Google aims to maim AIM as it gains GAIM's main brain

[Mr. Analog]

Google hires the lead dev from GAIM, the OSS messenging software, full story yonder. Could  this be the bigging of more innovation for GoogleTalk?

[Shayne]

Will it matter?  With MSN and YIM merging, thats makes 2 networks with 50 million users (MSN/YIM & AOL/ICQ).  I cant see much of a reason to use googles.

[Darren Dirt]

Your Title: Google aims to maim AIM as it gains GAIM's main brain



In response to your punny alliteration, thus sayeth My Brain:

Oh the PAIN! Not AGAIN! It's the SAME, I wish it would wax but instead it WANES! Of my existence, it is the BANE!

[Ustauk]

Will it matter?  With MSN and YIM merging, thats makes 2 networks with 50 million users (MSN/YIM & AOL/ICQ).  I cant see much of a reason to use googles.

Googletalk seems to provide better quality VoIP then Messenger, or at least it seems that way when I talk to my brother over it.  I have connection problems with Messenger sometimes, but I've never had a problem with GoogleTalk.

[Shayne]

If your gonna do VOIP, go all the way.  I pay $20 a month for 500 minutes anywhere in north america.  I dont think you can even get a telus phone hooked up for that.



As for connection issues and such, ive never had them.  The point im trying to make is that with 100M users on different networks, as long as my friends and contacts remain on those networks then so will I.  Not to mention i need Miranda to pick up a GoogleTalk plugin, i will NEVER run multiple chat clients.

[Ustauk]

I've thought about getting Shaw VoIP, but my buildings buzzer system works over the phone, and I'm not sure if that'll work with VoIP.



What's the difficulty with running two chat clients?

[Shayne]

Vonage VOIP myself, much cheaper, though i hear that if you have an issue the customer service sucks ass (never had an issue).  Its worth looking into.



As for your buzzer system, it doesnt actually use your phone account, it just uses the phone line.



The difficulty in running two chat clients is mainly organiziation and shared logs/database.  I love Miranda in that every thing is stored in a single shayne.dat file (sure its like 15MB, but its everything for 4 years worth of conversations).  Single memory foot print, single app no matter who i want to talk to.  Single tabbed solution (my MSN buddy in a tab, ICQ buddy in another, IRC running in yet another tab).  I love the plugin ability of Miranda too



Googletalk is just so amaturish.  No matter how you slice it, its a very "basic" application, and im well beyond that. (though ive looked at GoogleTalk only once, the day it was announced).



Right now  Miranda gives me an RSS reader, Weather Reporter, MSN, ICQ, IRC, Gmail Checker in a single application that including its database is under 20MB and 100% portable on a USB key (and uses about 5MB of memory)