Google Talk

A round-up of some comments on Google's new chat/VoIP/IM thing:

John Batelle is shocked, shocked, that Google claims it doesn't know how other IM network will react to its proposals for interoperability:

Oh really? I mean, really!!!?

This issue has been a hot potato for, what, five years? And Google is claiming to not know what happens when you poke a stick into a beehive? Please!

Tim Jarrett is pleased to see that the underlying technology is the open-source Jabber:

With an open API and an open source client, it always surprised me that more people haven't adopted Jabber as a messaging platform of choice ...

Michael Helfrich: The Promise of Open Standards: Realized:

XMPP is now the message dial tone for the world's most important internet property.

No Mac client, but it works in iChat and Adium.

Mark Evans says Google Talk means several things, including an end to speculation that Google would buy Skype.

Stuart Henshall takes it out for a spin:

... I had 8 conversations all around the world. Some of the voice connections didn't connect immediately and felt like they failed. There was just no sound. Sometimes the sound started after the call was connected for 30 seconds or more. This is likely just a short term bug. I enjoyed the inbound ring tone. Distinctively different from Skype. The invite process was very simple, building my list very elegant.

What's Missing?
From a Skype users point of view: Almost everything. ...

TechCrunch also kicks the tires:

Google Talk works and it looks and sounds cool. It’s now the 15th IM client on my desktop - MSN, metro, Yahoo, Skype, Gizmo, AIM, ...

TechDirt is not impressed:

...Google Talk replicates what is already out there, and not very well. Yes, Google Talk supports voice, but there's nothing really new or exciting about it. Hell, Google Talk doesn't even have smileys. ...

Mat: Most interesting will be how Google assimilates the IM offering:

Will they offer central indexing of chats or will it all be through the Google Desktop Toolbar? (they say: "Google does not collect the content of instant message chats or voice conversations") Will they open source the Google Talk client so there can be Mac and Linux ports? (remember the promise to "fully document this protocol", which is a start but not the same as open sourcing) Will they offer IM as well as mail as options for alerts? ...

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