Google Talk, Labs Edition

Google Talk Labs Edition is a wonderful instant messaging program. It has almost the same features as the Google Talk Gadget, such as instant messaging, emoticons, and group chat.

The application also comes with new desktop notifications from Calendar, Orkut, and Gmail. The user interface features some changes and now it looks more pleasant to the eyes. However, the new version lacks voice calls or file transfer, so if you are used to working with other instant messaging applications with a lot of features and customization options, you'll find Google Talk pretty boring and simple. A great thing about this program is its clean environment, since it doesn't have ads or pop-ups. Another great feature of this version is the new Google Calendar notifications, which display a snoozable calendar alert windows that makes it a lot harder to forget appointments. The installation is very simple and painless and the program starts up in just a few seconds. For your convenience, your Gmail contacts are pre-loaded into Google Talk Labs Edition, so inviting or talking to your friends is just a click away.