Google Talk - very first review is up!

NetRyder

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http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/08/23/googe-talk-review/

:)
 
Admiral Michael said:
I hope they will let Trillian use it. Man that would be awesome.
Without Google's IM client, I assume it'll just be like connecting to any other Jabber server. So far, I'm not really seeing any killer-features in Google Talk that'll move people over in droves either.
We'll have to see what the official plans are though, hopefully tomorrow. :)
 
I prefer Gaim to Trillian. Much simpler. But really, does the world need another IM protocol and client?
 
If you have an IM client capable of connecting to Jabber networks (like Gaim, Trillian, Pandion etc.) try connecting to talk.google.com on port 5222 (with SSL enabled), and use your Gmail username (username@gmail.com) and password for authentication. I'm guessing it should work.
 
*** Creating SSL connection "*****@gmail.com/"
*** No connection to server!
*** Disconnected.

Nope! Nice try tho
 
Admiral Michael said:
*** Creating SSL connection "*****@gmail.com/"
*** No connection to server!
*** Disconnected.

Nope! Nice try tho

Dont use ssl, mines working :)

I would even consider using the offical app, it looks so simple and light.


And I love how they tell you how to connect with other apps, dont see many other IM services doing that :rolleyes:
 
madmatt said:
I prefer Gaim to Trillian. Much simpler. But really, does the world need another IM protocol and client?


Yes. To save us from the other ones
 
The IM client itself is very clean as far as the UI goes, but it's still way too basic for my taste - no file transfers, no text formatting etc. Was almost ready to uninstall it.

But I just finished a voice conversation with my brother, and that changed my mind about it completely. I can't believe Skype has been beaten for PC-to-PC voice conversations. Google Talk punches through the NAT/firewall like it doesn't even exist (in other words, you're connected almost instantaneously after pushing the "Call" button) and the voice quality is simply awesome.

Definitely give it a try, just for the voice stuff. Won't be my primary IM client, but I'm almost ready to leave Skype behind now, since I don't use any of their paid services. :)
 
First impressions, c&p'd from my blog:

Bare minimum - I think those two words can best describe this first beta of Google Talk.

But that might not necessarily be such a bad thing if the folks at Google move in the right direction from this point on. The UI is extremely clean and minimalistic in true Google-style. I really like the design of the contact list - it's uncluttered and the searchbar that filters contacts as you type can be very handy for people with long contact lists. I wasn't too happy with the IM window though - it's a bit too minimalistic for me. I'd like to see basic text formatting options (simple B, I, U buttons for bold, italics and underline would suffice) and I think the messages could be laid out better.

There's no support for file transfers yet, which was a major negative for me, but I'm pretty sure it's high on the list of things to do. All in all, I wasn't particularly impressed, and I was ready to hit the uninstall button. It felt like YAJC (Yet Another Jabber Client). Until I tried voice chat, that is. :)

For voice conversations, this thing is simply awesome. It punches through a NAT/firewall with absolute ease and the connection is established almost immediately after pushing the "Call" button. Skype had a slightly longer connection delay and MSN Messenger simply couldn't connect at all with the firewall policies that are enforced on this wireless connection I'm on currently. Once connected, the voice quality was exceptional. Skype didn't stutter, but it had a noticeable lag (this is a wireless connection, remember). Using Google Talk felt like a regular cellphone conversation. I never thought we'd see a Skype-killer so soon, but it looks like we have one, at least for those of us who don't use the paid services that Skype offers.

Google now needs to focus on implementing core features, especially basic things like group chats and file transfers. Video support would be a superb thing to have too, especially if the ease of connectivity and the quality is as good as the voice feature.

Unfortunately, unlike Skype, the IM client itself is not cross-platform, so Linux and Mac users are out of luck. You can still connect to the server using any client that supports Jabber/XMPP, but voice conversations won't work, and that's pretty much the only killer-feature in Google Talk so far. :)
 
Last edited:
NetRyder said:
The IM client itself is very clean as far as the UI goes, but it's still way too basic for my taste - no file transfers, no text formatting etc. Was almost ready to uninstall it.

But I just finished a voice conversation with my brother, and that changed my mind about it completely. I can't believe Skype has been beaten for PC-to-PC voice conversations. Google Talk punches through the NAT/firewall like it doesn't even exist (in other words, you're connected almost instantaneously after pushing the "Call" button) and the voice quality is simply awesome.

Definitely give it a try, just for the voice stuff. Won't be my primary IM client, but I'm almost ready to leave Skype behind now, since I don't use any of their paid services. :)

It needs a voice conference feature, currently only one-one voice conversation is supported, and I miss smilies too.
 
tis very basic. but does have good start. was amazed when it took like 20 seconds to download and have it installed and logged in ready to chat :p
 
Nice and simple. That means all the 12 year olds (my younger sister) aren't going to be flooding in. No one wants to lose all the multimedia addons, smilies, backgrounds, shared backgrounds, sound expressions, bla bla bla.
 
hey it works behind the proxys hehe for now.. Im liking the interface simple. easy to add gamil contacts just invited like 10 in one shot.
 
I guess I'm one of the remaining few users that just want a text based, simple IM client with a decent set of options (without installing some addon or patch). Sucks having 20-40 contacts who all use different IM clients (which is where trillian comes in handy.)
If it weren't for programs like trillian & gaim, I'd have to have ICQ, MSN, Yahoo, AIM installed. I've lately installed xfire to keep in touch gaming friends that stopped using other IM clients.
 
Works fine with iChat. Hoping a nice official Mac client will surface some time though :)
 
Apparently there's an easter egg in the client:

n the about box (right click the taskbar icon) there should be this
play 23 21 13 16 21 19 . 7 1 13 5
substitute letters for numbers and you get
"wumpus.game"
add this to to your freinds list minus the quotes and play an old irc game!

Anyone want to verify? :)
 

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