My Technophilic Musings

My Sites: My Blog | My Tech Blog | Follow me on Twitter
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You must have heard of (or used) the auto-reply features given by today’s instant messengers that are sent to the ones messaging you while you are not at your desk. But those are one-size-fits-all kind of messages. So, I wrote this simple tool a few months ago to turn Pidgin, everyone’s favourite multi-client Instant Messenger (works with gtalk, msn, yahoo, aim etc), into a customized answering machine (and more) when you are away from your computer. Basically it allows you to divide up your contact list into groups based on email IDs and execute actions based on when someone from a particular group messages you while you are away. e.g. For general friends, you can keep a message like “Will talk to you later when I come back”, or if someone from office IMs you, it’ll send them your phone number “Call me at XXXXXX if urgent”. And if you boss is the one pinging you, you could direct the message towards your twitter account so that you get it as an SMS on your phone immediately.
Wanna read more about it? Then, hit the link: Splert: Shantz Pidgin Away Alerts

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Quote of the day: “Human beings may not be perfect, but a computer program with language synthesis is hardly the answer to the world’s problems.” - JC Denton

written by Shantanu Goel \\ tags: Answering Machine, d-bus, IM, linux, pidgin, shantz pidgin away alerts, splert, Twitter

My Sites: My Blog | My Tech Blog | Follow me on Twitter
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This is a simple tool I wrote a few months ago to turn Pidgin, everyone’s favourite multi-client Instant Messenger (works with gtalk, msn, yahoo, aim etc), into a customized answering machine (and more) when you are away from your computer. Basically it allows you to divide up your contact list into groups based on email IDs and execute actions based on when someone from a particular group messages you while you are away. e.g. For general friends, you can keep a message like “Will talk to you later when I come back”, or if someone from office IMs you, it’ll send them your phone number “Call me at XXXXXX if urgent”. And if you boss is the one pinging you, you could direct the message towards your twitter account so that you get it as an SMS on your phone immediately.

Time is short, so here are the details:

Features:

• Group based rule execution, each group can contain any number of email IDs
• Custom replies for each group.
• Integrates with twitter and will forward the message to your twitter account (or send a direct message to some other account) if you so desire. (Temporarily disabled since Twitter has blocked their IM bot)
• Runs as a separate process over d-bus instead of running as a pidgin plugin, so much lesser chances of crashing.

Prerequisites:

• Pidgin > 2.4.1
• 64 bit Linux system. Haven’t got the time yet to port it for 32 bit systems yet. But if there are a few people who would like a port, will do that as well.

Usage:

1. Unzip the attached package anywhere.
2. Modify the “config.txt” file according to your needs.
3. Run splert. (or run splert -h for checking out the available options though you wouldn’t need them most of the times)

Config File:

Config file fields and formats are explained fully in the sample config file included in the attached file. However, here is a very basic sample configuration:

[Office]
user = bar@bar.com; abc@abc.com
message = “Please Call me at 9876543210″
twitter = 0

[Friends]
user = foo@foo.com
message = “Not Here. Will talk to you later”

[VIP]
user = boss@boss.com
message = “Got your message. Will Contact you asap”
twitter = 1
twitterto = my2ndtwitteracct

Please let me know if you like it or found some issues with it. Also, let me know if you would like me to add any features to it.

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written by Shantanu Goel \\ tags: Answering Machine, d-bus, IM, linux, pidgin, shantz pidgin away alerts, splert, Twitter

My Sites: My Blog | My Tech Blog | Follow me on Twitter
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It’s amazing, isn’t it? Even a sneeze at google makes the headlines. Well, it’s not the sneeze today but the new favicon I just got. So, are you also seeing the all new, re-designed, artisticly polished “g” as the new favicon?

In other news, my Twitter-Webcam integration post has bypassed my earlier lifehacked post about Remote File Access Through E-mail by more than a few thousands, even though the time difference between the two posts is more than 3 months. Thanks Stumble Upon

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Quote of the day: “If there are any questions, direct them to that brick wall over there.” — Network President

written by Shantanu Goel \\ tags: e-mail, favicon, google, lifehacker, news, remote access, stumble upon, Twitter, webcam

My Sites: My Blog | My Tech Blog | Follow me on Twitter
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Worried about someone breaking into your house in your absence? Or just need to keep a tab on who enters your room while you are away? Well, all you need is a webcam, a linux PC/laptop and a twitter account. And you are set for real time updates through twitter about all that goes on at your abode behind your back (can even receive a text message/sms on your phone). Keep reading for the very simple setup you need.

1.) Download and install "motion" on your computer. For ubuntu users, this is as simple as running

2.) Setup your motion configuration file. (Usually at /etc/motion/motion.conf). There are quite a lot of options available. You might want to tweak it a lot according to ur needs later on but the most important ones that you can begin with are (leave the rest untouched for now):

2a.) Add/edit the option "target_dir" to point to the directory where you want to save the images of the event when motion is detected.

2b.) Add/edit the option "locate" and set it to "on" so that you get a nice square box around the detected moving object/person.

2c.) Add/edit the option "webcam_port" and set it to, say, "8000". Motion includes a mini http server so now, you can use it to view the actual images of the happening when you get the update and check for false alarms.

3.) Now, comes the most important part, about getting the update. Continue reading »

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Quote of the day: "Human beings may not be perfect, but a computer program with language synthesis is hardly the answer to the world's problems." - JC Denton

written by Shantanu Goel \\ tags: fun, linux, motion, motion detection, real time updates, sms, thieves, Twitter, ubuntu, webcam

My Sites: My Blog | My Tech Blog | Follow me on Twitter
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• If you are twittering kinds, doesn’t matter online or offline
• If you blog or are interested in all things blog and blogging
• If you live in Delhi, have lived there, have been there, or just connect with Delhi somehow else
• If you want to meet up with your fellow twitterers and bloggers

Then you’ve got to be a part of the your very own City of The People With Hearts, Delhi. How, you ask? It’s as simple as pointing your mice and keyboards towards Delhi Tweetup to get the latest on every scoop about blogging, twittering and blogging and twittering in Delhi (and outside as well).

And if you want to be a little bit more involved, you can also join the Delhi Bloggers’ Yahoo Group.

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Quote of the day: Grandpa: My Homer is not a communist. He may be a liar, a pig, an idiot, a communist, but he is not a porn star.

written by Shantanu Goel \\ tags: blog, Blogging, Delhi, Delhi Bloggers Yahoo Group, Delhi Tweetup, New Delhi, Twitter