New Google Talk client still needs improvements
I live and die by Google Talk. That’s just the way things are. Constantly in chat with friends, family, co-workers, and watching for new emails to come in (Gmail is my productivity hub).
A new version of Google Talk, called Labs Edition, has been released. While it adds a couple new, much needed features, it’s left out a couple key components that are already present in the normal Google Talk client.
Google Talk Labs Edition (which I’ll shorten to GTLE) finally incorporates group chat within the client itself and notifications beyond just Gmail. GTLE includes Google Calendar and Orkut notifications (I don’t use Orkut but can vouch for how much I like the Gcal notifications) so you don’t miss those all important scheduled events or scraps from friends.
Chats now occur in tabs within the main Google Talk client window (see below), which is all well and good for some people. It’s not for me, as I’m constantly up and down from my desk, so I need a chat window to pop up and flash at me to get my attention. So, I head into the GTLE settings to change that.
But I can’t. In fact, I can’t really change any settings. Here’s the GTLE client’s settings window in all its spartan glory (This… Is… Google Talk!)*.
No settings for launching a new window when a new chat arrives. Also, no real notifications settings changes (like how long to display the notification; the current amount of time notifications display seems short to me).
We’re also missing the ability to make voice calls and send files in the GTLE client.
Is GTLE a step in the right direction? I think so. Let’s combine the features of the original Google Talk client and these nice new GTLE features and I think we’ll be closer to a chat client that can start to compete with AIM or MSN.
*Sorry for the lame 300 joke.
Jesus follower.
Comment by Alex on April 7th, 2008
for me this client is a step backwards. There is no jingle and it looks like it does not speak xmpp anymore but sends all messages unencrypted over the network embedded in http requests.
Comment by Shawn on April 7th, 2008
Alex, while you may be speaking greek to some, thanks for giving us a better technical glimpse into the flaws of GTLE. I appreciate it!
Comment by Bish on April 7th, 2008
Alex is right: it doesn’t use the official internet method for sending messages, and that was a big selling point for GTalk — it is a step forward toward everyone talking the same language, the method which was voted the best, that sold it for me. Not to use the official methods for sending internet messages makes this client no better than the obsolete proprietary ones (which themselves need to die like bitnet).
Instead of the approved and official protocol for message passing, GTLE uses a completely insecure, wasteful and not even private method for sending messages. I’m no more a freak on this than the next guy, but there’s no reason YOU need to be reading what I’m saying to my cousin about the Transformers movie, unless you’re my cousin.
Basically, then, in addition to offering less features, it also doesn’t even use the right methods for how it sends the IM messages. It’s a step backward for sure.
Comment by Bernie Zimmermann on April 10th, 2008
Great post (and comments). I’ve been trying out GTLE and its shortcomings immediately jumped out at me as well. I almost wish they would have just added the Google Calendar notifications to the current GT client. That would give me everything I want. Now, I can no longer display the music I’m listening to and I can’t choose to see only friends who are online (rather than the list of all my contacts, online or not).
I sent some feedback to the GTLE team, but I’ll likely be switching back to the normal Google Talk client very soon.