When it was first introduced, Google Talkhad a lot of stiff competition in the instant messaging realm. Then Google integrated chat directly into Gmail, built a web-based version of Google Talk that's even better than their desktop version, and topped it off with chat logs baked directly into and searchable inside Gmail. As a result, Google Talk has claimed a whole lot of IM converts. If you're one of them, though, you probably still have a lot of contacts who use other services, like AIM, Yahoo, and even (gasp!) MSN. Today I'll show you how to chat with all of your instant messaging buddies—with all the benefits of Gmail and web integration—using Google Talk as a universal chat application.
To get started, go download the free, cross platform Jabber client Psi and install it. We're only going to be using Psi one time to set everything up, so uncheck the auto-start checkbox during Psi installation.
Set up Google Talk with Psi
When you're done, launch Psi. The first thing you need to do is set up your Gmail account (as you know your Google chat works through your Gmail address), so type in a descriptive name at the Add Account screen (Gchat will do) and click Add. Now you need to enter in all of the pertinent information on the Account tab of the setup.

your.name@gmail.com
. In the Password field, enter your Gmail password.
talk.google.com
in this field. Make sure the port listed is 5223 (it should already be listed as such) and click Save.Register your other IM services with a transport server

jaim.at
.
After you've set up the transport server, you can also add a new buddy from another service from inside Google Talk using the server like an email address. Using the jaim.at transport server I used, for example, I could add a new AIM buddy from Google Talk by adding
new.buddy@aim.jaim.at
.
Using a transport server does mean, however, that you're trusting your information to a third-party server, which isn't always the most fun to do. In the end, you'll have to weigh your options and decide whether or not the end justifies the means for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment