Google Talk in GMail – initial thoughts
When Google gave us GMail, we got more email space than we ever needed. But when they gave us Google Talk, many wished for more features, since the software was so bare some wondered if it was usable at all. Now Google has integrated GTalk within GMail! We finally tried it out, and here are some initial observations.
What’s good about it
Familiar Interface. The GMail Quick Contacts feature works pretty much like Google Talk, and experience GTalk users won’t lose time re-learning a new interface. This one works virtually the same as the standalone client. The web version actually inherits some options set in the desktop client, such as the custom status messages and some privacy (Blocking) settings.
Privacy. You can set privacy settings system-wide, or on a per-contact basis. Remember GTalk doesn’t have an “invisibility†feature like other popular instant messaging clients like Yahoo Messenger? Well, you can now be “invisible†with the web version, by selecting Only allow people that I’ve explicitly approved to chat with me and see when I’m online in Chat Settings. You can then change this on a per-contact basis by selecting Block in the Show in Quick Contacts menu for that contact.
Automatic logging. Now a standard Google Talk feature, your chat sessions are automatically logged and saved within GMail. You can turn this on and off per session as you please, or as a default, under GMail Chat Settings.
Some gripes
Notifications. In GMail, you are notified of a new message by a chat window popping up, or the contact’s name being highlighted in orange (if a chat session is already open as a floating or detached window). But since the system works on a web browser, there are no audible alerts. There is hence no way of knowing someone has sent you a message if the GMail window is minimized or behind other windows.
Security. Security-conscious users won’t be too happy with the service, since Gmail’s Quick Contacts feature currently doesn’t work with the secure-HTTP version of GMail. Google says this will be enabled soon, though, and it should be worth the wait.
No voice chat. It’s strange that you can press the Call button on the desktop client version when chatting with a contact who’s using the GMail client, even if the web version of GTalk does not have voice chat. Google Talk can actually detect if your correspondent is using an IM client other than GTalk (for instance, GAIM, Trillian, iChat, or any other software that supports the Jabber protocol) and will indicate that voice chat is unavailable. GTalk will, however, keep on ringing your contact if he’s on GMail, even if voice is unsupported.
Google should implement web-based voice chatting, similar to what FWD did with its SIP-type Voice-over-Internet service. It would be cool to go VoIP without installing a client—this would be a Skype killer!
Rants aside, I think the GTalk and GMail integration is a welcome development. As with most of Google’s other applications, this service is still on Beta, and we can therefore expect more features and better functionality. What do you think?
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I think that the people at google are geniuses. The services they provide are gettting better and better. I can’t wait to see what they are going to come up with next!
They do keep it interesting!
i think it will be better if they will place an invisible instead of a block mode. Because in a Block mode you will not able to see the contacts if she’s online too or if he/she is sending you emails…. in this way you’re not in control…. but if there’s an invisible mode, you can easily see if the contact is online and you may still recieve any email from the contact… this way you’re in control…. Gtalk is cool… but sometimes they leave behind important things that people are looking for just to prevent them from having the tag they only immitate some functions that others already have…. sometimes we just have to follow the tested and add ingeneous things to make it one of a kind…
I think gtalk rocks but I land up using YM instead only cos gtalk lacks the invisible option that I’ve grown used to in YM.
Wonder why the guys at google haven’t noticed what’s keeping people from using gtalk as entensively as they wud like.
[...] Â Â Â And you guys at Google, if you’re listening, give me the damn “invisible” option in gtalk before you come up with such interesting welcome messages. I don’t feel one bit welcomed in gtalk without that one! (and you, Google tutors, please understand, to us lay-people, being “invisible” is different from “blocking” someone…I don’t want to use the latter as a workaround for the former) [...]