Written by Ruhani Rabin on February 9, 2006.
Jon Perlow, Software Engineer, Gmail and Google Talk
When we launched
Google Talk, some people told us what a great idea it’d be to add chat to
Gmail. True that. So a couple of us Google Talk engineers approached the Gmail team. They were excited about the idea, and we got to work immediately — spending a lot of not-so-lazy Sundays huddled in a conference room.
At the start, I thought a lot about all the things that bother me about chats. My own chats contained a lot of important information that was always getting lost. I found myself cutting, pasting and emailing important chats to myself so I could find them later. Another thing that bothered me is that whenever I wanted to get in touch with someone, I had to pick a specific application. For email, I’d have to sign into Gmail. For IM, I had to choose between the two or three programs I used regularly.
It seems these things didn’t bother only me, but a lot of other people too. Which is why, within a few weeks, when you log into Gmail you’ll find a list of your most important contacts on the left-hand side of the window, and you can chat right away with those who are online. You can also save, search for, and view your chat histories just like your Gmail messages.
In line with our belief that communication networks should be open, my fellow geeks will be happy to know that Gmail is now just another XMPP client that connects to the Google Talk network. So Gmail users will be able to chat with any of the millions of users on the Google Talk and Jabber networks.
Now that it’s launching, we’re going to quit working Sundays. Maybe even throw back a few Mr. Pibbs and celebrate with Red Vines.
Written by Ruhani Rabin on February 9, 2006.
New beta service Blurb publishes your photo book, novel, blog or cookbook.
Blurb’s upcoming software BookSmart puts together your book and works with the web service to publish hard cover or softbound versions. The beta isn’t yet open but aspiring DIY authors who’ve been looking for an alternative to CafePress can sign up to get an alert when the service is completely up and running.
Links
Blurb [via Waxy]
Written by Ruhani Rabin on February 8, 2006.
Website Gtalkr is a Flash-based web app designed to bring your Google apps (Gmail and Google Talk) together with Flickr, YouTube, and newsfeeds for an all-in-one media and communications mega-package.
Get:Google Talk Chat with your friends online anywhere, anytime. Gtalkr also allows you to search your conversations just like in Gmail. Flickr, YouTube Explore all that Flickr and YouTube have to offer. Watch a slide show of your favorite photos and better yet, watch and share videos right in Gtalkr!
Gtalkr is pretty cool – the integration of Gmail and Google Talk is nice (you can chat directly from Gtalkr), and the YouTube and Flickr integration is also attractive. Of course, there is obvious concern about passing your private information through an unaffiliated third party, though Gtalkr insists that your information is safe with them. There is also a Gtalkr notifier available for download (Windows only).
Written by Ruhani Rabin on February 8, 2006.
Web service coComment helps you track your blog comments and conversations, aggregating your conversations from across the blogosphere to one handy location.
Whether you’ve commented on a blog or you’re just following a blog-based conversation of interest to you, coComment can let you know what’s been added to a particular discussion in real time.
As many of you may know, keeping up with comments on Lifehacker can be a real pain, as we currently have one measly RSS feed for all of our comments. coComment looks like it could be an excellent way to keep up with those posts where the conversation started in the comments is just as important as the post itself. Unfortunately (for Lifehacker readers, at least), coComment currently only supports Blogger, MSN Spaces, MySpaces, TypePad, WordPress, and Xanga. Not crappy MovableType.
coComment is currently in beta and requires an invitation code to register, but having signed up for an email notification this morning, I promptly received an invite. If you’re interested in coComment, give it a try.
