August 23, 2005
Using Google's new IM service before it launches tomorrow
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.
categories:
Technology
posted by adm at August 23, 2005 06:23 PM
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Tracked on September 1, 2005 07:13 AM
Comments
Thanks for the heads up — and yes, to all those sceptics, it really does work.
It'll be interesting to see whether Google can make inroads into the Microsoft/Yahoo/AOL hegemony.
Posted by: Peter Parkes ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://thousandrobots.com/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
at August 23, 2005 08:00 PM
I can confirm... It works... Screen shots @ http://photos.flickr.com/photos/jwhowa/
Posted by: Technodaddy at August 23, 2005 08:25 PM
it seems to have been shut down, i had a brief convo and now can't log back in.
Posted by: Robb at August 23, 2005 08:45 PM
It's only working for me by signing in as username@gmail.com, not just username.
Posted by: Aaron Bailey at August 23, 2005 08:56 PM
Gah, they must've shut it off - after I do the settings, GAIM attempts to connect but gets turned down. Guess I'll wait for tomorrow...
Posted by: Matthew Cox at August 23, 2005 10:30 PM
No... it works. The instructions above are slightly incorrect. Set the server to gmail.com, not talk.google.com and it'll work fine.
Posted by: Marc Orchant at August 23, 2005 10:32 PM
It's been released!!! http://talk.google.com
Posted by: DrSeth at August 23, 2005 11:23 PM
I'm glad they use Jabber... I'm so sick of downloading more crap ;)
Posted by: bidrohi at August 23, 2005 11:33 PM
Google Talk is one of the worst things i have ever seen, after being told consistently to log onto the Google accounts page to unlock my Google Talk account and doing so fifteen times I gave up and decided I hate Google.
Posted by: Andy at August 25, 2005 12:20 AM
Am I the only one who sticks to what they know? I'll be using msn till I'm old
Posted by: Chise at August 29, 2005 09:58 AM
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Tracked on August 23, 2005 08:06 PM