Gtalk Upgraded: IM's Momentous Day

Gtalk just got an upgrade. It can now send files and photos, as well as do a few other new tricks. Because Google's my favorite search engine and Gmail's my favorite webmail, Gtalk is the IM most used on my computer. Andy M at NEW NET prefers to use Yahoo! Messenger, and Luke W prefers AIM. What we really need is IM that works like email. No matter what email program you use and what program is used by the person to whom you send the email, the email gets there. It will be a Momentous Day (TM) when that day arrives where IM follows the email interoperability concept.

The technology currently used for IM to allow for "instant" messenging makes the interoperability problems understandable. But needing to use several different IM programs to connect with various friends and acquaintances is unacceptable. So the technology needs to be changed. There are various ways to connect several different IM services, such as Gaim, Trillian, and the recent pact between Yahoo! and Microsoft. None of those is the answer. What will happen is that one of the 14 year olds out there will at some point become disgusted with the IM mess. That teen will get tired of having three IM programs running on their computer, and they'll develop a new way to do IM that will change the IM world forever. Then I'll be able to use Gtalk to connect with everyone on AIM, Windows Live (MSN) Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, and any other IM clients out there.

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