HOWTO: Install Pidgin on Debian Etch

[WAJeff]

Hey guys. Im really enjoying my Debian install. Once thing that doesnt come installed with it is Pidgin, which is my prefered IM. I've written up a quick guide for those who wanna use Debian Etch (version 4) and run Pidgin

We first need these packages. Note you NEED to have a sudo terminal open to this

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jeff@debian:~$ su
Password:
debian:/home/jeff# apt-get install gettext libglib2.0-dev libgtk2.0-dev libxml2-dev

Then we need to get and build the PerlXML package

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apt-get install libxml-perl

Then the package for SSL support

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apt-get install libgnutls-dev

Once the packages are all downloaded and compiled, download Pidgin**

Extract, compile and install with the following commands

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tar jxvf pidgin-2.3.1.tar.bz2
cd pidgin-2.3.1
./configure --enable-gnutls=yes
make
make install

NB You NEED to have the option to enable SSL (the gnutls package) Dont forget this part, otherwise you either wont be able to login or you will be kicked from the network
Pidgin is now ready to use. You can access it by going to Applications>Internet>Pidgin Internet Messenger

**I have been able to get the latest version of Pidgin to work under Etch, for now - 2.3.1 has worked for me. Hope this guide helps a bit, and saves Googling time

[Fish_man]

GB epic dude how can we live without Pidgin, hook me up with the distro !!1 so i can test !!