August 2005 Archives
Google's IM service is due to launch tomorrow. It is already working, however. Someone else reported that talk.google.com was live and running a Jabber server. Then someone reported that you can login using your gmail username but they couldn't actually send messages. I tried it out with the Jabber client GAIM and after some fiddling around, got it to login, and then to actually send an IM to another user.
The secret is that when you send out a buddy invitation, attach "@gmail.com" to the username. So, use "myfriend@gmail.com" not "myfriend". Once the invitation is approved, you will be able to chat with the person.
The setup in GAIM is to use talk.google.com as the server, your gmail username (without the "@gmail" part) as your username, and your gmail password as the password. Login, then invite a buddy (another gmail user.) It should work. Oh, and: make sure to set GAIM so it shows buddies who are not logged in. To do this, choose the option "Show offline buddies" from the Buddy menu.
This is not fake. Sorry it's not easier to take a screenshot that better illustrates that it really works. Try it yourself.
Update: Google Talk has launched for real. Good developer FAQ.
