Browsing Chinese (Simplified) translation

278.

E-mail message is not expected to be real-time, which means you can respond to it when time allows. But when 'Immediacy' is required, instant messaging (IM) is the way to go. Using IM over the Internet can bring down costs of long distance phone calls when you want to stay in contact with friends. While in office, if you want an answer to a simple question, IM facilitates quick and easy communication and reduces the amount of e-mail messages sent and received in a day. IM also enables you to view a person using Web-cams or talk over the Internet for free.

279.

The default instant messenger client on Ubuntu is Pidgin, a cross-platform instant messenger that supports various popular IM network protocols. Using Pidgin, you can communicate with people who use America Online (AOL) Instant Messenger (AIM/ICQ), Gadu-Gadu, GroupWise, IRC, Jabber, MSN, Napster and Yahoo. It allows you to list all your friends in one window. Pidgin users can log on to multiple accounts on multiple IM networks simultaneously. This means that you can chat with friends on AIM, talk to a friend on Yahoo Messenger, and sit in an IRC channel, all at the same time. Pidgin supports many features of the various networks, such as file transfer, away messages, typing notification, and MSN window closing notification. A few popular features are Buddy Pounces, which give the ability to notify you, send a message, play a sound or run a programme when a specific buddy goes away, signs online or returns from idle.

285.

In the <emphasis role="strong">Add Account</emphasis> dialogue box, select the protocol, which is your e-mail account server name from the <emphasis role="strong">Protocol</emphasis> box. The protocol is the name of the server you want to use for chat. Type your selected protocol's e-mail ID in the <emphasis role="strong">Screen name</emphasis> box and the corresponding password. Type your nick name that you would like to be known by while chatting in the <emphasis role="strong">Local alias</emphasis> box. Click <emphasis role="strong">Save</emphasis> to create the account. The <emphasis role="strong">Accounts</emphasis> window will be displayed.

294.

To interact with other users, type the screen name or alias of the person you would like to chat with in the <emphasis role="strong">Name</emphasis> box and click <emphasis role="strong">OK</emphasis>. An IM window will be displayed.

298.

You can change the appearance of Pidgin by adding additional features, such as changing its graphical interface and theme to it. The packages required to do this are Pidgin-guifications, Pidgin-libnotify and Pidgin-themes. You can install these packages from Synaptic Package Manager by following the procedure listed in the <emphasis role="strong">Using Alternative E-Mail Client</emphasis> section.

299.

Making Phone Calls Using Softphones

300.

A softphone is a software programme that is used to make telephone calls over the Internet using a computer instead of using a regular phone. Your service provider may offer computer-to-computer calls for free, but PC-to-phone and phone-to-PC calls usually are charged. You need to have the same communication protocol and use a common audio codec to communicate with another person. The audio codec defines how voice is translated into digital signals. Examples of SIP softphones are Ekiga, SIP Express Router and many more.

301.

You use a softphone with a headset connected to the computer or with a USB phone. The features of softphone include all standard telephony features, such as mute, flash, hold and transfer. It also includes new features, such as presence, video, wideband audio and many more. The softphone requirements to make voice calls over the Internet are a computer with a microphone and speaker, a headset or USB phone, Internet connectivity and an account with an Internet telephony service provider.

302.

Skype, Google Talk and Vonage are Internet telephony service providers whose software you would need to install on your computer. But these three providers are not interoperable, and you cannot place a direct call between them.

303.

The configuration of Ekiga is described below.