Kopete

Infobox Software
name = Kopete



caption = Kopete 0.12.7
collapsible = yes
developer = Kopete developers
operating_system = Unix-like/Windows
genre = Instant messaging client
license = GNU General Public License
website = http://kopete.kde.org

Kopete is a multi-protocol, free software instant messaging client. Although it can run in numerous environments, it was designed for and integrates with the KDE desktop environment. According to [http://kopete.kde.org/faq.php the Kopete FAQ] , the name Kopete comes from the Chilean word Copete, a word to [http://dot.kde.org/1061160109/1061223432/1061331243/ refer to alcoholic drinks] .

Protocols

Kopete allows users to connect to the following protocols:
* .NET Messenger Service
* AOL Instant Messenger
* Gadu-Gadu
* ICQ
* Internet Relay Chat - [http://websvn.kde.org/trunk/KDE/kdenetwork/kopete/protocols/CMakeLists.txt?revision=770080&view=markup not supported in KDE 4.0] and not announced for KDE 4.1, although [http://websvn.kde.org/trunk/KDE/kdenetwork/kopete/protocols/irc/|work continues] in the Subversion repository.
* Jabber (XMPP) with jingle for voice (same as Google Talk uses)
* Lotus Sametime via the [http://meanwhile.sourceforge.net/ Meanwhile] plugin
* Novell GroupWise
* QQ
* SMS
* Skype (via [http://extragear.kde.org/apps/kopete%20skype/ Kopete Skype] ) (deprecated)
* Winpopup Windows' legacy network messenger service.
* Yahoo! Messenger

Features

* Grouping messages within a window, with tabs for easy switching of conversations.
* Accounts option allows user to log on with multiple accounts.
* Ability to define/handle multiple accounts of the same transport (e.g. 3 of ICQ and 2 of Jabber) at the same time.
* Alias nicknames for contacts.
* Grouping different contacts who are really the same person as one meta contact. [http://kopete.kde.org/pics/shots/0.5/mainwindow3.png]
* Custom notifications for meta contacts. [http://kopete.kde.org/pics/shots/0.9/custom_notifications.png]
* KAddressBook and KMail integration.
* Logging conversations supported using the History plugin.
* Style chat window appearance via XSL and CSS.
* Custom emoticons supported.
* Custom notification feature pops up a notification, plays a sound, or sends contact a message based on contact's status changes.
* MSN and Yahoo! messenger webcam support.
* Spell checking on-the-fly in chats.

Plugins

By default, Kopete supports the following plugins. [http://docs.kde.org/development/en/kdenetwork/kopete/plugins.html]
* Auto Replace
* Connection Status
* Contact Notes
* Cryptography
* Highlight
* History
* KopeteTeX
* Motion Auto-Away
* Now Listening
* Statistics
* Text Effect
* Translator
* Web Presence

With a third party plugins Kopete supports:
* Off-the-Record Messaging enabling for encrypted conversations with deniable authentication and perfect forward secrecy. [ [http://kde-apps.org/content/show.php?content=55002 Kopete OTR Plugin KDE-Apps.org ] ]
* Antispam by asking simple question to unknown contacts. [ [http://kopeteantispam.sourceforge.net/en/index.html Kopete Antispam Plugin] ]

Roadmap

Kopete developers hope to make several improvements, but these goals are subject to change. [ [http://techbase.kde.org/index.php?title=Projects/Kopete/Roadmap Projects/Kopete/Roadmap - KDE TechBase ] ]

KDE 4.1

For the release of KDE 4.1 Kopete will have many improvements

*Strigi integration: Kopete will take advantage of Strigi for history search
*Kross integration: Kross will enable developers to write plugins in scripting languages supported by Kross
*Improved interface: Improvements to the contact window and general UI, with respecting the KDE Human Interface Guidelines more

KDE 4.2

* Guest mode: Allows other users to login to other accounts without bloating the user settings, described as a sandbox mode
* Full integration of Telepathy/Decibel: This will have two goals, one is to make the protocols already in Kopete available as telepathy Connection managers. The other is to separate the protocols and the application (similar to what Pidgin has done)

Project history

On December 26, 2001 Duncan Mac-Vicar Prett started coding a KDE ICQ clone after the ICQ protocol changed, causing Licq to be unable to login on the network.After a few weeks learning the KDE API, Licq was updated. Duncan designed a basic plugin API based on Noatun and refocused Kopete as a plugin based multiprotocol client.
* Nick Betcher joins Duncan. Nick codes an AIM plugin based on the Kit AIM engine, while the ICQ plugin was based on the KxICQ engine, called KxEngine. Duncan continues working on the core library and a basic .NET Messenger Service plugin, based on KMerlin protocol code.On April 5, 2002 Kopete 0.3 was released with new features like an event notifier, an IRC plugin from Nick Betcher, Emoticons and history support.
* Various hackers join the team, including Martijn Klingens, who will be responsible for leading a deep Kopete restructure to make maintenance easier.On June 1, 2002 Kopete 0.4 came with a new Jabber plugin by Daniel Stone. Also big refactorings were introduced thanks to Martijn Klingens and Ryan Cumming.At the time of Kopete's 0.5 release (September 30, 2002), Olivier Goffart joins the team, and becomes responsible, along with Martijn Klingens for making the .NET Messenger Service plugin full featured. The new Metacontact concept is introduced. The ICQ plugin backend is now based on the SIM ICQ client.Kopete 0.6 from February 9, 2003 introduced a big bunch of miscellaneous plugins.After a big release cycle Kopete 0.7 is released on August 8, 2003, with many new features like multi-account support for plugins. ICQ Plugin changes the backend again to a custom engine coded by Tom Linksy with help from Stefan Gehn, which is now shared with the AIM plugin. Jason Keirstead rewrote the IRC plugin to act as a normal Instant Messaging protocol, while preserving IRC features. Matt Rogers makes the original Yahoo! plugin written by Duncan Mac-Vicar Prett ready for release.On August 31, 2003 Kopete CVS HEAD was moved to the kdenetwork package.Kopete 0.7.2 from September 9, 2003 brought support for the new MSNp9 protocol.As of version 0.7.3 (October 8, 2003) Kopete supports the changes to the Yahoo! protocol.With release 0.7.4 from November 11, 2003 there have been some fixes to the .NET Messenger Service protocol.KDE 3.4 came with Kopete 0.10.0 from March 16, 2005, in KDE 3.4.3 we had Kopete 0.10.4 from October 13, 2005, for KDE 3.5 it was Kopete 0.11 from November 29, 2005 and KDE 3.5.6 had Kopete 0.12.4 from January 23, 2007 included. The most recent release is Kopete 0.50.1 from February 6, 2008.

See also

* List of Jabber client software
* Comparison of instant messaging clients
* Comparison of instant messaging protocols
* Comparison of IRC clients

References

External links

* [http://kopete.kde.org/ Kopete website]
* [http://wiki.kde.org/tiki-index.php?page=Google%20Talk%20support Instructions on making Google Talk work with Kopete]