Chatting with people who speak another language just got a lot easier thanks to Google's translation bots.
The translation bots provide a way to translate between Google Talk contacts in a group chat or as a translation tool. All you have to do is add one of 29 bots as a contact using their two letter language abbreviation. So in order to translate from an English conversation to a French one, you would add "en2fr@bot.talk.google.com" as a Google Talk contact. Now you can enter a group chat with a user who speaks French, bring the chat bot into the conversation, and the bot will translate everything you say into French and everything the other person says into English.
If you have a Blackberry, the Google Talk client will also function as a translator while on the go. It works the same way, by adding the appropriate translation bot to your chat conversation.
Google is also calling all developers to build their own XMPP based bots for such things as weather services and games that can be added into the Google Talk open protocol.
With Google's Gmail you can now chat with friends that have an AIM account through the Google Talk interface. When you sign into your AIM account through Gmail, your AIM buddies will be populated in your Contact list. Of course you need an AIM account to use this feature.
To check to see if you have a lucky account (we're sure they'll be rolling this out to all users soon) logout, then log back into your account and click on Settings, from there visit the Chat tab and look at the bottom of the list for the section named AIM. Sign in, and your ready to go.
UPDATE; TIP: Make sure you are signed into Gmail chat in order for AIM chat to be activated.
Meebo has just announced a new platform for their messaging system. This allows for third party developers to create applications based on the growing chat service.
The Meebo development platform launched with a set of API's that developers can grab in order to create multi user applications that Meebo users can specifically use to connect with each other. The question users must answer before the build, "I want to ______ with you. Before development begins, Meebo requires applications to be registered complete with title of application, descriptions and author's names. Special instructions and a key will then be sent out to get connected to the database. When the build is complete using either the supplied Flash or JavaScript starter files, applications will be tested in a sandbox environment before they are released to Meebo users. Developers aren't left in the shadows, Meebo will be selling advertising on the applications, and will be splitting revenue 50/50.
The two year old company is moving into the big time fast with their communication platform. They have also announced some big partnerships that allow video/audio calls (TokBox), voice chat (Pudding Media), group calling (TalkShoe), and live TV show streaming (UStream).
Lots of companies are doing it, we just never expected it to come from Skype! They have officially entered the world of the mashup, and are celebrating in a big way. It's not a million dollars or anything, but its all about the creation isn't it. The Skype Developer Program wants your true innovative mashup.
The mashup has to have some "skypeness" to it, and center around the application while being usable for businesses or consumers. Its gotta make people go WOW, while being robust and reliable enough to expand in the future. But most of all, it has to be different and new.
The prize bag holds a trip to Prague to receive the 2007 mashup cup, promotion of your mashup by the Developer Program, a mention in the September newsletter, and a frameable Skype mashup certificate.
Ok, so the prizing is a bit lame for an eBay owned company, but it's truly about your development skills and the spotlight you will enter. Isn't it? Deadline for entries is August 31st, and 10 runners up along with the winner will get promoted and published.
AOL has released a new way for people to chat through social networking pages or websites.
This new chat widget is called the AIM Wimzi. By placing the Wimzi widget on a blog, social network page, or any other website, users can instantly chat with you when you are online with AIM. The bonus here is that your AIM name remains private, but you are able to chat with anyone. Widget names, display name, size and color can all be customized to make the widget fit in, or stand out wherever you place it. Placing it is simple through a quick copy and past of html, or flash embed code.
Other players in the widgets for websites and social site chatting space are Meebome and Geesee.
Google has been tooling around with the Talk Gadget lately, and has added in the ability to have multi user chats through a Group Chat feature.
The process of chatting is simple. Select a user that you want to chat with, then click on the Group Chat button, this will allow you to connect to another user. Keep in mind, this option is only available in the Google Talk Gadget. So if the user is currently using the standalone player for Mac or Windows, or is offline, a message will get sent to them and open up in a Talk Gadget when clicked.
Google seems to be forgetting about the standalone player with the last few updates. Could they be focusing on the integrated online Google Talk Gadget for a reason? I realize offline applications are shifting towards online, but IM is something we sure could use as a standalone. Google has recently added in the support for Flickr slideshows, and emoticons in the Gadget.
Could Google Talk soon be video-enabled? One of the first integrations of the Google acquired Marratech AB could actually be in Google Talk. It really does seem like the logical first step.
Speculation is that Google will soon offer a rebuilt Marratech downloadable client for Mac and PC's adding to the Google Desktop and Picasa lineup. However, with the current state of he market -- competition like Windows Live Messenger and Skype already offering video in instant messagers and VOiP clients -- and with all of Google applications running in the browser, it only makes sense that Marratech video be added to gTalk.
Google has updated the Google Talk Gadget with a few new features today including a Pop out feature, a button for websites, Firefox sidebar integration, and video and image displays. These significant enhancements add a lot to the way the web is heading with widgets, gadgets and keeping applications online and off the desktop. Keep in mind that these new features are only available for the Google Talk Gadget, and not the standalone desktop version.
The Google Talk gadget Pop out feature is similar to the Talk in Gmail feature. Click on the Pop out link, and a small new window will spawn where chats will take place.
Another feature is targeted at website owners and bloggers is integrating Google Talk into their own web locations. This is done by adding a line of code which produces a button on a website. When clicked, this button will produce a conversation in a pop up window.
But perhaps the coolest new feature is the ability to open up Google Talk right in the Firefox sidebar in a simple two step procedure! Oh ya, this is pretty wild, and saves a lot of time when chatting back and forth while working in browser windows, which of course is what Web 2.0 is all about.
Right click on this link "Google Talk Sidebar", and save it into your Bookmarks Toolbar.
Then open the Bookmarks menu bar from Firefox and select "Properties". In the menu, check the box that says "Load this bookmark in the sidebar".
When you open the bookmark, you will instantly load the Google Talk gadget in your sidebar.
Last but not least, we have some YouTube and Picasa Web integrations. Users can now send and watch YouTube and Picasa Web Album slideshows, as well as Flickr slideshows in Google Talk by simply pasting the links into your chat windows. Bye bye desktop applications.
Google has unleashed a new Google Talk Gadget for use on your Google personalized homepage. The Talk client -- still only available for PC users -- can be semi-enjoyed by Mac users with this new Gadget implementation that resembles what PC users have been enjoying for quite a while, although it adds a few slick features.
The new Google Talk Gadget shares the functionality of the standalone application where users can see contacts online and chat with them, but has the added bonus of not requiring a download, being accessible from anywhere you have a browser and a connection. It's also embeddable into a blog or website with a single line of code.
The best new features of the Talk Gadget enables users to see previews of photos and videos in conversation windows when URL's from YouTube or Picasa Web Albums are pasted into chat windows.
Check out a video presentation of the Google Talk Gadget in action after the jump.
Twitter, built by Obvious Corp., is a great way to constantly update people on what you are doing, think simplified blog. Short messages (under 140 characters) are posted by IM or web interface.
One cool thing about Twitter, is that you can update your Twitter feed using your Google Talk account. Simply add twitter@twitter.com to your contact list in Google Talk, and send it a short message. Using Google Talk to feed your Twitter opens doors to Twittering on your Blackberry device through the Blackberry Google Talk Client.
If you feel the need to constantly let friends know what doing, this is one easy app to try out.
Got something to say? Have to complain about something? Want to get it all out for other people to read? Everyone has an opinion, and VentBox wants to be your channel to the outside world when you have something to say. How does it work? Pick a target for your vent--maybe it was the Super Bowl ads, your boss, bad drivers, movies, your cell phone, your computer crashing--then write out a statement like "There were no good commercials this year at the Super Bowl!" And start a discussion. You can also check out the other people that have the same beef as you through the Whos Vented tab. Interesting concept, and a few funny vents can be found on the system. It's good if you want to waste some time, or just have to let it all out.
Want to stay in touch with your Google Talk friends and contacts while on the go? Check out Talkonaut. It's a Java-based client that can be added onto your mobile phone, giving you access to your contacts on Google Talk or any Jabber network. You can choose to have Talkonaut send you an SMS with a download address, or go directly to get.talkonaut.com to download it. The download took about 1 minute for me. The application will work on pretty much all popular J2ME handsets, and there is a list of compatible units on their website. You will need a data plan to use the Talkonaut service since it does establish a TCP/SSL connection.
Even though Google Talk supports VoIP, this free Java client only supports instant messages, so no free voice calls yet.
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.
Chatting with people who speak another language just got a lot easier thanks to Google's translation bots. 
Lots of companies are doing it, we just never expected it to come from Skype! They have officially entered the world of the mashup, and are celebrating in a big way. It's not a million dollars or anything, but its all about the creation isn't it. The Skype Developer Program wants your 
