Patrick Micka

Instead of keeping your browser pointed towards the Facebook web page, Pidgin users should take advantage of an open-source plugin which enables Facebook chat via the XMPP/Jabber protocol. Users can then chat with friends, view the online status of their friends, and set their status through the third party chat program.

To install the plugin follow these steps:

cd ~/Desktop

Download the .deb and .zip to your Desktop (one line):

wget http://pidgin-facebookchat.googlecode.com/files/pidgin-facebookchat-1.37.deb http://pidgin-facebookchat.googlecode.com/files/facebook_icons.zip

Extract the .deb file containing the plugin:

dpkg -x pidgin-facebookchat-1.37.deb ~/Desktop

You should notice a folder named usr on your desktop now. It contains a few .so files, however, you only need one for the plugin to function. Depending on what your system is running determines which of the three you need:

32-bit Linux users enter the following command to install the plugin:

sudo cp ~/Desktop/usr/lib/purple-2/libfacebook.so /usr/lib/purple-2/libfacebook.so

64-bit Linux users:

sudo cp ~/Desktop/usr/lib64/purple-2/libfacebook64.so /usr/lib64/purple-2/libfacebook64.so

Now, before starting Pidgin, you’ll need to install a few icons. Enter the following two commands to place the icons in the correct location:

cd /usr/share/pixmaps/pidgin/protocols

sudo unzip ~/Desktop/facebook_icons.zip

Fire up Pidgin and head to the Accounts window to enable your Facebook account. Enjoy.

Earlier this month Google released its web browser, Chrome. Unfortunately for Mac OS X and Linux users, the beta release is only available for Windows. Within a short period time intrepid Linux users had already gotten it up and running under Wine. Better yet, the nice folks over at CodeWeavers took it one step further and ported the browser to Mac OS X and Linux before Google could. However, it should be noted that the developers do not recommend using Chromium as your full time browser.

Also, the stock icon isn’t very big. Here’s a larger version I made up if you’re using Avant Window Navigator or another dock type program.

I’ve finally gotten somewhat settled into my new house. Here’s another doodle, also from the fridge, that was once acompanied by a somewhat passive-agressive note that read “If you eat food that isn’t yours, you are a communist.” It makes me laugh, and my milk was thereafter safe.

I can’t recall when it was that I first ran across these typographic representations of film clips. Recently though, I discovered a few more videos, non film related, that really grab me with the way the type is used to express moods and ideas. Here’s a playlist:

Bonus: Also, I don’t know if there is a video of this, but I found this via StumbleUpon a while back. Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright

As I prepare to move to my new apartment I’m trying gather all my little doodles and drawings which seem to have skattered throughout the house over the past year. I’ll try to post more as I prepare for the move.