Google Talk - the new MSN messenger...

[rico]

http://www.google.com/talk/

Anyone tried this?

Just tried it out with the boss and we're both VERY impressed. Allows you to talk over the net and its clearer than a mobile phone connection and also instant. Obviously free as well.

Only issue is you've got to have a gmail account. I've got a load of free invites, so drop me an email via my profile with your current email address and I'll send one over.

[puggit]

How can you do custom emoticons over a voice link?

[docevi1]

it'll be the new Skype not the new MSN messenger

[deva link]

The nightmare that's going on with these things is that there are so many different system - makes you realise what life would be like if, for all their faults, Microsoft's Office wasn't the dominant office suite.

[rico]

docevi1 said:

it'll be the new Skype not the new MSN messenger

True, but it runs a full text messenger system as well.

MSN's passport system is great though, allowing you to use any email account with Messenger.

It'll be interesting to see how Google Talk works out

[docevi1]

oh didn't know it did text as well.

I'm happy with Trillian running the MSN network anyway

[roadsweeper]

rico said:

docevi1 said: it'll be the new Skype not the new MSN messenger True, but it runs a full text messenger system as well. MSN's passport system is great though, allowing you to use any email account with Messenger. It'll be interesting to see how Google Talk works out

Actually, Google Talk is much more limited than Skype. Skype has SkypeOut which allows you to call normal phone numbers using VoIP for extremely low cost. It also has SkypeIn which gives you a phone number which calls through to your PC. These are both extremely valuable functions in a wired household. Such as mine!

It's also worth noting that Skype also has instant messaging and supports conference calls. It is also end-to-end encrypted and can be enhanced with plug-ins to support video conferencing. As if all that isn't enough, you can also purchase Skype phones which will allow you to take and make normal calls as well as Skype calls, which is a big cost saver. Oh, and you don't need a gmail account to use it!

So, all-in-all, I won't be rushing to Google Talk just yet. Maybe in the future if they improve it massively, but we'll see.

[Plotloss]

All of these VOIP suppliers are just positioning themselves in the market ready for the explosion in it thats coming next year.

iJam have a mobile that has WiFi connectivity so if you wander into a free WiFi area and have the Smartphone Skype client running hey presto free calls.

The mobile telco's are pooing themselves as they wont switch as many calls.

The downside of course is that its doubtful that unmetered GPRS/3G will probably never appear.

Thanks for the heads up though, I'll have a look at that as Google are, IMHO, the most exciting thing in technology at the moment.

[Munter]

Slightly O/T but:
We keep looking at this VoIP technology at work.

What we'd like is to throw away the 4 phone lines and the BPX and just run it all through the data connection and run a switchboard on the "front desk" PC and use the PC's with headsets rather than desk phones.

Anybody know if we can do that yet?

>> Edited by Munter on Wednesday 24th August 11:14

[rico]

Plotloss said:

Thanks for the heads up though, I'll have a look at that as Google are, IMHO, the most exciting thing in technology at the moment.

Yup agree there.

Bit of reading:

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9076-1747621,00.html

[Plotloss]

Munter said:

Slightly O/T but: We keep looking at this VoIP technology at work. What we'd like is to throw away the 4 phone lines and the BPX and just run it all through the data connection and run a switchboard on the "front desk" PC. Anybody know if we can do that yet?

Virtual PBX is probably a better solution...

[Bodo]

deva link said:

The nightmare that's going on with these things is that there are so many different system - makes you realise what life would be like if, for all their faults, Microsoft's Office wasn't the dominant office suite.

I agree on that one. All these messenger services are not compatible to each other, opposed to email which works cross-provider and cross-platform. What's missing is an open and non-proprietary protocol to conncet all those different message providers and protocols.

Google is the first big provider to use the only open protocol Jabber for its service, and it's only a matter of time until new and existing providers offer connections with Jabber. All providers that insist on proprietary protocols will become unremarkable as soon as Jabber is established.

[Plotloss]

Is Jabber Java based compression?

VoiceXML also looks interesting...

[Munter]

Plotloss said:

Munter said: Slightly O/T but: We keep looking at this VoIP technology at work. What we'd like is to throw away the 4 phone lines and the BPX and just run it all through the data connection and run a switchboard on the "front desk" PC. Anybody know if we can do that yet? Virtual PBX is probably a better solution...

Does that not mean we'd need a phone line for each phone in the office! Sure it'd be great for working away from the office but we're trying to reduce connections and hardware in the office.

[Plotloss]

No, your calls come in over your web connection and your phones get replaced with IP phones.

Depending on the supplier (Cisco have a good package) you could potentially get rid of your telephone lines.

Thats my understanding anyway.

[Bodo]

Plotloss said:

Is Jabber Java based compression? VoiceXML also looks interesting...

This is out of my scope
Full spec here: www.jabber.org/

[zumbruk]

deva link said:

The nightmare that's going on with these things is that there are so many different system - makes you realise what life would be like if, for all their faults, Microsoft's Office wasn't the dominant office suite.

You mean we'd have open, reliable, compatible, cheap, easy to use software?

No, thought not.

[size13]

Plotloss said:

Thanks for the heads up though, I'll have a look at that as Google are, IMHO, the most exciting thing in technology at the moment.

I posted this up a few months back
www.robinsloan.com/epic/

[deva link]

zumbruk said:

You mean we'd have open, reliable, compatible, cheap, easy to use software?

I did say 'for all their faults'

Just imagine though, if you had, say, 30 major customers, and between them they used, say, 5 different office packages, none of which were compatible with each other. Life would be an utter nightmare. I persume that if the different packages were made interoperable, then they'd become (even more) bloated.