Google Talk (and other stuff)

Google took yet another step towards digital domination. They have launched Google Talk, which is an instant messenger service. As of this writing, http://www.google.com/talk/ is down, but there should be information there later.
To get started, download a Jabber compatible client such as Pidgin. It is available to download for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux: http://www.pidgin.im/download/
To get started:
1. Add an account and select “Jabber” as the protocol.
2. Your screen name is the first part of your gmail address, everything before the ‘@gmail.com’.
3. Server is ‘gmail.com’.
4. Click “show more options” and make sure “use TLS if available” is checked. Leave “Force old SSL” and “allow plaintext…” unchecked. The connection port should be 5222, connection server should be ‘talk.google.com’ without the quotes.
5. There is no #5. Log in and your done.
Alright that’s enough nerdiness for now; moving on to football business:
At the Jets pre-season game against the Vikings this past Friday, Trish and I got there early and did some tailgating as usual before the game. We got some tickets to the lower section from Dan, and we went down to the third row in section 109. We were looking right at the 20 yard line, on the right side of the Jets’ sideline. Since there were two kids in front of us, one with a Jets firefighter hat and the other with a Jets construction hat, the stadium video cameraman put them, and consequently Trish and I up on the stadium jumbotron. It was another 15 seconds of fame for me. The last time I was on a screen that many people saw was last year when I went to the Long Island Ducks minor league baseball game with Trish’s dad and I was on the local cable station that televised the game. Anyway, hopefully the Jets will beat up on the Giants this Friday. I know it’s pre-season and it doesn’t matter, but I still want the Jets to win as much as I want the Giants to lose to the Jets. Until next time…
UPDATE (Aug. 24, 2005 11 AM): http://www.google.com/talk/ is back up, with more information and their own client. Check it out.