Finally, A Reason To Use Google Talk
Google's announcement that they are integrating Gmail and Google Talk finally gave me a reason to get behind GTalk.
I initially took a pass on installing Google Talk when they first announced it. I already use AIM, Y! and MSN. Why in the world would I want to use a fourth?
Today they announced that they are adding some key features that made me rethink that decision.
Having chat sessions automatically archived in Gmail is nice. Being able to chat with someone directly from the GMail interface is even better. That is the integration that has been missing from instant messaging and email clients.
It is also nice to see Google starting to do more integration between their products. First with Local Search and Maps. And now with Gmail and Google Talk. Keep it up!
2 comments so far
> "I already use AIM, Y! and MSN. Why in the world would I want to use a fourth?"
... because using xmpp, while connected to a jabber server providing transports to Yahoo!, Msn, Aim/ICQ, Jabber (Thus GTalk), Irc, you could use your four accounts using only a single application :)
Well, that would be nice if it worked out of the box. Unless I've missed something, the only way to connect Talk to AIM, Y! or MSN is to use a Jabber client like Psi as documented here:
http://www.bigblueball.com/forums/google-talk-news/33739-connect-google-talk-aim-msn-yahoo.html
I tried it out and it is pretty tedious to setup. I'll stick with Gaim as my IM manager until Google makes it a little easier.