A few weeks with Google Talk
Submitted on September 9th, 2005 by admin
Filed under Networking and Software and Windows
Google Talk came out a couple of weeks ago and the response on the web has been pretty mixed. Many people wondered if we really needed another instant messaging client, while others applauded Google for basing its client on the Jabber protocol. But what about the normal user? Is Google Talk worth it for you? Read on for a full review!
Let’s take a look at what Google Talk has to offer:
The interface: can you say simplicity? Unlike most other IM clients which like to clutter the interface with tons of buttons and bloat, Google Talk’s interface is extremely simple and clean.
Finding buddies: it wouldn’t be a Google product without a search bar right? The buddy list has a search field built in which lets you search through your buddies. This isn’t really an important feature since I assume most people don’t have enough buddies on their list to need it, but it sure is nice to have.
Open standards: unlike other companies which like to use their own closed protocols, Google has decided on using the Jabber protocol for their client. Jabber is used by many companies, but hasn’t really been popular for every day users (except for maybe us geeks). This is great news, and maybe will lead to others opening up their protocols a bit.
Chatting: this is really a no frills client. There’s no tabbed interface, no emoticons, no file transfers, nothing; Google Talk is simply about IM and voice chatting. This is probably one of the weak points of the application though. I like simplicity but there are some things that are great to have. As I mentioned, there are no tabs for conversations (like on GAIM for example), but instead, Google Talk connects all your IM windows and minimizes them when not in use. This is almost as nice as tabs, but can sometimes get confusing.
Things I’d like to see for the next version
How about some commonplace IM client features like profiles, buddy icons or images, file transfers, etc.? If Google really wants people to switch over, these are must haves. The VOIP call quality is superb, probably on par with Skype, but note that this is not a replacement for such applications; however, Google is working with Gizmo on allowing interoperability between the clients, so who knows…maybe we’ll see a nice Skype competitor in the future.
December 10th, 2005 at 3:27 pm
I noticed that you can only serch for people. I was disappointed that I could not find people based on interest, location or other factors. I ended up using two methods. google groups and the site http://www.gtalklife.com but both are just growing and have some limitations but I did end up having a great conversation with a local women using google talk gtalk. Hey should help connect to the world not just our current friends