GTalk...

Missed release day due to being in Scotland. Has anyone actually installed it? I cannot see anyone in my address book online.

Looks to me like rather an early version. So much for overdelivering Google...

Things I have noticed:

Install quick - like all google things.
Removes Gmail notifier - don't do this, as the replacement doesn't seem to be as good - the icon doesn't change if you have a new message.
No one has it so cannot tell if voice is better than Skype or not.
App is "spartan" to say the least - too much so for my liking.
Seems to require a large window - Why do people keep trying to steal my desktop??
Luckily with a laptop you can multimon apps like this. Soon everyone is going to need this just to get enough space to work back!
No avatars - not that I care, but people do like these things, and hey, everyone else does it.
Not sign of Skype out etc. MSN has SMS messaging too.

All in all they have some work to do I'd say. Integration to Google desktop to ditch its window would be a start, but I think Skype is still a far better app at present.

What I do like:

Open up the spec. The messanger war needs to be broken, so people can run the client of their choice and *still* talk to some one using the darkside. Trillian et al seem to have too many issues, as MS et al are still too protective.

If I couldn't call people with an NTL phone from a BT phone there'd be a public outcry. Silly people. Google's tech should put them in a good position to catch up and exceed most other players in terms of client.

So all in all I am waiting for another version. Gmail too started quite basic, so hopefully Gtalk will quickly improve.

Now will someone install it so I can try the rest of it??