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Google Talk

Google Talk Beta
Maintainer:	Google
Stable release:	1.0.0.100  (October 24, 2006) [+/-]
Preview release:	[+/-]
OS:	Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003
Use:	VoIP/Instant messaging client
License:	Proprietary freeware
Website:	google.com/talk

Google Talk is a computer application for Voice over IP and instant messaging, offered by Google. The first beta version of the program was released on August 24, 2005.

Instant messaging in Google Talk uses an open protocol, XMPP, so that users of various clients with XMPP can communicate. VoIP in Google Talk is based around the Jingle protocol.

Contents 1 Features 1.1 Interoperability 1.2 Gmail integration 1.3 Voicemail and file sharing 1.4 Music status 1.5 Offline Messaging 1.6 orkut integration 1.7 Google Desktop integration 2 Mobile device compatiblity 3 History 4 Criticisms and bugs 4.1 Operating System support 4.2 Encryption 4.3 Bugs 5 Future releases 6 References 7 See also 8 External links

[edit] Features

[edit] Interoperability

Google has announced that a major goal of the Google Talk service is interoperability. Google Talk uses XMPP, the same protocol as Jabber servers, to provide real-time extensible messaging and presence events, including offline messaging and voice mailing. On January 17, 2006, Google enabled server-to-server communications, federating itself with any Jabber server that supports the dialback protocol.<ref name="XMMPIntegration">Burd, Gary (2006). XMPP Federation. Google Talkabout. Retrieved on April 3, 2006.</ref>

[edit] Gmail integration

Main article: Features of Gmail

On February 7, 2006, Gmail received chat functionality, and was integrated with Google Talk. Users can send instant messages to other Gmail users. Because both Gmail and Google Talk use the Jabber network, Google Talk does not have to be downloaded to send instant messages to Gmail users.

Conversation logs are automatically saved to a Chats area in the user's Gmail account. This allows users to search within their chat logs easily, and to have them centrally stored on the Internet.

Whilst the chat featured was being distributed, users signing into Gmail were greeted with a message stating that the Instant Messaging features of Google Talk would be available within the Gmail page at some point in the next few weeks.^{[citation needed]} As of April 2006, all Gmail users are able to turn on and turn off the instant messaging capabilities of the Gmail interface.

[edit] Voicemail and file sharing

On July 28, 2006, Google added voicemail and file sending capabilities to the Google Talk client. Voicemail messages can be 10 minutes long, and they're delivered to the contact's Gmail mailbox as an attached MP3 file (11 KHz mono 24kbit/s). Gmail recognizes that it's a voicemail message, and users can choose to stream the file using the integrated MP3-playing applet, or to download the MP3 file.

[edit] Music status

It is also possible to display the song currently playing on the computer. This music data is then collected, if the user agrees to this, and displayed on the Google Music Trends page.

[edit] Offline Messaging

On October 31, 2006, Google introduced offline messaging to Google Talk. This allows users to send messages to their contacts, even if they are not signed in. They will receive the messages when they next go online.

[edit] orkut integration

Since November 8, 2006, Google integrated Google Talk with orkut. This enables Google Talk users to interact with registered orkut users, by sending and receiving 'scraps' within orkut.

[edit] Google Desktop integration

Since its release, users have been able to integrate Google Talk and Google Desktop. In addition to providing chat, Google Talk replaces email notification and sending functions normally associated with the Gmail notifier module.

[edit] Mobile device compatiblity

On June 30, 2006, Nokia released new software for their Nokia 770 Internet Tablet, that included Google Talk as one of the compatible VoIP clients, due to the Jabber-based software.<ref>http://europe.nokia.com/A4144790</ref>

Another Google Talk-compatible device is Sony's mylo, released on September 15, 2006.

A Google Talk client is also available for BlackBerry devices from the Blackberry site.<ref>http://www.blackberry.com</ref>

[edit] History

The idea of a Jabber-based Google IM service was proposed by Eoban Binder on the website Applexnet.com on August 23, 2004.<ref name="AppleXnet">Binder, Eoban (2004). How Google Could De-Throne AIM. AppleXnet. Retrieved on February 1, 2006.</ref>

Exactly one year later, after the rumor of a Google-branded "communications tool" service had been reported by the New York Times<ref name="NYT">Markoff, John (2005). Where Does Google Plan to Spend $4 Billion?. The New York Times. Retrieved on February 1, 2006.</ref> and detailed by the Los Angeles Times on August 22 2005, the subdomain talk.google.com was found to have an active Jabber server.<ref name="ActiveServer">admin (2005). Google IM on XMPP for real?. Tom Servo's Blogogogogog. Retrieved on February 1, 2006.</ref> Two methods of logging into the server were discovered soon after and the ensuing response by eager bloggers revealed to numerous others how to login before the official release by Google.

On the evening of August 23, many logged-in users using port 5222 to connect were disconnected and unable to log back in. Users using port 5223 to connect were still able to log in, and at 04:12:52 UTC those users received a broadcast instant message from gmail.com, an apparently official username used by Google to communicate with their user base, that stated "The broken link has been fixed. Thanks for being our first users!" Port 5222-connectivity was found to have been re-enabled.

On December 15, 2005, Google released libjingle, a C++ library to implement Jingle, "a set of extensions to the IETF's Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) for use in voice over IP (VoIP), video, and other peer-to-peer multimedia sessions."<ref name="Libjingle">Jabber Software Foundation Publishes Open VoIP and Multimedia Protocols. Jabber Software Foundation (2005). Retrieved on February 1, 2006.</ref> Libjingle is a library of the code that Google uses for peer-to-peer communication, and was made available under a BSD license.<ref name="LibjingleNote">Beda, Joe (2005). libjingle. EightyPercent.net. Retrieved on February 1, 2006.</ref>

[edit] Criticisms and bugs

[edit] Operating System support

Google Talk client is currently only available for Windows (2000, XP, Server 2003). Other Jabber clients do however support other operating systems, such as Psi or Miranda IM for older versions of Microsoft Windows, iChat or Adium for Mac OS X, and Gaim or Kopete for Unix-like systems.

[edit] Encryption

Instead of encrypting the Jabber stream, Google Talk utilises an undocumented nonstandard way of authenticating to the service, by retrieving a token from a secure web server. Other IM clients are required to secure their streams with TLS before sending the password, causing them to stay encrypted throughout the whole session. Google claims that all messages will be encrypted in future releases.<ref name="Encryption">Google Talk Privacy Google Talk. Google. Retrieved on February 1.</ref>

[edit] Bugs

There have also been several bugs reported in the Windows client for Google Talk, including e-mail message-notification unreliability, taskbar notification problems during conversations with more than one contact, and tab-sizing problems. ^{[citation needed]} Also it appeared that using the escape key to close chat windows does not work if the window has been open for a moderate amount of time. Similarly, the buddy list window, if left un-minimized for a length of time, would automatically "maximize" (to the same size), and would have to be "restored" with Windows in order to minimize once again. Another bug that had been noticed was a buddy list malfunction. All users will intermittently appear offline in the Google Talk client regardless of their actual status. Google stated that as of version 1.0.0.96, all of these bugs have been corrected.<ref>DeWitt, Jeanne (2006-08-21). You talk, We listen. Google Talkabout. Retrieved on 2006-08-25.</ref>

However, some users are reporting that the offline contact bug in Google Talk still continues.

Another problem with the Google Talk client reported by numerous users is its tendency to freeze occasionally for one to two minutes, using 100% CPU power. This is most common during a long conversation.

A bug that has appeared in 1.0.0.100 is that in the menu, "Check for mail" item randomly disappears, leaving you without the ability to check for new e-mail in your GMail. Restarting the program restores it.

[edit] Future releases

Google reports that they are working on adding new features such as supporting SIP in a future release, which would broaden the userbase for the program.<ref name="SIP">Google Talk and Open Communications — 4. Do you plan to support other real-time communication protocols?. Retrieved on July 8, 2006.</ref>

As part of Google's 5% acquisition of AOL on December 20, 2005, it was announced that Google Talk users will be able to communicate with AOL's market-leading AIM instant messaging service in future updates.<ref name="AIM">Time Warner's AOL and Google to Expand Strategic Alliance. Google Press Center. Retrieved on February 1, 2006.</ref>

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• List of Google tools and services
• List of Jabber client software
• Comparison of instant messaging clients
• Google Music Trends

[edit] External links

• Official Google Talk website
• Official blog: Google Talkabout
• Google Talk Interoperability Newsgroup
• Google Talk Newsgroup
• Official Google Talk for Blackberry website
• community "ORKUT + GTALK" on Google's Orkut Social Network, users interaction
• SpreadGoogleTalk, unofficial Google Talk fan site - news & buttons

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