Talk with Google (Google Talk)

Name: nevikrose

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Product:	Google Talk
Date:	16.12.07 (139 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Neat and tidy, no clutter on the interface, easy to use

Disadvantages: no webcam support

There are many ways to stay in touch nowadays with the ever shrinking world supported with all kinds of technology. Email, webcam, video-capture, telephone, mobile internet..... It seems these days your ability to communicate with people is limited only by your imagination.

Instant messaging is one of the most frequently used methods of communication via the internet. The ability to maintain a text-based conversation with friends whilst browsing the internet, watching films and so on, has become standard fare in our multitasking technology use.

There are many programs to choose from when considering using an instant messaging program, or 'IM' for short. Most of them are email based, requiring a login name and password with which to identify you. The email basis of these programs tie to your email contacts list and lets you chat with people with the same program. Most of the time they also tell you if you get a new email, or how many you have waiting in your inbox.
Some notable examples of these IM/email programs are MSN messenger, AOL Instant messenger (also known as AIM) and googletalk.

I am reviewing googletalk here, because in a world where technology seems to be overtaking us as a society it is sometimes nice just to have something simple in your life.

<**...Downloading & installing...**>
Actually getting the program is simple in itself, you can download it from http://www.google.com/talk at only 1568kb it is a relatively tiny size, and you simply download the .exe file and double click it when finished to install it. If you are using windows the install wizard will guide you through the rest of the installation process.

<**...Logging on...**>
In order to use googletalk you will need a Gmail or Googlemail account, these can easily be set up at www.gmail.com.
If you don't want an entire email service, but simply want the IM program you can sign up for a Google account at https://www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount?service =talk
When you run Googletalk you will need to enter your username and password to use the program and register as being online.

<**...Use...**>
Googletalk has a very simple interface, so much so that it is often chosen over more complicated programs because of it. No bells and whistles, its actually quite understated to look at.

contacts
You can add contacts by using the little '+' button at the bottom of the googletalk client interface. Your contacts will then be added to the client's window. If they use Googletalk they will show a green button next to their name if they are online and available to talk to, an amber one if the are idle or a grey one if offline. You can also use this contacts list to email people from if they are offline.
By rolling your mouse over the contact you can also call them on a voice chat system, which will connect if you are both using mics/headsets and they answer your call.
I have always found googletalk's voice clarity excellent.



Functionality
There are a lot of functions on googletalk, many of them hidden away in the settings menu so as not to clutter the user interface; I find this a commendable design aspect.
*You are able to set your status as available, away, busy or add your own custom message this helps people see why you are not answering if you are busy doing something and they are trying to contact you.
*You are also, through the use of the settings panel in the top right of the client, able to change various display qualities, such as how chat messages are laid out. Some f these layouts are much clearer than alternative programs.
*You can hide offline friends and choose whether to sign on to googletalk when you start your pc.

The googletalk website has a very helpful and thorough guide to their IM program,
and does a good job of explaining all its features.

Webcam
Googletalk does not currently have webcam support, it may well be updated with this in the future

Group chat
As with the Skype IM program you can add more contacts to an existing conversation to create a small chat room depending on your chosen layout the messages will appear slightly differently, but it is also clear about who is talking.

Voicemail
Although Googletalk may not have webcam support it does have a rather unique feature. If someone is away or offline you can send them a voicemail using your mic, it will be delivered to them as an attachment in an email.
The answering machine voice is quite funny too!

Email alert
If, like me, you do use gmail or Googlemail, googletalk will have you logged into both at the same time, then, like msn or aim, it will give you a popup window telling you that you have a new mail, and it gives you a preview of its contents, you can open the email by clicking on this popup box, or ignore it, it will go away and you can pick up the mail later



<**...Extension...**>
If you don't want to download a program on to your computer you can run the googletalk gadget in your internet browser window.
Link on http://www.google.com/talk/index.html#

Youtube
in a fabulous little design feature, of the gadget (not the client) it is possible to watch youtube or googlevideo videos directly in the gadget so you can share them with your friends, simply paste the link into the chat window. In this way you can also share photos from flickr or picassa

You can also download a googletalk client on blackberry devices
http://www.blackberry.com/googletalk



Al l in all, I would reccomend googletalk to anyone interested in getting an IM client that doesnt like too much clutter on their screen, the lack of webcam support brings it down slightly but it has plenty of other neat and tidy features that means its a keeper for my machine, even if its just my email pop up ;)
The server for it very rarely goes down too, unlike MSN

Summary: a thumbs up from me!

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