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Google Adds Chat To Gmail

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the wouldn't-be-a-weekday-without-a-google-story dept.

Nathan Weinberg writes "Google has added a chat feature to Gmail. It brings Google Talk, minus voice calls, into your webmail client. Gmail now also logs your IMs, whether they originate in Gmail or Google Talk. In the commentary at InsideGoogle, I note that Google recommends you disable Firefox's AdBlock, which can block Google's ads, if you want Gmail Chat to function properly."

10 of 315 comments (clear)

  1. Logging by Silas+is+back · · Score: 5, Informative

    Just to mention, logging of chats is turned off by default. You have to turn it on manually.

    I think this thing is a good idea (not the logging, the chat-inside-mailapp). I wonder if you get marked as "online" whenever you check your Mail on mail.google.com...

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    1. Re:Logging by quantum+bit · · Score: 3, Informative

      No, they definitely can. Jabber doesn't use direct connections for normal chat, and even with an encrypted connection to the server, the server still can read what you're sending.

      The only way to be sure is to use end-to-end encryption, which is usually client-specific.

  2. Use AdBlock Plus by Lawrence+Ho · · Score: 3, Informative

    I have AdBlock installed, and can't load Gmail
    http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answe r=30926&topic=1523

  3. Re:whatever! by sinucus · · Score: 5, Informative

    "AdBlock often interferes with Gmail's chat features, causing Firefox to crash. Our engineers are working hard to fix the problem, but in the meantime, disable AdBlock for testing purposes, and clear your browser's cache. Then, log back in to GmailAdBlock often interferes with Gmail's chat features, causing Firefox to crash. Our engineers are working hard to fix the problem, but in the meantime, disable AdBlock for testing purposes, and clear your browser's cache. Then, log back in to Gmail"

    Well, after I actually RTF, I found that quote. So it appears that the blurb of this article was just FUD and that Adblock is just a temporary glitch and the services will work just fine in the future! Now I can happily go back to google worshipping.

  4. Re:Am I the only one? by MadMoses · · Score: 5, Informative

    RTFA.

    1. You can choose whether gmail logs your chats when you first use the feature, and you can change this option in the settings menu at any time.

    2. There is even a feature that let's you get "off the record" during a chat. So even if you're having logging enabled, you can go "off the record" during a chat, and what you type afterwards will neither be logged in your gmail account, nor in your chat partner's gmail account.

    Sounds good to me.

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  5. Re:Am I the only one? by diegocgteleline.es · · Score: 4, Informative

    Surprise, IM networks are centralized (that is, all what you say goes through a central server, there're chances that IM networks have been grepping into conversations for ej: conversations about people trying to convince people to go to another IM network). In fact, even IRC is centralized. Do you want security? Use end-to-end encryption.

    Notice that unifying email and IM DOES have a lot of sense. IM and email are the SAME THING (send text and ocasinally some files), except that IM is instantaneous and email isn't. But there's no reason why you couldn't add a jabber extension which allows you to receive emails, your jabber client would just move them to a MUA. Email is just a particular case of the idea behind IM.

  6. Re:Logging where? by AKAImBatman · · Score: 4, Informative

    Logging on *my* computer is fine and useful. Logging on *their* server is not.

    1. It's optional. Turn it on as you see fit.
    2. You keep all your GMail on their servers. How does this differ?

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  7. Whitelist Google in Adblock Plus? by guspasho · · Score: 3, Informative

    I'm using Adblock Plus which has the whitelist feature.

    1) Couldn't one just whitelist anything that comes from Google? I haven't been "rolled out" yet, I don't see any indication of Gtalk in my Gmail account, so I can't try this for myself.

    2) Can someone who does try it let us know what we need to add to the whitelist to make it work? Thanks.

  8. Re:The whole point of email is to avoid "instant" by ClearlyPennsylvania · · Score: 5, Informative

    See bottom of screen - "Standard with Chat" vs "Standard without Chat". You can disable it entirely. Or, you can just sign off on the chat window.

  9. Re:Google policies by cashman73 · · Score: 5, Informative
    I just got a notice in my Google Talk account just now with updates to Google's Privacy Policy. This page actually has their privacy policy, with the old text they removed today in RED STRIKEOUT and the new stuff they added in GREEN UNDERLINE.