Google Hires Gaim's Main Developer

astrab writes "According to Dirson's blog, Google's just hired Sean Egan (the main developer of Gaim open IM client), just the same day Yahoo! and Microsoft plan to link their respective proprietary IM networks." From the post: "While Yahoo! and Microsoft link their proprietary networks for Instant Messaging, Google bets on Open Protocols to make information universally accessible ... Currently, Google uses XMPP/Jabber specs, but they claim to be supporting open server-to-server federation, and work "to hear from other people in the communications industry about how best to build a federation model that is open, scalable". In fact, there are this month several tests with firms like EarthLink, Sipphone or PeopleCall. "

Comments

Try again

[mcc]

Microsoft is in talks to combine with AOL. Similarly, Google is in talks with AOL, possibly to buy some kind of stake in AOL just to keep Microsoft from getting it. Nothing is yet finalized. Microsoft may combine with AOL, but it's not certain yet. Microsoft IM has combined with Yahoo Messenger; maybe that's what you're thinking of.

Just because Google has bought the main Gaim developer does not mean work on Gaim will terminate. For one thing, there is no reason why the Gaim developer cannot continue work on Gaim while working for Google. Since Google has shown willingness to some degree to finance open source projects, it is quite likely this is exactly what they want him to do. Most likely what we will see is that Gaim will have support for GTalk added to it. For another thing, Gaim is open source, so even if the main developer quit all work on Gaim, Gaim will continue to be available and continue to proceed in development.

Re:Try again

[masklinn]

Doesn't work like that, Google promotes GTalk as a network not as a client, which is why it even has tutorials to make other clients (OSS like GAIM or AdiumX, but even "commercial" like Trillian or iChat).

Which is also while they'll more than likely include S2S to their servers.

And finally every google employee that I know of has 20% of his working time (aka 20% of his paid time) that can be spent on personal projects (and should, they're taken in account in employee evaluations) and can use Google resources (code repositories and computers) for. And GAIM sure qualifies for a personal/OSS project.

TFA states that Sean announced he'd be working with Google at making it easy for other Jabber clients to include Google Talk voice service, therefore also improving GAIM, but even if that wasn't the case he still'd be able to work on GAIM.

Re:Um, this is supposed to be a GOOD thing?

[Mind Booster Noori]

If you RTFA, they want Sean to improove Gaim, not Google Talk.

Hired a month and a half back

[balster neb]

According to this page on the Gaim site, he's been working at google for a month and a half now:

Working at Google

I (Sean) have been hired by Google, moved to Seattle, and have been working on the Google Talk team for about a month and a half. The goal of Google Talk is to make real-time communication as open as possible, and in that regard, I've been working to offer all of Google Talk's features into other clients. Currently, I'm working on making it as easy as possible for other clients to use Google Talk's voice features. You can expect Gaim and other clients to be interoperable with Google Talk's voice features in the near future.

Get in the GAIM

[digitaldc]

I hear Google is hiring.
Anyone got some innovative web apps to develop?

Contact information:
http://www.google.com/intl/en/jobs/index.html

Google Benefits

We have never forgotten since our start-up days that great things happen more frequently within the right culture and environment. So we offer Googlers a generous host of benefits as part of our efforts to keep Google a motivating, healthy, and productive place.

Among the various benefits many Googlers enjoy:
* Health care for you and your family, plus on-site physician and dental care at our headquarters in Mountain View, California
* Vacation days and holidays, and flexible work hours
* Maternity and parental leave, plus new moms and dads are able to expense up to $500 for take-out meals during the first four weeks that they are home with their new baby
* Employee referral bonus program
* Employee assistance services for personal issues, childcare referrals, answers to financial and legal questions
* Learning opportunities and tuition reimbursement
* Adoption assistance
* Google Child Care Center, just five minutes from Google headquarters in Mountain View
* Back-up child care helps California parents when their regularly scheduled child care falls through
* Free shuttle service to several San Francisco, East Bay, and South Bay locations
* Fuel Efficiency Vehicle Incentive Program
* Employee discounts
* Onsite dry cleaning, plus a coin-free laundry room in the Mountain View office

Look for us to continue exploring novel ideas in benefits, compensation, and culture. Our goal is to build a company characterized not only by success and innovation, but also by the highest levels of integrity and fairness in our dealings with one another.

Why can't all companies be like Google??? The world would be a better place.

Re:Um, this is supposed to be a GOOD thing?

[Evangelion]

Perhaps they should tell him that:

Working at Google

I (Sean) have been hired by Google, moved to Seattle, and have been working on the Google Talk team for about a month and a half. The goal of Google Talk is to make real-time communication as open as possible, and in that regard, I've been working to offer all of Google Talk's features into other clients. Currently, I'm working on making it as easy as possible for other clients to use Google Talk's voice features. You can expect Gaim and other clients to be interoperable with Google Talk's voice features in the near future.

Gaim posted this news yesterday

[AlistairMcMillan]

This was posted on the gaim.sf.net front page yesterday:

I (Sean) have been hired by Google, moved to Seattle, and have been working on the Google Talk team for about a month and a half. The goal of Google Talk is to make real-time communication as open as possible, and in that regard, I've been working to offer all of Google Talk's features into other clients. Currently, I'm working on making it as easy as possible for other clients to use Google Talk's voice features. You can expect Gaim and other clients to be interoperable with Google Talk's voice features in the near future.

Re:Open up the inter-server links, Google.

[sapped]

From their help pages Federation with google talk

We plan to support open server-to-server federation. We do believe, however, that it is important to have the safeguards in place to ensure that we maintain a safe and reliable service that protects user privacy and blocks spam and other abuses.

So hang in there and it will happen. In the meantime I guess you could email them if you were really anxious: federation at google.com