Ubuntu Linux For Dummies (2007)

In This Chapter

· Considering instant message service providers

· Registering with Gaim-compatible instant message services

· Signing in to and messaging with Gaim

Instant messaging is a popular Internet communication method based on the quick exchange of text-based messages. You contact another person — your buddy — and type a quick message. The other person sees your message and responds in kind. The exchange shows up instantly on your screen.

Gaim is an open source instant messenger (IM) application that lets you chat on your Ubuntu computer through these message services:

· AIM (AOL Instant Messenger, the Gaim default service)

· MSN Instant Messenger

· Yahoo! Messenger

· Jabber

· ICQ

· Google Talk

The name Gaim is unusual in a world filled with technical acronyms. Gaim is not an acronym. According to its creators, Gaim doesn't stand for anything but freedom (an open source application that helps the world communicate).

Configuring Gaim

To use Gaim, you must

· Tell Gaim which IM service provider to use.

You need an account to use an IM service. If you don't have an account for an IM service you want to use, go to the service's Web home page and sign up.

· Provide your IM username and password.

Gaim uses the information you provide to log in to the IM service provider. When you're logged in, you can communicate with other people who use that service.

There's no limit to how many IM service providers you can use. Just register with the IM service and then configure Gaim to use it. After you've registered and configured it, you can start up a separate instance of Gaim for each service.

The following section describes how to register with the default Gaim IM service provider. The section after that shows you how to configure Gaim to use other service providers; Gaim takes care of the actual default registration, but you must register with everyone else.

You can configure and use Gaim when running Ubuntu live from an Ubuntu CD-ROM (or DVD), which is described in Chapter 2. However, any configurations you make won't be saved after you reboot your Ubuntu computer. All settings are saved when running Ubuntu from a hard drive as described in Chapter 4.

Registering with Instant Message services

Let's start by starting Gaim, configuring its basic stuff, and connecting to an IM service provider:

1. Choose ApplicationsInternetGaim Internet Messenger from the GNOME menu bar.

Two windows open:

o Figure 18-1 shows the Gaim Buddy List window.

Figure 18-1: The Gaim Buddy List window.

· Figure 18-1 shows the Gaim Accounts window.

Figure 18-1: The Gaim Accounts window.

· Click the Add button in the Accounts window.

The Add Account dialog, as shown in Figure 18-1 , opens.

Figure 18-1: Gaim Add Account dialog.

· Click the Protocol drop-down menu and select your IM service provider.

The default service provider is AIM, but you can choose from any of the other available ones.

· Type your screen name in the Screen Name text box.

You'll be known as your screen name while chatting.

· Type your screen name password in the Password text box.

You can select options to simplify startup and stay in touch with Gaim.

· If you want Gaim to remember your password, select the Remember Password and/or the Auto-Login check box.

· If you want Gaim to notify you when you receive a message to your IM provider e-mail account, select the New Mail Notifications radio button.

· Click the Save button.

Control returns to the Account window.

· Click the Close button.

Your screen name and alias are displayed in the Account drop-down menu in the Gaim Login window. You're ready to chat.

Adding other IM services

If you want to add an IM service to Gaim, follow these steps:

1. Open Gaim by choosing InternetGaim Internet Messenger from the GNOME Applications menu, if it isn't already running.

2. Click the Accounts menu (from the Buddy List dialog) and select the Add/Edit option.

The Accounts dialog opens.

3. Click the Add button.

The Add Account dialog opens.

4. From the Protocol drop-down menu, select an IM service provider.

For example, select Yahoo! to chat with people using Yahoo! Messenger.

5. Type your screen name, password, and alias in the appropriate text boxes.

You must use the screen name and password that you selected when registering your Gaim account with the IM service provider.

6. Click the Save button.

The Add Account dialog closes and your settings are saved.

7. Click the Close button in the Accounts dialog.

The Accounts dialog closes. Now you're ready to converse with people using the particular IM service.

Chapter 18. Instant Messaging

In This Chapter

· Considering instant message service providers

· Registering with Gaim-compatible instant message services

· Signing in to and messaging with Gaim

Instant messaging is a popular Internet communication method based on the quick exchange of text-based messages. You contact another person — your buddy — and type a quick message. The other person sees your message and responds in kind. The exchange shows up instantly on your screen.

Gaim is an open source instant messenger (IM) application that lets you chat on your Ubuntu computer through these message services:

· AIM (AOL Instant Messenger, the Gaim default service)

· MSN Instant Messenger

· Yahoo! Messenger

· Jabber

· ICQ

· Google Talk

The name Gaim is unusual in a world filled with technical acronyms. Gaim is not an acronym. According to its creators, Gaim doesn't stand for anything but freedom (an open source application that helps the world communicate).

Configuring Gaim

To use Gaim, you must

· Tell Gaim which IM service provider to use.

You need an account to use an IM service. If you don't have an account for an IM service you want to use, go to the service's Web home page and sign up.

· Provide your IM username and password.

Gaim uses the information you provide to log in to the IM service provider. When you're logged in, you can communicate with other people who use that service.

There's no limit to how many IM service providers you can use. Just register with the IM service and then configure Gaim to use it. After you've registered and configured it, you can start up a separate instance of Gaim for each service.

The following section describes how to register with the default Gaim IM service provider. The section after that shows you how to configure Gaim to use other service providers; Gaim takes care of the actual default registration, but you must register with everyone else.

You can configure and use Gaim when running Ubuntu live from an Ubuntu CD-ROM (or DVD), which is described in Chapter 2. However, any configurations you make won't be saved after you reboot your Ubuntu computer. All settings are saved when running Ubuntu from a hard drive as described in Chapter 4.

Registering with Instant Message services

Let's start by starting Gaim, configuring its basic stuff, and connecting to an IM service provider:

1. Choose ApplicationsInternetGaim Internet Messenger from the GNOME menu bar.

Two windows open:

o Figure 18-1 shows the Gaim Buddy List window.

Figure 18-1: The Gaim Buddy List window.

· Figure 18-1 shows the Gaim Accounts window.

Figure 18-1: The Gaim Accounts window.

· Click the Add button in the Accounts window.

The Add Account dialog, as shown in Figure 18-1 , opens.

Figure 18-1: Gaim Add Account dialog.

· Click the Protocol drop-down menu and select your IM service provider.

The default service provider is AIM, but you can choose from any of the other available ones.

· Type your screen name in the Screen Name text box.

You'll be known as your screen name while chatting.

· Type your screen name password in the Password text box.

You can select options to simplify startup and stay in touch with Gaim.

· If you want Gaim to remember your password, select the Remember Password and/or the Auto-Login check box.

· If you want Gaim to notify you when you receive a message to your IM provider e-mail account, select the New Mail Notifications radio button.

· Click the Save button.

Control returns to the Account window.

· Click the Close button.

Your screen name and alias are displayed in the Account drop-down menu in the Gaim Login window. You're ready to chat.

Adding other IM services

If you want to add an IM service to Gaim, follow these steps:

1. Open Gaim by choosing InternetGaim Internet Messenger from the GNOME Applications menu, if it isn't already running.

2. Click the Accounts menu (from the Buddy List dialog) and select the Add/Edit option.

The Accounts dialog opens.

3. Click the Add button.

The Add Account dialog opens.

4. From the Protocol drop-down menu, select an IM service provider.

For example, select Yahoo! to chat with people using Yahoo! Messenger.

5. Type your screen name, password, and alias in the appropriate text boxes.

You must use the screen name and password that you selected when registering your Gaim account with the IM service provider.

6. Click the Save button.

The Add Account dialog closes and your settings are saved.

7. Click the Close button in the Accounts dialog.

The Accounts dialog closes. Now you're ready to converse with people using the particular IM service.

Communicating through Gaim

Using Gaim to communicate with other IM clients is a straightforward process. The following instructions show how to use Gaim to communicate with Gaim's default service, AIM (AOL Instant Messenger).

Sending messages

The following instructions use Gaim to contact and start communicating with others using AIM:

1. Open the Gaim application, if necessary, by choosing InternetGaim Internet Messenger from the GNOME Applications menu.

The Gaim Buddy List window opens. Another Gaim dialog, showing a text box in which you type your IM account password, opens if you chose not to save your IM account password when configuring Gaim; the section "Registering with Instant Message services" describes the configuration process.

2. If necessary, type your password in the Enter Password text box, immediately below the Enter password for User heading, in the Gaim dialog.

Gaim logs in to your AIM account and displays a message in the bottom of the Buddy List window telling you that your account is available.

3. Click the Buddies menu and select the New Instant Message option.

The New Instant Message dialog opens, as shown in Figure 18-1 .

Figure 18-1: Tell Gaim who you want to talk to.

· Type the name of the person (buddy) you want to contact and click the OK button.

The Gaim window, shown in Figure 18-1 opens. (The name tope43 in the title bar is my username.)

Figure 18-1: Using Gaim to chat up a storm.

· You can start chatting:

1. Type a message in the lower subwindow.

2. Press the Send button in the lower-right corner of the Gaim window.

Testing, 1-2-3-4, testing. If you're new to IM and don't know anyone who uses it, you can simply talk to yourself. (Chatting with yourself might not be particularly interesting, but it does demonstrate how the system works.) Follow these steps:

1. Open a Gaim window and sign in as described in these instructions.

2. Select your own name in Step 4.

A second Gaim window opens. Whatever message you type in one window is displayed in the other window.

Adding buddies

You'll accumulate contacts as you use Gaim. Gaim provides a convenient method for saving contact information with AIM (the default Gaim service). Here's how to use it:

1. In the Buddy List window, click the Buddies menu and select the Add Buddy option.

The Add Buddy dialog, shown in Figure 18-1 , opens.

Figure 18-1: Add Buddy dialog.

· Type the screen name and the alias for your contact.

The screen name is valid only for the IM service the person is registered for. The alias is the name Gaim knows the contact as; that is, Gaim uses the alias to locate the contact on your Ubuntu computer.

· If you want to categorize your new Buddy, select your contact's category from the Group drop-down menu.

For instance, Friend is the default.

· Select the IM service provider from the Account drop-down menu.

· Click the Add button.

· In the Buddies window, click the Buddies menu and select New Instant Message.

The New Instant Message dialog opens, and you can type the contact's alias in the Name text box to contact that person.