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Hi,
im using pidgin-portable on my Windows desktop machine.
Now i've installed ubuntu on my notebook and also want to use pidgin on this pc.
Is it possible to integrate pidgin-linux into the directory of pidgin-windows?
When I mount my mobile haddrive to the Linux-machine I want to start the Linux-pidgin and mounting the harddrive to the windows machine I want to start the windows-pidgin.
On both OS I want to use the same contactlist and so on.
Regards
Martin
I can't speak from experience, but AFAIK the file structure is the same, so you should be able to set the linux pidgin as portable and point it to your .purple folder for all of your prefs.
I think Pidgin comes preinstalled with Ubuntu. Maybe it's jsut a matter of importing the contact list.
But you raise an interensting point. I also would like a multi OS bootable PortableApps whith some apps that are available on both platforms to work on each and sharing the settings/data.
Yes pidgin comes preinstalled with ubuntu but I will not import my contact list to the preinstalled pidgin. If I import my contacts I'll have to export an import them when I want to use pidgin on my windows pc.
I think there will be no problem to build a multi-os PortableApp. Using Firefox or Thunderbird the launcher only calls the executable with some special command line parameters (this can also be done by a shell-script). Does Pidgin also have such command line parameters? Anyone who knows about that?
Firefox and Thunderbird are Multi-OS Portable Apps??? That's the newest I've ever heard,... All the files in their Folders are Windows binaries - there are no additional Linux binaries - .exe .dll is a windows only binary Format.
The point is that you can run them on a linux system under Wine, which is a windows compatible runtime enviroment, that integrates in the Linux Enviroment. The most Linux-Distributions are Preconfigured, that they run Windows Executables (.exe) automatically in Wine when you click on them - that's the point with the PAF-Luncher for portable Apps, too.
You can try to run your Pidgin Portable in Wine too - if this fails, this could be happen for some reasons:
the Windows App you try to run is not fully Wine compatible - even if it is a natural linux App that only was ported to Win32 like Pidgin was. there could be more then one issue for the non wine compatibillity: some Windows functions in the Wine binaries are missing, cause all the windows system binaries, that wine uses are no original Windows binaries (not due to licence terms) they are often rebuild by the wine authors, to act as the original windows binaries some binaries are even from the ReactOS project that aims to build a OpenSource OS, that is fully Windows compatible.
Or what is possible too, some Windows runtimes are missing by wine to run the Win32 App. You can try to add such files in the wine dir of your Linux installation but this could be much work until the prefered app in wine is running, and it is always a little bit risky cause you could kill your whole wine, so you should try such things only if you have a backup of the wine dir, and if you are experienced enough.
Annother solution for your problem is to reconfigure the pidgin on the Linux-PC, that it should use the .purple Dir on you USB HDD in the Data folder of the portable pidgin, instead of the purple folder in your home-dir. There shoulb be various possibilities under Linux to do something like this, maybe in the config files of Pidgin or a Hardlink in your Homedir, that is called .purple and points to the Portable .purple Dir.
Annother sollution (which i would prefer) create a new user - if you allowed to do so - and tell Linux to create the Homedir of this account on your USB-HDD (maybe in the Folder "PortableHome") you can even copy all (Config-) Files and Folders from your actual Homedir to to the new Homedir. So yo maybe can work at home and at work with your personal Homedir.
if you have on both PCs the same distribution and nearly the same Software-Version it should work without problems. Even with annother distribution, there shold be no problem, but maybe some work until all is working on both pcs.
In a network with a NIS-Server it works to, that you can work on all PCs with your homedir, even if there is another distro on the actual PC, so why shouldn't it work from a USB-HDD too?
It was my first idea, i had in mind when i read your thread - you have enough Space on your HDD the only thing you need is the root-right or the permission and help of the person who has this rights. Good luck, if you try it.
by "multi OS Apps" he meant that there are versions for Windows and Linux.
okay, now i've got it,... (sorry, i've understand his statement with the launcher and firefox in an other way - now it's clear to me,...:( )
sure, it could be possible to write a launcher for a linux app, but i think it makes no sense to take the normal launcher and tell it to launch a linux binary - if you do so, you have to start the PA-Launcher in wine to start a Linux binary, to use a shellscript like he suggested or something would be much better - i don't think it is possible to compile NSIS that it runs on pure Linux, cause it seems to be for Windows only,...
but in Linux you can often get in trouble with the dependencies, so you must be sure, taht you have the important ones on the stick or hdd too and that the app can use them, when ever they are needed, and this could be difficult i think, especially without rootrights.
but if the needed files are present on the system it could be possible cause with some packages it is possible to install the programm in the homedir, so why should it not be possibel, to install them in the portable app Dir and use them from there?
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