Ubuntu: Intrepid Ibex - A quick look at Empathy

Following the call to test empathy, I thought I'd take a look. Here are some immediate thoughts:

1. The icons can be improved. Not sure what the red triangle means. I think I know what the green circle means.
2. To get irc working, you need to install telepathy-idle. Then add a server. Then join a room from the Room menu option. The process could probably be a bit more streamlined. Otherwise, it was relatively easy to work out what to do.
3. There is an option to manage favourites, but I couldn't work out what that was.
4. irc chats are nicely presented, but the tabs only say "Conversation". So, you can't tell what is in a tab, except by visiting each one. [edit: You can find out about the channel in the tab via mouse-over.]
   
5. I wonder if it will remember the irc channels I have joined after a restart. Maybe that's what the favourites is about?

At first glance, it seems to be a reasonable replacement for pidgin, but I need a bit more convincing that it is better than irssi for IRC.

A clear advantage is that it is very extensible and can support more than just chat and IRC.



Technorati Tags: ubuntu, intrepid, empathy