Google Talk - Instant Messenger Chat

Google Talk is a freeware Windows web-based application for instant messaging (IM) and voice over internet protocol (VoIP) client offered by Google Inc. The first beta version of the program was released on August 24, 2005.

The Google Talk client is only available for Microsoft Windows (2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista and Windows 7), but the Google Chat browser plugin (for voice and video chat) is available for Windows, Intel-based Mac OS X and Linux.

Google Talk Features Include:

* Instant messages: share quick thoughts in real time

* Gmail integration: chat with your friends on Gmail

* Audio conferencing: talk to multiple people at once

* File transfer: instantly send and receive files, pictures, and more

* Status updates: see if friends are around and what they are up to

* Free long distance: make PC-to-PC calls to people anywhere in the world

Though Google Talk doesn't have the big installed base of other IM systems, its clean, simple interface makes it a good choice. A video and voice plug-in allows you to converse on Gmail, iGoogle, and Orkut as well.

Google Talk mobile clients are also available for the Palm Pre, BlackBerry, iPhone, Android-based devices and is preloaded on the Nokia N900 smartphone. 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. Google Talk support is also integrated in Google Android devices.

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 mailbox as an attached MP3 file (11 kHz mono 24kbit/s). Recipients who use Gmail are offered better integration. Gmail recognizes that it is a voicemail message, and users can choose to stream the file using the integrated MP3-playing applet, or to download the MP3 file.

Google has released a new version of Google Talk called "Google Talk, Labs edition." It still currently lacks many features of Google Talk's 'stable' releases. The features it lacks include File Sharing and Voice Chat. It features rounded alerts for new email. It can have multiple tabs with group chat, private chat and the regular screen open at once. It is available for free download at: www.google.com/talk/labsedition/ Flash Player will be required to install, and upon first launch, a new flash-plugin will need to be downloaded. This edition is not meant for general use, hence the reason why it is a labs edition. Labs edition also includes Google Update service.

For more information or to download Google Talk for free please visit - www.google.com/talk/

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