DURING the last couple of weeks, we have been discussing a lot about “talk”; free and sometimes cheap talk. As the old saying goes, ‘Talk is cheap’. That old saying has now come to a new, revolutionizing usage… Worldwide, too! Fring, Yahoo Messenger, ooVoo and Skype: Rings a bell? They all have one thing in common: Voice over internet protocol (VOIP) feature. One such application is the world-famous Google Talk.
Google Talk is an instant messaging service which is integrated with Gmail, or available as a separate download.
Windows users can download the Google Talk application; and Mac and Linux users can use many other instant messaging applications with their Google Talk accounts, or message directly from Gmail. Google Talk also supports PC-to-PC voice calls.
If you’re looking for an easy, inexpensive way to send instant messages, Google Talk may be right for you. While it doesn’t offer as many features as AOL Instant Messenger, Microsoft Windows Live Messenger, Google Talk messaging is uncluttered with ads, and free to use.
Once you download Google Talk, you’re set for instant messaging from your computer, or through a browser, although only with other Google Talk or Gmail users.
What are some of the features of Google Talk? How do you use it? And, what’s Google Talk Gadget?

Forget e-mail! It’s too slow! Teens would rather stay in touch by instant messaging each other. In fact, nearly 85 per cent of teens worldwide instant message (IM) their friends; and instant messaging is the most popular communications tool among teens in most countries. That’s according to the results of a survey done in October and November 2007 of 58,486 teens in 31 countries.

Google Talk text chat:
•    Instant messages: Share quick thoughts in real time
•    Status updates: See if friends are around and what they are up to
•    File transfer: Instantly send and receive files, pictures, and more

Google Talk voice chat:
•    Free long distance: Make PC-to-PC calls to people anywhere in the world
•    Audio conferencing: Talk to multiple people at once
•    Gmail integration: Chat with your friends on Gmail
Google Talk is easy to use. You can start using Google Talk right away; add friends, and share many things.
One of the best and most exciting features, using this specular application, is when you are sending and receiving videos. Once you’re up and chatting, just cut and paste a video Uniform Resource Locator (URL) from YouTube or Google Video into your chat, and send to your friend. You’ll be able to watch the video right in the Gadget; and if your friends are using the Talk Gadget, they will too. You can share photos the same way, by pasting a URL from Picasa Web Albums, or Flickr.
To start chatting immediately, use the Google Talk Gadget on your Google Personalized Homepage. It’s web-based, so you don’t need to download anything.
To make high-quality PC-to-PC voice calls and unlimited file transfers, download the Google Talk Client. If your friends are already using Google Talk, they will receive an invitation to chat in Talk. If they are new to Google Talk, they will receive an email that will help them sign up.
Just like the Google Talk Client, and Gmail Chat, if you’re a Gmail user, your chats will be archived in Gmail for you to search and browse anytime.

You can also add the Google Talk Gadget to your own webpage or blog by pasting a single line of code into your site’s HTML. You can find the code here.
Getting Started with the Google Talk Client
1.    Download the 1.5MB application. It will take a few seconds over a broadband connection, or about three minutes over a typical modem. Google Talk requires Windows Vista/XP/2000, with a minimum 56k connection speed (broadband is recommended).
2.    Sign in with your Gmail or Google Account username and password. If you don’t have a Google Account, or have not enabled your Google Account for Google Talk, you need to do so.
3.    If you’re signing into Google Talk with a Gmail account, your Gmail contacts are pre-loaded into Google Talk. Your most frequently-emailed contacts are at the top of your Friends list.
4.    If some people from your Friends list already have Google Talk, they will have an icon that looks like a coloured ball next to their name, and you can call or IM them immediately.
5.    If another Google Talk user wants to add you to their Friends list, you will see an alert at the top of your screen.
6.    You can also invite any of your other friends to download Google Talk, so you can talk to each other for free.
Six simple steps will allow you to talk cheap. So, next time someone says, “Talk is cheap,” tell them it certainly is. And fun, too!