::talkGoogle is listening on port 5222::

August 23, 2005 6:32 AM

Google's big announcement due on Wednesday.Google is due to make an announcement on Wednesday of a new service focusing on presence and communication. The word on the internets is that it will be a chat and IM client. Google already has a chat client in the picture sharing app, Hello, which is available in both standalone install and as part of Picasa. Possible screenshot of the app is here, with additional coverage at BigBlueBall and Neowin. The prevalent consensus seems to be that it will be (or be based on ) Jabber, (PDF) with the core innovation being the use of XMPP.
posted by rzklkng (122 comments total)

Although Google Blogscoped believes it is Google's Universal Translator that's coming (via the comments at digg.)
posted by rzklkng at 6:41 AM on August 23, 2005

Is this the Google Desktop thing? (Or am I woefully out of touch?)
posted by biffa at 6:46 AM on August 23, 2005

I'm reasonably sure that screenshot isn't of a real application since it wastes screen space like crazy compared to pretty much every other IM app I've used while introducing some questionable UI features. The fact that the buttons (Map, Search) correspond directly to Google services is convenient.

The real question is this: what would Google be able to provide that other services currently aren't?
posted by mikeh at 6:47 AM on August 23, 2005

As a user of Google, GMail, Google Desktop, Google Earth, Froogle, Google News, etc., etc., etc. I for one welcome Google Next(r), or whatever we're calling it tomorrow.
posted by sdrawkcab at 7:00 AM on August 23, 2005

The Universal Translator is the first Google rumor that's ever made me actually exclaim, "Holy shit." Could it possibly be for real?
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:07 AM on August 23, 2005

I think there as smart as companies come. On a par with Apple.
posted by ParisParamus at 7:11 AM on August 23, 2005

I agree with mikeh.

I'm not sure what new features Google will be able to offer, but I'm also not sure that they need any The features between AOL, Yahoo and MSN Instant Messenger are minor at best. If anyone has the brand recognition to break into the IM business, it's Google. They've already shown that they can be successful doing the same thing as everyone else, but better (search, maps, etc.).
posted by danb at 7:11 AM on August 23, 2005

Gimme my Google OS!!!
posted by Hugh2d2 at 7:12 AM on August 23, 2005

As long as we're picking sides, I'm on Faint of Butt's side. A better translator would revolutionize the world, and it's totally possible with today's technology and Google's dataset. GIM? I'm not sure, but on the other hand I'd rather not be on-the-record saying something stupid. You know, like these folks.
posted by Plutor at 7:23 AM on August 23, 2005

Rumor has it that Google is getting ready to deploy a nationwide WiFi network. They just sold off $4 Billion in stock last week, doubling the cash they have in the bank.

With Wimax technology hitting the market in the next 9 months or so the cost of blanketing the US with it won't be as expensive as regular 802.11G. (Read about Japan's Tokyo Wimax plans here

My roommate is a big Apple evangelist and he's told me that they're doing something big with them. Whatever it is I cant wait to see.
posted by daHIFI at 7:24 AM on August 23, 2005

I'm thinking Space Elevator.
posted by The Jesse Helms at 7:25 AM on August 23, 2005

I'm pretty sure they haven't sold the $4B in stock yet, just announced that they will in the future.
posted by Mid at 7:27 AM on August 23, 2005

I think there as smart as companies come.

...
posted by glenwood at 7:28 AM on August 23, 2005

I'm thinking Space Elevator.

Or maybe it will finally be those rocket cars everyone is always bitching about?
posted by Meatbomb at 7:33 AM on August 23, 2005

Google. We know .... everything.
posted by de void at 7:41 AM on August 23, 2005

mikeh, what they can offer is a lightweight, clean client that allows you to talk to your friends regardless of the service they use. Of course, we all already know about gaim and Jabber, but the average Windows user doesn't.

I can speak from personal experience that even those that have it shown to them for some reason are not fans. A lot of it seems to stem from the fact that Windows is absolutely atrocious at window management, and you can't leave conversations open in gaim without having 1 window open (with tabs, which flummoxes them) or multiple windows open. People like their taskbars clean. The rest I'm not sure of... just the shiny baubles it's missing I guess, and Google's previous apps seem to all have a nice look to them.

Google's brand recognition, plus the functionality that has been obvious and available to the elites for years now, is probably enough to spur massive adoption.

Now, as far as actual unique features of a potential Google client: keep in mind that Jabber clients speak the Jabber protocol to a Jabber server, which then talks to all the respective IM hosts. This means that Google will have access to everyone's conversations, automatically. Those of you that disliked gmail will be screaming about this, I imagine. This comes with all the requisite side effects, such as being able to offer text ads (or even IM ads?) relevant to your conversation, and searching your chat logs a la gmail/Google Desktop (although they might just let you save your logs as HTML locally and suggest you use Google Desktop to searh them). I wouldn't be surprised to see very tight integration between the "Map" and "Search" buttons and your conversation, or even auto-linking anything that looks like an address, a phone number, a searchable phrase, etc.

I see several possible downfalls of this software. The first is that IM services, AOL in particular, don't like competing services bridging their users, nor do they like interoperability. Keep in mind the number of times they kept booting MSN. They gaim folks claim that AOL doesn't care about third party clients, just competing services, but this is a competing service on a massive scale.

The second is that many people have several official IM clients set to start up and log in automatically. In that scenario, they are free to install Google IM but it won't do much good as the clients will keep warring. Without Google IM helpfully offering to uninstall your branded clients (which would be a neat feature, but incredibly litigious) users will have no clue how to use that new chat thing, and will just go back to using "the real program".
posted by vsync at 7:44 AM on August 23, 2005

Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.
posted by keswick at 7:47 AM on August 23, 2005

I think Google will formally acknowledge that she is God.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 7:48 AM on August 23, 2005

I wonder how long before Google replaces Microsoft as the programming hipster's public enemy number one.
posted by three blind mice at 7:57 AM on August 23, 2005

I've always hoped that google would realise an IM client. MSN and AIM licks mah balls. A truly open standard would allow people to use whatever client they wanted. I always thought google could bring this to fruition, especialy with gmail up and running (so people don't need to sign up).

An automatic gmail notification would also be nice.

I guess we'll have to see if google does go with an open protocol or not.
posted by delmoi at 8:03 AM on August 23, 2005

CNN is confirming that the announcement is an IM service, called Google Talk.
posted by danb at 8:11 AM on August 23, 2005

it will be (or be based on) Jabber, with the core innovation being the use of XMPP.

Ahem. Jabber and XMPP are more or less exactly the same thing.
posted by cillit bang at 8:22 AM on August 23, 2005

Ah yes, the ?insightful? ?reporting? of Om Malik. Oh how these simple bloggers have the big media machines duped into thinking they're important!
posted by cavalier at 8:25 AM on August 23, 2005

On the face of it this is fantastic news, if they do go with Jabber. The fact that after all these years, most IM users are still on walled-garden systems like AIM is crippling the technology. Imagine if you could only email people whose address was in the same domain as yours. Imagine if you couldn't phone anyone who didn't have the same phone company as you. That's roughly how it works right now. (Yes, I'll address Trillian in a moment.)

Whereas anyone who wants to can run a Jabber server, and communicate with anyone else connected to any other Jabber server. A Jabber server can also provide a gateway to AIM, MSN, YIM, etc, but you still have to have an account on those services so it isn't that much different than integrating them on the desktop with Trillian -- it's not true interoperability since you can't, say, use a YIM account to talk to an AIM user. But if Google's servers are pure, un-fucked-with Jabber, then Google users will be able to communicate with Jabber users on other servers, and vice-versa.

So if the real story here is not "Google announces new IM service" but "Google adopts Jabber for IM service", this stands to be a fairly transformative event for IM.
posted by George_Spiggott at 8:29 AM on August 23, 2005

If it's voice-enabled IM, watch the telecom stocks, even the wireless phone stocks get hit. But actually, I don't think voice IM is that innovative or compelling.
posted by ParisParamus at 8:30 AM on August 23, 2005

I love me some google and all, but what IM features can they possibly offer that Trillian isn't already providing?
posted by The Bellman at 8:31 AM on August 23, 2005

Ok, I'm being stupid here now, but since I'm using Adium on OS X which can connect to Jabber and all the other networks, what would Google Talk add for me? What's the fuss about if Jabber already exists? Is it just having a separate client application?
posted by keijo at 8:33 AM on August 23, 2005

The Bellman: "I love me some google and all, but what IM features can they possibly offer that Trillian isn't already providing?"

Less UI cruft, to start.

danb: "CNN is confirming that the announcement is an IM service, called Google Talk."

CNN is only confirming that the LA Times published the rumor today. They have no additional information of their own.
posted by Plutor at 8:39 AM on August 23, 2005

Ok, I'm being stupid here now, but since I'm using Adium on OS X which can connect to Jabber and all the other networks, what would Google Talk add for me? What's the fuss about if Jabber already exists?

Honestly it wouldn't have to add much to you. The average IM user doesn't know about these programs. Google, as has been pointed out already, would be a big enough name to grab people using programs that use pop-up browsers, enormous ads, and useless announcements that annoy most users. To put it simply, my 16 year old sister would know about use this service and appreciate it enough to tell her friends.
posted by aburd at 8:41 AM on August 23, 2005

Why exactly is their a post today on this? What is there to talk about beyond rumor-mongering? Would it not have made more sense to just wait until tomorrow to make the post about the new google app?
posted by dios at 8:41 AM on August 23, 2005

Fair enough, Plutor. That doesn't change much, though, does it?
posted by danb at 8:41 AM on August 23, 2005

talk.google.com
smock.google.com
Compare.

A'course, wifi.google.com resolves (but doesn't redirect), also, as someone (forget who) pointed out in an earlier thread. But for all I know, they're just using these to track the relative amount of buzz of each rumor or something.
posted by whatnotever at 8:42 AM on August 23, 2005

Google is one of those companies you really really want to love and trust. I wish I could trust them as much as they would like me to.

Same as with Apple. I love their products and innovative approach to just about everything they do but am starting to loathe their policy of "locking you in". My fear is as soon as Google starts to gain in popularity this is exactly what they will do. A totally unfounded and irrational fear perhaps. We'll see.
posted by twistedonion at 8:49 AM on August 23, 2005

bukkake.google.com still not resolving either.

I thought it might be something a little more exciting than an IM client, but I'm sure they have plenty of Machiavellian plans for the near future anyway.
posted by fire&wings at 8:51 AM on August 23, 2005

Thanks aburd, I was just confused why everyone, especially here, was so hyped about it since I thought it was just using their brand to promote an IM client application which seems to be the case. But oh well, they will take over the world anyway. *enters Arthur Dent mode*
posted by keijo at 8:52 AM on August 23, 2005

If they would put real encryption into the chat system, I'd totally go for it. of course, I probably will anyway, but whatever.

Why, oh why, can't someone build an OTR plugin for Trillian? (I'm not that someone.)
posted by socratic at 9:08 AM on August 23, 2005

Google's also been rumoured to be buying up dark fiber, with many speculating that they've got some voip designs.
posted by jikel_morten at 9:09 AM on August 23, 2005

Plutor: I use a very compact skin to cut back on the cruft, but I have yet to find any client that offers so many genuinely useful features for so many different talk protocols in one package, at least on the Windoze side. Do you have a different client that you like better?
posted by The Bellman at 9:10 AM on August 23, 2005

This might just be a personal thing, but I'm kind of embarassed to tell business contacts to "contact me on AIM." For some reason I feel like Google has a little more repute in this regard.

(Also, please let me use my early-adopter gmail screenname. Please.)
posted by rafter at 9:11 AM on August 23, 2005

rafter: consider yourself fortunate not to be involved in the litigation attorney world in NYC. I've read forum e-mails in which at least one attorney asked: "What is IM"?
posted by ParisParamus at 9:14 AM on August 23, 2005

Dark fiber!

1. Buy tons of dark fiber.
2. Watch demand for fiber collapse as compression gets better and insane usage growth predictions fail to materialize.
3. Declare bankruptcy.
4. ???
5. Profit!

See XO, McLeod, Intermedia, etc. etc.
posted by Mid at 9:15 AM on August 23, 2005

Drat. I was hoping this is the Google Payments thing to compete with Paypal etc.
posted by bhance at 9:31 AM on August 23, 2005

Whatever it is, I think I'd probably like to have sex with it and/or lick it in weird places.
posted by loquacious at 9:40 AM on August 23, 2005

This might just be a personal thing, but I'm kind of embarassed to tell business contacts to "contact me on AIM"

This is another useful quality of Jabber, in that JabberIDs have the same form as email addresses. And if you get your jabber service from the same provider as your email, they can literally be the same. So yeah, ditto on grandfathering in Gmail usernames. In fact, they'd better, or confusion will reign.
posted by George_Spiggott at 9:51 AM on August 23, 2005

How is the translator thing different to the one that already exists?
posted by daveirl at 10:00 AM on August 23, 2005

Socratic, I recall seeing somewhere that it would use SSL. dios, the sleuthing and procrastinating is mental gymnastics, and it makes you smarter. It's much better than holding on to old, outmodded and formulaic tripe and dogma.

The other big deal with all of this is how it relates to "presence".
posted by rzklkng at 10:11 AM on August 23, 2005

The one that already exists is Systran, which is the mainstream, very mediocre translation software that Babelfish is also based off.

Note that translate.google.com redirects to Google main currently.
posted by abcde at 10:13 AM on August 23, 2005

Is it significant that the new version of iChat adds support for jabber servers? And that Mail.app will read my gmail? And that an email address and jabber username can be one in the same?
posted by docgonzo at 10:23 AM on August 23, 2005

This post on slashdot was interesting.
posted by maledictory at 10:47 AM on August 23, 2005

I think there as smart as companies come.

Why exactly is their a post today on this?

Dear Dios and Paris.

They're, their, and there are confusing words. But since you two post on MeFi so often, and I have to read whatever it is you deem to write on a particular day (how could I resist reading a Paris rant, if for nothing but chuckles at his myopia?) I'm hoping to clarify this for you.

They're - Contraction of they are.

Their - The possessive form of they.

There - At or in that place.

So Paris, I think they're as smart as companies come.

And Dios, Why exactly is there a post today on this?

Come on you two, I expect more.
posted by AspectRatio at 10:52 AM on August 23, 2005

Although I just noticed the title of this post, so...
posted by maledictory at 10:52 AM on August 23, 2005

I'm beginning to think it's time for me to find another search engine, and to try to distance my communications/data flow from Google. They're becoming just a little too pervasive to make me feel my private data is actually remaining private.
posted by five fresh fish at 11:05 AM on August 23, 2005

I hope Google calls it "G.I.M." if only for the fun-cool factor of being able to say "GIM me!"
posted by brownpau at 11:22 AM on August 23, 2005

I hope they announce they've accepted that clip I submitted 10 months ago using Google Video.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 11:25 AM on August 23, 2005

If you try to connect to 5223 with a SSL-aware jabber client, you do get a self-signed certificate back from the Google "Buzz Team".


Subject Details:

Organization:Google
Organizational unit:Buzz team
Locality:Mountain View
State:CA
Country:US
Common name:gmail.com

Issuer Details:

Organization:Google
Organizational unit:Buzz team
Locality:Mountain View
State:CA
Country:US
Common name:gmail.com
posted by sohcahtoa at 11:29 AM on August 23, 2005

Google did a filmed press briefing a few months ago - it was linked here somewhere (may have been with the announcement of google maps or Earth) - in which they demonstrated a translator working with (I think) an east Asian script and Arabic. The results were just about spot on -- like 5000% better than the translator cruft we have today. I seem to recall there was a 'few months' timeframe on any release but I might be wrong. I eagerly await the day when I can read any website in the world or chat to anybody in the world and not have language differences as a limiting factor.

That said, I'm always eager to see what they next have to offer. I tried to get my neice in the States to grab some shares when they listed and she is of course now somewhat rueful in retrospect. But I can't help wondering that 95+% revenue from adverts is a structurally insecure way forward. They certainly diversify with their product output and I guess the PayPal replacement will be another stream, if/when it comes, but....hm....it seems to be a potentially sensitive base that their empire expands upon.
posted by peacay at 11:45 AM on August 23, 2005

They're both attorneys, AspectRatio. Perhaps it has something to do with their chosen profession. I guess they just can't be bothered with it over there.
posted by Eekacat at 12:25 PM on August 23, 2005

Then I'd like to file a motion to dismiss both of them.
posted by AspectRatio at 12:38 PM on August 23, 2005

Motion denied.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 12:48 PM on August 23, 2005

They're buying Apple, then unleashing an unholy jihad of the faithful upon Redmond, in order to capture the spice.
posted by craniac at 1:09 PM on August 23, 2005

Teaming with Apple would be nice, since Google video and desktop were both PC only releases. But maybe it's just me. I hate IM. I wish it would go away.
posted by realcountrymusic at 1:40 PM on August 23, 2005

Their they're, AspectRatio, its ok. Your hear; their they're. Here here!
posted by The Bellman at 1:46 PM on August 23, 2005

dios: Why exactly is their a post today on this? What is there to talk about beyond rumor-mongering? Would it not have made more sense to just wait until tomorrow to make the post about the new google app?

Dude, it's Google! Fixing the urinal in the men's room is important metafilter news when it's at Google!
posted by KirkJobSluder at 2:09 PM on August 23, 2005

It all means sh*t to me if it doesn't communicate over port 80. Stupid corporate firewall. (and for those trying to help, sites like web msn are already blocked for me).
posted by furtive at 2:15 PM on August 23, 2005

Is Google making an Meta-MSN-Filter clone?

Let's take this to the white-and-minimal.
posted by tpl1212 at 3:09 PM on August 23, 2005

This just in: sexymofo's nine-year-old daughter states she will use google's IM service when released. "It will probably be great", she says.

Man...do the kids love them some google or what?
posted by sexymofo at 3:56 PM on August 23, 2005

furtive: you might be able to use something like lace
posted by blag at 4:26 PM on August 23, 2005

This guy says it is live.
posted by aburd at 4:59 PM on August 23, 2005

I'm on Google Talk right now (as mathowie@gmail)
posted by mathowie at 5:01 PM on August 23, 2005

Sweeeet. (emelenjr@gmail)
posted by emelenjr at 5:18 PM on August 23, 2005

Could someone explain how to use this with ichat? How do I even create a new accout for my gmail existence? There seems to be no menu option for "new account."
posted by ParisParamus at 5:20 PM on August 23, 2005

Works with GAIM. I couldn't get it working yet with PSI. msouthwo@gmail.
posted by sohcahtoa at 5:24 PM on August 23, 2005

Just crashed Trillian/Jabber (after connecting). Too tired to mess with it tonight.
posted by Joeforking at 5:39 PM on August 23, 2005

Check out this google search for Miranda IM.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 6:02 PM on August 23, 2005

PP: iChat > Preferences > Accounts. Click the + and select Jabber as the account type. Your GMail address is your account ID, and the server is talk.google.com.

This assumes you're using OS X Tiger and iChat 3, which includes support for Jabber.
posted by emelenjr at 6:09 PM on August 23, 2005

There are clients that do pgp/gpg over jabber as well.
posted by KirkJobSluder at 6:12 PM on August 23, 2005

Thanks!
posted by ParisParamus at 6:13 PM on August 23, 2005

The message is "could not connect." : (
posted by ParisParamus at 6:21 PM on August 23, 2005

Try your full GMail address (with the @gmail.com) as your account ID. That worked for me. I've been kicked off suddenly once already, but I'm sitting there doing nothing with nobody listed in the buddy window.
posted by emelenjr at 6:26 PM on August 23, 2005

Woohoo!

jazzdb@gmail

So, uh, do you think they're going to release their own software client with this? I can't imagine that this is the whole deal.
posted by danb at 6:33 PM on August 23, 2005

Hey emelenjr, I've added you to my buddy list, but you're just listed as offline/not authorized.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 6:35 PM on August 23, 2005

oh wait. do you leave out the ".com" from the gmail address?
posted by ParisParamus at 6:41 PM on August 23, 2005

I'm on at monju.bosatsu, but I can't seem to add anyone to my buddy list.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 6:47 PM on August 23, 2005

It doesn't work. Tried everything: no .com after email address; SSL off; port modified per one of those links. NO WORKA.
posted by ParisParamus at 6:52 PM on August 23, 2005

I'm on: [e-mail]
posted by docgonzo at 7:06 PM on August 23, 2005

Tried dialing up #1 but it says "Waiting for authorization"

(BTW, I'm using OS X 10.4 and iChat and emelenjr's instructions.)
posted by docgonzo at 7:08 PM on August 23, 2005

Neat, it works in Adium pretty well. Which is good since I'm sure Google won't have an OS X client at launch:

Jabber ID: [e-mail]
Connect server: talk.google.com
Port: 5222
Security: Use TLS Encryption checked (CRUCIAL)
posted by smackfu at 7:13 PM on August 23, 2005

Now successfully chatting with Mr. (?) Bosatsu.
posted by docgonzo at 7:13 PM on August 23, 2005

Smackfu: iChat works... they (coincidentally, I'm sure) added jabber support with 10.4
posted by docgonzo at 7:15 PM on August 23, 2005

So what's the best jabber client for windows? And will it let me log into multiple accounts?
posted by monju_bosatsu at 7:17 PM on August 23, 2005

I can't see how google can leverage adding jabber support to their accounts.
posted by docgonzo at 7:24 PM on August 23, 2005

Neato: [e-mail]

Someone upthread answered my question about encryption by referencing SSL. It's cool that it uses SLL (or TLS or whatever) to connect, but I'm more concerned about point-to-point encryption. Adium (which I'm using to connect), for example, supports OTR chat encryption across mediums (media?). So, I can use OTR via Adium, but I'd have to be talking to another OTR client to use it successfully.

Anyhoo. Rah rah, Google rules the world.
posted by socratic at 7:28 PM on August 23, 2005

Follow these instructions if you use Miranda IM.

Hint: You can make a copy the Jabber protocol DLL and rename it as Google.dll or some such if you like.
posted by Goblindegook at 7:30 PM on August 23, 2005

Smackfu: iChat works... they (coincidentally, I'm sure) added jabber support with 10.4

Ah yes, I didn't even think of iChat, since I have to use Adium to talk to people in the UK who all use MSN.
posted by smackfu at 7:32 PM on August 23, 2005

That should have been Tip, not "Hint". I'm goblindegook@..., by the way.
posted by Goblindegook at 7:33 PM on August 23, 2005

I wish I could use iChat, but untabbed windows are just soooo 2001. It's otherwise an outstanding, elegant program. (Though Adium is spiffy.)

I can't wait to see the Google Searchbot: send it a message with your search criteria, and it sends back something useful.
posted by socratic at 7:34 PM on August 23, 2005

Sweet! I'm [e-mail].
posted by kenko at 7:43 PM on August 23, 2005

kenko - I'm going to add you, just to see if this thing works. So, like, if Jabber sends notifications of some random person connecting to you, it could be me. Or it could be random person, in which case you should lock your doors.
posted by socratic at 7:48 PM on August 23, 2005

iChat works... they (coincidentally, I'm sure) added jabber support with 10.4

FWIW, the addition of support for Jabber in Tiger's iChat was largely spurred by Apple's adoption of Jabber for enterprise IM purposes in Tiger Server.
posted by Remy at 7:55 PM on August 23, 2005

So iChat only updates with the OS? I have to buy Tiger for $129 to get current functionality of bundled software I got only five months ago? Can you imagine what people would say if Microsoft did this? (And I speak as a committed M$ basher and (mild) Apple fan.)
posted by George_Spiggott at 8:05 PM on August 23, 2005

Woot, talk.google.com is LIVE. :)
posted by socratic at 8:17 PM on August 23, 2005

(er, meaning, the website has something on it, etc etc)
posted by socratic at 8:17 PM on August 23, 2005

The google talk page is live now, and I've just fired up the client.
posted by The Monkey at 8:20 PM on August 23, 2005

Another Windows-only application from Google. How lame.
posted by gyc at 8:26 PM on August 23, 2005

ditto, g.williamson@gmail
I quit using IMs a few years back, when everyone abandoned ICQ for MSN and Yahoo...maybe this will bring me back.
posted by Jimbob at 8:31 PM on August 23, 2005

gyc: I'm logged in with Adium right now. (I don't get voice chat, but I don't do much of that anyway.)
posted by socratic at 8:33 PM on August 23, 2005

yes, it is working fine! I am even "chatting" with my wife in the next room. Her first question, "Where are the nice icons?"
Sigh.
posted by vac2003 at 8:34 PM on August 23, 2005

gyc, I'd commiserate, but I'm too busy playing with my new toy.
posted by The Monkey at 8:36 PM on August 23, 2005

vac2003, I'm sure the "nice icons" will come in time. Nothing's surer, unfortunately.
posted by Jimbob at 8:43 PM on August 23, 2005

I'm kinda disappointed. Not that revolutionary, or as juicy as the rumors it spawned.
posted by vodkadin at 9:12 PM on August 23, 2005

vodkadin, the only thing I find really cool is the way the chat windows stack up, especially when you have a bunch open and 'fold' (for want of a better term) a bunch of them up (click on the username). Swapping through your current chat windows is so nice & clean. (Ctrl-Tab works great.)

I like the gmail integration as well, nice notifier, excerpt popups, and links to gmail people if they're offline. But I guess they're obvious features.

Everything else is functionally much the same as every other chat client. But with that stark Googlish look about it.
posted by The Monkey at 9:24 PM on August 23, 2005

I'm thinking, how to explain this to your less-nerdy friends and family?
Cause with google itself, it was easy "it finds more stuff."
With gmail, "1 MB".
Here, um "open standards"? "!evil"?
posted by signal at 9:34 PM on August 23, 2005

"1MB" = "1Gb", of course.
posted by signal at 9:34 PM on August 23, 2005

I'm thinking, how to explain this to your less-nerdy friends and family?

I'm pretty much a nerd, yet can't really figure out why this is any cooler than AIM/iChat/Yahoo/MSN/etc.
posted by gyc at 9:37 PM on August 23, 2005

The main selling point currently appears to be high quality audio for voice chatting, and typical Google interface elegance. Apparently AOL is considering interoperability with Jabber, so before too long, that should be another cool feature (admins of small jabber servers have been able to setup hacked aol interoperability in the past, but there's no way aol will allow that from google without a formal decision).
posted by gsteff at 9:41 PM on August 23, 2005

Also: when are they gonna stop pussyfooting around and release GoogleOS 0.1, already?
posted by signal at 9:41 PM on August 23, 2005

[e-mail]
posted by gsteff at 9:41 PM on August 23, 2005

I'm disappointed because it at the moment itdoes not appear to communicate with other jabber servers -- at least, i can't communicate with my google account from a jabber account on another server. I very much hope that this is a beta-only situation but I'm afraid this might be just another AIM/YIM/MSN -style walled garden. Yay.
posted by George_Spiggott at 9:45 PM on August 23, 2005

Sorry, perhaps I missed it, can anyone explain how to connect with Gaim? Nothing seems to be working for me...
posted by loquax at 9:45 PM on August 23, 2005

Whoops, never mind, found it in the /. thread.
posted by loquax at 10:00 PM on August 23, 2005

Aspect, thanks for being so petty and correcting a typo with such bile. It's so nice of you to be so petty when someone mixes up a homonym---it's probably because they are too stupid to know the difference instead of it being, you know, a mistake that you should ignore. The truth is that I am a very poor typer. I dictate everything I do for a secretary to transcribe, so I vocalize my thoughts through my mouth. When I post here, it is often done quickly. My mouth says what to type, and my fingers type it. (Am I the only one who types this way?) When I post quickly, my fingers "hear" words wrong, every once in a while---especially homonyms. I know I need to do more proof-reading---I would catch all my mistakes then---but I sometimes don't have time.

Maybe you can understand all of this instead of being a prick about a typo.
posted by dios at 9:01 AM on August 24, 2005

Neat. If you check the about section, it reads "play 23 21 13 16 21 19 . 7 1 13 5" which, alphabetically, spells out wumpus.game. If you add wumpus.game@ gmail, you get to play this game.

Not as though it's all that useful, but breaks the monotony of the day nicely and made me feel smart for figuring it out myself.
posted by dflemingdotorg at 10:18 AM on August 24, 2005