on them.  The time available to those developers who do want to work on these features is limited, and so any work on these features proceeds slowly.
+
+We aim to have an abstracted, protocol-agnostic API for voice and video, which makes the task harder.  Also adding to the difficulty is that now that we have a completely split core (libpurple) and UI (Pidgin and Finch), we refuse to take a step backward and violate this split.  The protocol plugins can NOT have any code in them that is UI-dependent, or we break the libpurple/UI split.  This imposes additional restrictions that make it a very painstaking process to implement voice and video correctly.
+
+In short, we have no idea when this will happen.  It could be tomorrow, or it could be in 2099.  That's really the best answer we can give right now.