Google trots out new talk tool

Google is offering a new "gadget" that allows users to chat with other Google Talk members via the Web, bypassing the Talk application. The software gadget can be placed on Google's personalized home page, or on a user's own blog or Web page.

The new tool also lets users view YouTube videos and Picasa Web Albums photos in their chats, a feature that caught bloggers' attention.

Google launched the messaging tool and the personalized home page in 2005. Will the new tool be enough to lure more users to the company's services?

"I wonder, though, as we wander down the video advertising path, how Google will incorporate this kind of video views into their ad rates. I don't know the precise figures, but I would assume that a substantial amount of viral activity is spread via IM. If you can watch the clip in the IM client, why would you go to YouTube.com?"
--Google Watch

"I've got a Google personalized home page (google.com/ig) but it's not one of my go-to Google apps yet--unlike Gmail, Google Docs and search. This could change, however, with the launch of a new and improved Google Talk, which features a flash-based widget called the Talk Gadget that you can put on your home page to chat and talk with other people. You can also put it on you blog or Web site, which could add an interesting dimension if you're willing to talk with your readers."
--Mark Evans

"According to the latest stats, Google is the most used start page worldwide. At this point, why should I need Netvibes or Pageflakes? Those are great services, but Google is now evidently taking on them and, moreover, pushing a service like Google Talk that, according to past stats, is not properly a widely used IM service."
--Thoughts on VoIP, technology...and more