04 October 2008

GTalk: Hidden Chat Room On Gmail.

Why did I say 'hidden'? Because I failed to notice it until it's too late...

I first signed up on Gmail 2 years ago. My friend gave me invitation email back then. I signed up, but because I used slower connection at that time (dial up) I coudn't use Standard View to access Gmail, since it would stuck forever on loading screen. Basic version was really basic , loaded fast and error free -and up until now, it's still very simple-, and didn't give us too much access to sophisticated features like GTalk. It's understandable, GTalk's engine relies heavily on Gmail's Standard View AJAX, it's no wonder it can be used on Basic View (HTML).

GTalk allows you to chat with another Gmail user without leaving Gmail Standard View interface. You can add friends there, simply by clicking tiny 'add contact' label. As for now, GTalk has very limited abilities, unlike major IM programs like YM or MSN. I personally don't use GTalk that much, only when I logged in to Gmail. Even more, Gmail has POP3 and SMTP features, so I rarely open Gmail with web browser since I can download every emails on my mailbox to Outlook.

As flawed as it is, AFAIK, GTalk is compatible with mobile browser, making it quite popular with mobile users. GTalk also is available to be used in conjunction with meebo. Maybe skype too, later?

But eh, I think Google's working hard to improve it. Let's just wait and see.

Resources:

http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/ (contains various information for Gmail)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Talk

One thing, if you're Chrome user, you might want to read this: http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/try-gmail-in-google-chrome.html

1 comments:

ladyinpurple said...

truly updated..

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