Empathy is a capable messaging application and its slick Unity integration has almost tempted me into using it.

But I’m a Pidgin fan.

If you are too then don’t fret: Launchpad user jf has patched up Pidgin to take advantage of the unread message badge on Unity’s Launcher. If the blue-icon in the panel doesn’t get your attention then this most certainly will!

Available for Ubuntu 11.04 users only, the plugin can be installed via the developers PPA. Usual caveats apply about adding/installing third-party PPAs.

Add ‘ppa:jfi/pidgin’ to your Software Sources via the Ubuntu Software Centre or open a terminal and enter: –

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:jfi/pidgin

Remember to run an update to refresh your package list then install ‘Pidgin-libnotify’.

Nico via tipform