Google Talk to Work With AIM

With Google’s recent 5% investment in AOL it looks like Google Talk will now work with AOL Instant Messenger. No date has been set for when Google Talk will join the AIM network, but it looks to be soon. Since Google Talk is based off the Jabber network all Google will have to do is install a server-side AIM plugin on their Jabber servers. Now what would be interesting to find out is if Google and AOL will be collaborating on the LibJingle voice chat platform.

I am very excited about this announcement. I have always preferred Google Talk over AIM’s client and even Trillian, so this interconnecting of the services will allow me to dump Trillian once again. No longer will I have to try and entice my friends to switch; I’ll be able to chat with them no matter what.

Ah, the instant messaging world is finally starting to see a little of this Web 2.0 buzz. With MSN and Yahoo moving toward interconnectivity, and now Google and AOL, it looks as if a standard is slowly developing. The barriers of clients will finally be removed. I’m just amazed this hasn’t happened sooner. If you think of the way instant messaging is setup compared to regular phone lines, it would be like if a Verizon customer couldn’t talk to an RCN customer. Well, we’re almost there. The light is starting to show at the end of the tunnel.

9 Comments

1 Jonathan on Dec 21, 2005 at 4:55 pm (Quote):

very exciting news indeed. i imagine a lot of people will then uninstall aim and trillian. i certainly will. though i imagine we need some sort of oscar/toc dll installed on our ends as well.
2 cavemonkey50 on Dec 21, 2005 at 5:00 pm (Quote):

Traditionally when AIM is installed on a Jabber server all that is required in adding AIM users is typing the user’s name in a screenname@aol.com format. Most likely what Google will do is provide GUI over this so that the formating would be transparent.
3 Jonathan on Dec 21, 2005 at 5:29 pm (Quote):

excellent! so when i port to mac, i can use axium then?
4 tcgtony on Dec 21, 2005 at 7:50 pm (Quote):

I like the phone analogy; it brings everything into view. I’m uber glad this is happening, G_Talk is much better than other programs, and I felt dumb only running G_Desktop and Talk for just two people.
5 tcgtony on Dec 21, 2005 at 7:52 pm (Quote):

PS. Today’s Joy of Tech is f)#^&% hiliarious!
6 cavemonkey50 on Dec 21, 2005 at 10:07 pm (Quote):

@Jonathan
Yes.

@tcgtony
Yeah, today’s JoT is really funny.
7 Wayland Smithers on Dec 22, 2005 at 5:43 am (Quote):

Jonathan,

The program you are referencing is called Adium, not Axium.

Regards,

WS
8 Jonathan on Dec 22, 2005 at 11:55 am (Quote):

Thanks, I just noticed that when I was looking at the list again cm50 posted regarding mac software.
9 CarLBanks on Dec 24, 2005 at 11:52 am (Quote):

I am looking forward to this.