Google reportedly plans to launch an instant messaging program as early as this week, in a challenge to America Online, Yahoo and Microsoft.

 

"Google Talk" will allow computer users to chat with their keyboards and allow users with headsets to have voice conversations with other computer users with headsets, according to the Los Angeles Times, citing unnamed sources.

 

The move comes as Google, the leader in Internet search, tries to broaden its offerings and draw more users to its sites to draw more from its online advertising efforts.

 

On Monday, Google announced a new program giving users customized Web pages in a desktop window, similar to offerings from Yahoo and Microsoft.

 

The free program called "Sidebar" offers personalized information including e-mail, news, weather, photos, stocks or other content in a small vertical window on the side of a user's screen.

 

A year after its public stock offering, Google last week said it would sell more than 14 million additional shares in a secondary offering that could raise four billion dollars.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050823/tc_af...HE0BHNlYwN0bWE-

I use what everyone is on, which is and has been, AOL/AIM.

Talking over computer through microphones...Looks like a challenge to the phone companies and a damn good one at that. I might invest in a headset for the comp.

Talking over computer through microphones...Looks like a challenge to the phone companies and a damn good one at that. I might invest in a headset for the comp.

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It's been around for years, there are a number of VoIP phone services people are switching to. There are many problems with it though, such as access to emergency 911 service and things like that. There are stories on almost a weekly basis about people who tried to save a few bucks with a VoIP phone service instead of a traditional one and they found themselves in a life or death situation and died because their internet was down or their 911 service didn't route properly. Talking to friends and stuff online with a headset is cool, but it's just not worth it to switch to an online provider exclusively.

personally I'd never switch to google messenger, im guessing about 90% of people who instant message use AIM and there's no reason to switch to an only marginally better program where there wayyyy few people online.

When I was in Guantanamo, people were paying money to use internet phone services while I just used the voice communication built into MSN. That worked well and saved me a lot of money.

 

I had an internet phone account for back-up towards the end of my deployment, but it was cheap.