It's been over two years since Google brought text-only Chat to the Gmail web interface: and whilst the feature has certainly seen a number of small additions in that time, I think it's fairly safe to say that the efforts with Chat to date will pale into insignificance with Google's announcement on the Gmail blog that Video and Audio chat will shortly be arriving in an inbox near you.

The features, which require a plugin [available for both PC and Mac OS X] allow you to initiate video and audio chats from within the web browser. You can even expand the size of the video chat, and thanks to the feature being based on a number of widely used standards, you should in theory be able to chat with a fairly large number of contacts who don't need to be using the web interface [it's also worth noting that one-way video and audio chat is also possible].

Unfortunately, the feature isn't available just yet: the Googlers say the feature has only just begun rollout - however you can visit the Gmail videochat page to download the browser plugin and get ready for your account to be enabled in the next few days.

When we first looked at Zenbe two months ago, the service was still in private beta. Now anyone can sign up for Zenbe. The company has also added several new features that help transform the service from a simple webmail client to a personalized start page.

For example, you can now sign into Google Talk and Twitter in the Quick View area on the right side of the page. This lets you chat with your contacts without leaving the email/calendar client. You can update your twitter status or read updates from your contacts.

Zenbe has also created a new email notification script for Firefox, redesigned the task list, and added buttons for easily deleting all items in your deleted and spam folders. Zenbe also says it's working on adding a Gmail-style conversation e-mail view, and is working to add IMAP support.

Your co-workers use MSN Messenger, your family is partial to AOL Instant Messenger, and your friends use Google Talk. There are plenty of utilities that let you keep in touch with all of your contacts regardless of the IM platform they're using. But while we love Digsby, Trillian, Pidgin, and Adium most of the time, there are a few features missing from those apps:

• Support for voice and video chats
• The ability to invite friends from different IM networks into a single chat room

And that's where Instan-T comes in. This multi-protocol chat client for Windows supports AOL, Google, Yahoo!, and MSN Messengers. It also supports voice and video chat across each network, although we've found that feature to be a bit finnicky. When we tested out a voice chat, we were able to the person speaking on the other end, but she couldn't hear us. We'll chalk that up to a hardware problem.

Probably the most interesting thing about Instan-T is that it lets you set up a chat room that you can invite contacts from any service to participate in. Just click on a contact name and select multi-person chat. They'll receive an invitation with a URL to click on that will open up a Flash-based chat room, which also features voice and video support.

We'll be honest. The Instan-T interface is a little cluttered and confusing when compared with other multi-protocol chat clients. But the application definitely shows promise. If you want to try the service without downloading and installing anything, you Instan-T also has a Meebo-like web based instant messenger. The web client supports Internet Explorer and Firefox, which means you should be able to access the service whether you're using Windows, Linux or OS X.

[via TechnoBuzz]

While Google's GTalk messaging application is currently Windows only, shankri-la points out that similar functionality can be achieved by using Mozilla's beta project, Prism, to create a standalone web application.

After Prism is installed, run the program and enter the following line as the application URL:

https://talkgadget.google.com/talkgadget/client

Next, give your application a name like "GTalk," and choose your shortcut locations. You'll then have a GTalk/Prism web application that runs separately from your regular web browser (which is helpful for keeping conversations on a separate monitor or to prevent accidental quitting of the application during web use).

Signing in to your newly-created gadget will present you with your contact list and basic GTalk instant messaging. You won't be able to do fancy things like send files or use the music status functions, but you will be able to group chat, use emoticons, and save your chat history (if you've enabled that preference in your Gmail settings).

We know you could use the Google Talk within Gmail or use a Jabber client for Mac/Linux to connect, but using Prism to create a web app can create a better workflow for some users. You won't have to keep a Gmail tab open for IM, and you won't mistakenly quit Firefox when you're done browsing on another tab (which would close your IM session as well).

GTalk Profile is a site for finding Google Talk related profiles that makes use of the recently launched Google Profiles.

GTalk Profile uses the Google Maps API to pinpoint locations of users worldwide. Each pinpoint has a link to a users Google Profile, including their interests, location and profile photo. The site is relatively young, but there are already over 7400 users that have chosen to include their GTalk profiles.

While checking in with the site over the past few days, it seemed that they might have an inadequate hosting plan. There were numerous instances where the site was either offline, or the map and profiles were not showing up at all. Since Google Profiles are on the move to becoming an emerging way to identify each other in a social setting, it might be time for GTalk Profile to rethink their data plans.

On Friday, we wrote about the iPhoneChat application that allowed you to do AOL Instant Messaging from the iPhone. Today, however, we can go one better: AIM, Jabber (GTalk), MSN, Yahoo! and even ICQ for your iPhone.

Meebo offers an IM-aggregation service via the web, however what's great about this apparently new service is that you don't need to be registered with Meebo to be able to sign in. You simply visit the site, enter your sign-in details, and Meebo will log you in to the relevant service. Whilst the service isn't specifically for the iPhone, it works just fine (and once you've opened a chat window, you can simply take advantage of the zooming and enlarge the chat window) thanks to the iPhone's Safari browser.

TechCrunch is reporting that Google will acquire GrandCentral (or already has).

GrandCentral's tag line is "one phone number for life." Basically, the service provides you with a single phone number that can be linked to every other phone in your life, including home, work, mobile, you name it.

When you get a call on your single number, you can pick up any phone to answer. All of your voicemail messages go into a single mailbox, which you can access from your phones, the web, or via email. You can even create spam folders for telemarketers.

A Google Acquisition could mean GrandCentral would be integrated into Gmail and/or GTalk. Imagine being able to check your voicemail through Gmail or make and receive phone calls in GTalk.

There's no confirmation of the deal from Google or GrandCentral yet, but GrandCentral did just update their webpage over the weekend if you want to read anything into that.

You are reading this post about Twitter. That's what you would answer to Twitter's simple question, "What are you doing?", which is the entire premise of Twitter's existence. Getting people to answer in 140 characters or less, by IM or logging onto Twitter.com, what it is they are doing at that particular moment. Big stuff, right?

Constant stream of consciousness chatter is the lifeforce of Twitter. And this constant feed of the bright and banal is turning a lot of people into Twitter addicts. What makes this so? It could be the sheer ease of use to Twitter. You don't have to construct an entire blog post or for that matter, even a full sentence. Just a thought, a word, an impulse to share and you can Tweet (or post something on Twitter).

To Tweet or not to Tweet
Warning: if you're the compulsive type, you may want to move onto the next post and stop your habit before you even have a chance to start it. (We're not making this up. According to Alexa, Twitter's user reach has increased 526% in the last three months). Now, for those of you who aren't the addictive type or who like to throw all caution to the wind, let's investigate what awaits you in the world of Twitter.

Today marks the one-year anniversary of what could have been a great milestone between AOL and Google."'Could have been'?" you ask? Well, one year ago today the two internet giants announced a $1 billion deal that put 5% of Google AOL in AOL Google's pocket. One result they promised was that the companies' instant messaging products, Google Talk and AIM, would be interoperable, allowing Google Talk users to send messages to AIM users and vice versa. And, as Steve Rubel points out, one year ago to the day, that interoperability is nowhere to be found.

Rubel speculates that AOL isn't delivering the advertising revenue that Google hoped for, which has put integrations on hold. "After all, why get married if the courtship is rocky?" he says. "It would only upset users if they re-segregated the IM systems." Whatever the cause, it's been a long wait and I hope they haven't decided to scrap the whole thing.

It seems like Google could be working on integrating Google Talk into their social networking tool, Orkut. The Google Talk and Orkut teams are rumored to be in the final stages of the developmental integration, with news of the rollout this week. Google came to the decision to integrate the two tools when they noticed that users of Orkut quite frequently had their Talk application open. Through the new Google Talk integration, Orkut users will be able to voice chat or instant message other users immediately. Users of Orkut, will also have their friends list show up in their GTalk users buddy list. Maybe this will pump up Orkut, and move it on up to competing with the likes of MySpace.

Do you have contacts on MSN Messenger, but prefer to use Google Talk? Why not open one IM instead of two? GTalk2VoIP is an application that supposedly allows you to call regular phone numbers from Google Talk, as well as chat with MSN Messenger contacts. There is no software to install, just simple add the contact, service@gtalk2Voip.com, and you're ready to go. GTalk2VoIP is a free service, but there is a fee for outgoing calls to regular phone lines, which is determined by the provider your call is routed through.

[Via Google Operating System]

Gmail's built-in Chat feature, which lets you use Google Talk within your web browser, is pretty handy, but I often find that a message has been waiting me for a long time before I notice the tab blinking at me. Gmail Chat Alert is an extension for Firefox that fixes that by sounding an audio notification when you get an IM in Gmail. Simple and effective.

The good news is, you won't even need Google Talk. The bad news is, I have no idea when you'll be seeing this feature bestowed upon us. Anyone signing in to Gmail today will see a little blurb to the left explaining the Talk feature will eventually get glommed straight into Gmail's interface. I can only assume this is another Ajaxian trick, similar to Meebo, where you can already sign in to Jabber client IM's anyway. Having this in the Gmail interface could be pretty handy for some, but I can see it being a nuisance for others. More details of what it'll look like on Gmail's chat page. One nice feature is the ability to save those chats directly in the web interface, which could also just be another way to fill up that space Google keeps doling out. And I just had to throw this in because it's Google-related and topical: you can now see all the Superbowl ads on Google video. As if you weren't wasting enough time at work.

UPDATE: It's showing up in mine and others' Gmail. Anyone else out there see it? A little "Chat" icon... You can only save chats in there for now, live chat coming soon.