Here is the changelog for Pidgin 2.5.7:

• Yahoo Protocol 16 support, including new HTTPS login method; this should fix a number of login problems that have recently cropped up.
• Only display the AIM “Unable to Retrieve Buddy List” message once per connection.
• Blocking MSN users not on your buddy list no longer disconnects you.
• When performing operations on MSN, assume users are on the MSN/Passport network if we don’t get network ID’s for them.

If you are using Ubuntu and want to have the latest release of Pidgin running on your computer follow the next steps:

1. Open a Terminal window (Applications > Accesories > Terminal)
2. Copy, paste and execute this:

   sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com \
   67265eb522bdd6b1c69e66ed7fb8bee0a1f196a8

3. Then this:

   echo deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/pidgin-developers/ppa/ubuntu \
   `lsb_release --short --codename` main | \
   sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pidgin-ppa.list

4. Go to System > Administration > Update Manager
5. Click on the button labeled ‘Check’; the update manager should detect a new version of Pidgin
6. Click ‘Install updates’
7. (Re)start Pidgin!

I hope this was helpfull.

To install Ultrasn0w on your iPhone 3G make sure you are running on a jailbroken 3.0 firmware. If you do not know how to do that this page might help. If everything is in order just follow these steps and you’ll be ready to talk using any cellular network you wish:

1. Open Cydia or Icy
2. Add the following repository: repo666.ultrasn0w.com (before ‘w’ there is a zero instead of  the letter ‘o’ )
3. Search for Ultrasn0w
4. Install Ultrasn0w
5. Reboot your iPhone

If all went well you should now have an unlocked iPhone!

An obvious solution is to enable desktop effects(Compiz), but you don’t really want to do that. Instead, what I found is that the ugly border dissapears when you enable reduced resources in the Gnome Configuration Editor. In order to do that follow this steps:

1. Press Alt + F2
2. Type gconf-editor and press Enter
3. In the left column navigate your way to apps > metacity > general
4. In the right column search for reduced_resources and thick the check-box beside it

As you can see, the borders are gone when minimizing windows, but a side effect of enabling the reduced_resources variable is that a wireframe is drawn when you drag windows. Fear not as this too can be solved quite easily. What you need to do is:

1. Navigate to System > Preferences > Assistive Technologies
2. Click on Enable assistive technologies

Now everything should work as expected!

Redsn0w is a console (comand prompt) multi-device jailbreaking and unlocking application that works on original iPhones, 3G iPhones and on first and second generation iPod Touch.

iPhone 3G owners who rely on Yellowsn0w for unlocking will have to wait until Ultrasn0w (the unlock tool for iPhone 3G OS 3.0) is available in Cydia. This should happen pretty soon.

In Windows, the easiest way to use Redsn0w is to drag and drop the OS 3.0 ipsw on the redsn0w.exe file. The Comand Prompt will pop up guiding youto the rest of the process. Please be advised that you should have restored your device using the same ipsw before atempting this.

Useful downloads:

• Redsn0w for Mac
• Redsn0w for Windows
• iPhone 2G firmware 3.0
• iPhone 3G firmware 3.0

Unfortunately the tool is available to Mac users only. The good news is that you can get a custom ipsw (iPhone Software File) generated by a Mac user with the Pwnage Tool and install it on your iPhone using iTunes in Windows by Shift + clicking on the restore button and selecting the appropriate ipsw file.

Like any web user would do, I quickly did a Google search and came up with a temporary solution from this page.

It seems that the guys at Yahoo are updating their servers and they are using a new authentication system. As a workaround until Pidgin is updated you can add cs101.msg.mud.yahoo.com in the Pager Server field. To get to this field, in Pidgin, click on Accounts, then on your Yahoo account, next on the Modify button and last on the Advanced tab of the window that just opened.

What is Songbird?

Using their own words “Songbird is an open-source music player that’s under active development”. Considering Mozilla is the company supporting the project, Songbird might very well become the Firefox of media players.

What the features of Songbird?

Songbird is full of features like Smart Playlists, Library Management, Multi-Language Support and Integrated Browser to name a few. I simply don’t have the time to write about all of them, but if you want to take a look at the entire list of what Songbird has to offer this page might help you.

What’s new in version 1.2?

• Automatically Organize Library Files: Songbird can now automatically organize the files that are contained in your library. Once enabled, it will consolidate your media in one location. You can customize the structure of the folder and file names based on metadata contained in every track.
• 2-way Sync with iTunes: If you’re using iTunes Music Store to purchase content, you can now automatically expose iTunes library tracks and playlists into Songbird. You can also export tracks and playlists added to Songbird back into iTunes, so that they can easily be synced to your iPhone or iPod touch.
• Last.fm Radio: Last.fm Radio supports artist, tag, and user stations, mapping station links on the Last.fm website to play internally in Songbird. It includes the Radio Directory allowing you to conveniently browse and explore the tag and artist relationships on Last.fm. Additionally, the Radio directory includes quick links for playing stations based on your Last.fm library, your Songbird library, and friends/neighbors’ libraries.
• 10-band Equalizer: Now you can tweak the frequency response of the audio playback to match your room’s acoustics or your personal preferences.

Where can I get Songbird?

At GetSongbird.com you can download the Songbird music player for Linux, Mac and Windows. Enjoy!

Amongst the great new features included are Cut, Copy and Paste, MMS support, Spotlight Search, Voice Memos and Internet Tethering. As always, in order to update your iPhone to the new OS just connect your device to the computer and update from iTunes.

For those of you who like me need to jailbreak and unlock their phones in order to use the new OS I have some more good news. The iphone dev team is going to release the PwnageTool and QuickPwn somewhere today (meaning you will be able to jailbreak your phone) and UltraSn0w (used to unlock your iPhone 3G) on Friday. I will give you more info on these tools as they arrive.

As a tribute to this true survivor (I dread to think what other abuse it’s suffered), I’ve compiled a list of the top 3 things you should never make your computer components do:

#1: Make them sing

Just so you know what I mean, here’s a few videos that depict different components playing various songs:

I know what you may be thinking and yes, this does look awesome, however you’ll notice the performers are a tad shy when trying to learn new material. Besides, I’m pretty sure they never wanted this musical career - I bet they’d much rather learn to dance!

#2: Make dominoes out of them

Yes, dominoes, an art which requires quite a bit of skill and patience to master (at least when using normal dominoes to form complex patterns), yet the following videos seem to show that anyone can do it…with anything!

Can you imagine all the time and money wasted creating those videos? Should anyone be inspired to reenact such a thing, here’s a thought: calculate the total cost of your little project and just send it to me. Now wouldn’t that be money well spent?

#3: Obliterate them

Possibly one of the cruellest, albeit most fun ways to let off some steam, by smashing the computer yourself, setting it on fire or even letting a train run it over:

If you have ever seriously considered any of these approaches, seek help…seek help fast! I can’t even begin to imagine what BSOD may have lead to this carnage, yet as comedian Chris Rock once said “I can’t say I agree…but I understand”. Also, you may consider the previously mentioned donation…it’s a sure-fire stress relief!

And there you have it, the 3 things that made the list! Hope you enjoyed the post and will now think twice about random acts of violence against technology. Otherwise, if the post hasn’t cured you, please get as creative as possible! If you manage to shock or amuse us, you may consider yourself forgiven!

Anyway, here’s the song. Remember it each time you’ve hit a bit of a snag and maybe you’ll realize you could’ve been a lot worse off than you are - for example spending 30 hours to debug some assembly. Enjoy! And by the way, Write in C!