Add Facebook chat to Pidgin

After using Digsby happily for some time I have have realised the main limitation, no portable version. I have been going through my 'Portable Apps' collection and rediscovered Pidgin. One of the few things that held me back from moving back to Pidgin was its lack of Facebook chant support. Thankfully this issue seems to have been solved thanks to the hard work of 'eionrobb' over at Google Code.

Click the 'Read More' for the full article.


They have published a pidgin-facebook plugin for both Windows and Linux. I have installed this and so far it is working with Facebook chat as advertised. Simply downloads the plugin for your platform (and the corresponding icons) and install to your plugin folder.

With the additional announcement on the Adium blog that they have successfully integrated Facebook chat into Adium, that seems to have Mac, Windows and Linux covered.

I have been looking forward to the release of Digsby for the Mac, but now that Adium and Pidgin have Facebook support I am struggling to justify changing my IM client of choice.

The only place I can't log into Facebook chat now is my mobile - any chance of an update from Fring?


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Sony Erricsson P1i Email and Google Apps Email

Just a short update to this.

After successfully setting up my P1i to use my Google 'Apps for your domain' email I have discovered that the messages (new or replies) sent from my P1i are correctly included in the threading of my email conversations. I know this shouldn't come as a surprise but it is worth noting as email sent from my Nokia (E61) where never properly included in treaded conversations.
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Tumblr - One weeks use

Publish on 16th may

I have been using Tumblr for a little while now and wanted to do a 'proper' review.

The first thing to mention is the ease with which you can set up and start using the service, 5 min max.

Click the 'Read More' for the full article.


After getting you account and being introduced to the various methods of posting you have the option to customise and add bits to your blog.

You have a variety of options when it comes to posting content. the primary method for me has been the 'Share on Tumbr' bookmark which takes you to a web page where you can select the type of media you wish to publish. Once selected the site automatically searched the page you tried to post from presenting you with the available media of that type. For example, if you select photo, you are presented with a box containing all the photo's available on that site to select from. You are then offered the opportunity to add a comment (within the comment box you can add additional links) before posting the item to you tumblr page.

Additionally there is a tumblr IM bot, which I haven't used, and a email address which allows you to post from any email application or any email compatible mobile handset. In addition, if you mobile provider has a MMS to email gateway (as O2 in the UK do) you can post content directly from your mobile via MMS (which is great for me as I have a number of 'free' MMS included in my monthly tariff).

One of the most useful features is the ability to add 'feeds' from your other sites such as Flickr, twitter, del.icio.us etc. This means that any articles (such as this one), tweets or bookmarks show up on my tumblr blog with no intervention on my part.

One of the things that struck me as not as user friendly as Blogger.com is that you don't have as many customizable options for your site. For example, though you can add a twitter feed, which posts your status updates as blog entries, you can't add a twitter widget like the one on this site.

The only real problem I have come across so far is in the posting of video content. Tumblr links with Vimeo to host video content. While this is useful if you ether have no existing video hosting or already have a Vimeo account, it is not as good for those of us who use a different service such as YouTube. When you try to upload video directly to tumblr it adds this video to your Vimeo account, rather than giving you the option of adding it to a youtube account.

This is not a major problem as you can set tumblr up to pull your youtube content through as a feed, thereby placing any video's you post to youtube on your tumblr site. The best solution then is to place any video content to your youtube site and let tumblr cross post it for you.

All in all, I have found that the tumblr site is infinitely easer to keep updated, with much shorter entries, concentrated on individual topics. As such, posting video's or links you have found with short notes and descriptions are much easer and less time consuming than maintaining a full on blog. In addition the ability to aggregate items from other sites makes tumblr a ideal central location for your "web 2.0" content.

Links:
Lifehacker - Tumblr review
Youtube
Tumblr
Vimeo
O2
del.icio.us


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Google Reader iPhone interface

Read on Lifehacker that Google have released a new iPhone interface for Google Reader.

I have managed to get this 'new' interface working on my Sony Ericsson P1i using the Opera Mini beta browser available here. So, much like the Facebook app, it looks like it will work fine on other phones too.

Lifehacker article
Official Google Reader Blog



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Links and Tumblr

I have just added some links on the right to my other blogs / photos / twitter etc. One new addition is Tumblr which I found out about after reading this post on Lifehacker.

I am experimenting with it at the moment, take a look if you are interested here.



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P1i Accessories roundup

After a few weeks of use I have decided to keep the P1i. This being the case I need to grab some accessories.

While the P1i does come with a cradle, wired headset, spare stylus and a slip case there where a few more things I felt I could do with.

Click the 'Read More' for the full details.



New screen protectors:

The first thing I got myself was a set of screen protectors (Martin Fields Screen Protector for Sony Ericsson P1i). Until then I had been using the leftover screen protectors for my E61 cut down to size. The Martin Fields screen protectors are infinatly better, giving you a much clearer view of the screen. The kit also includes a small protective patch for the camera lens, while I am not convinced how much protection this offers, it doesn't seem to have an adverse effect on picture quality.

Overall I would say I am very please with these, despite my initial concerns over the price!


2nd cradle for the office:

Even though the P1i comes with a cradle included I decided to leave that one in my 'home office' and get a second one for the office. Having used the Expansys Desktop Cradle for the E61 this was a natural choice as a spare for my P1i. While overall I am happy with it, it does have some eccentricities. For example, when seated in the cradle you can no longer see the notification light on the base of the P1i. Additionally I have had a few problems when seating the device to get it to connect properly. However, I have had a similar problem when seating the device in the official SE cradle, as the plastic support does not actually make contact with the phone. This results in the phone being solely supported in the cradle by the plugs in the base of the unit. I have found the Expansys cradle provides mode support to the phone when it is seated, meaning you feel more comfortable using it when it is in the cradle.

While it does have its problems I am overall please with the Expansys cradle.

Upgrade to the memory card:

Not a lot to say about this one really. I have swapped out the included 512mb memory stick with a 2gb model. I got myself the SanDisk 2GB Memory Stick Micro which is currently doing the job fine!

Swap the included wireless headset:

For some reason I can't seem to ge ton with the included wired headset. I have swapped this with the wired headset from the SE W880i which, for whatever reason, seems to suit me better.

For everyday usage I am still using my old Bluetooth wireless headset from my Motorola (yes, I need a new one). This biggest problem with this is its poor battery life!

OK, thats the lot for now, next up is probably some form of Bluetooth GPS peripheral and a proper case.

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Google Docs uploader

A great tool for Mac Google Doc users:

Lifehacker writeup
Google Docs Uploader
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