Introduction
It might seem to some that the world revolves around Microsoft Windows, but some of us know better. Millions of Linux and Macintosh users out there make up a very vocal minority. Well, guess what? You guys aren’t completely left out of Google Talk. Even though the official Google Talk client is only available for Windows, it is possible to use third-party applications in both Linux and OS X to chat with your Google Talk friends.
This is all made possible because Google has taken advantage of the Jabber protocol, an open-source network design that anyone can tap into and start using.This is completely the opposite philosophy of other IM clients, such as AOL Instant Messenger,Yahoo! Messenger, and Microsoft Messenger, which have fought to keep third-party clients from connecting to their networks.
Google runs an open Google Talk server at talk.google.com that allows connections from any client using the Jabber protocol. All a client has to do is connect to the correct listening port on talk.google.com and they can imme- diately start chatting with their friends.
Tools & Traps…
Google Talk’s Listening Port
Google Talk’s server, talk.google.com, uses a number of TCP port numbers that listen for connections from clients. The two ports that it uses most commonly for Google Talk connections are 5222 and 5223. A port is just a unique number that allows one specific type of data to connect. This is like visiting a huge corporate building with thousands of doors leading to various offices. Depending on who you want to talk to, you have to enter a particular door. Door 80 takes you to the Web content, door 25 to the mailroom. Some clients might only work on one port and not the other.
If you are receiving unusual error messages when you attempt to log in, such as “Read Error,” you might want to change the port that your client is connecting to from 5222 to 5223, or vice versa.
Gaim for Linux
Gaim, an open-source, instant-messaging client, is one of the most popular clients in use today. It can be downloaded from http://gaim.sourceforge.net and installed on a variety of operating systems, such as Windows, Linux, and OS X. Gaim allows you to connect to a very wide variety of IM networks, including AIM, ICQ, MSN,Yahoo! Messenger, IRC, QQ, and Jabber. In addi- tion, Gaim’s support of Jabber allows it to connect directly to Google’s Talk server.
The Gaim download page (http://gaim.sourceforge.net/downloads.php) lists a number of RPM package management archives available for many of the newest and most popular Linux distributions, though many popular distri- butions are still not supported. If you aren’t interested in one of the mainline RPM distributions, you can download the Autopackage version of Gaim or the full source code. Autopackage is a new style of installer similar to the Windows install “wizards.” Autopackage installation is simple: Download the package, give it execute permission, and run it.
If you are unable to install the RPM or Autopackage versions of Gaim, you might be forced to compile it straight from the source code. Although many users prefer this method, it’s not for the faint of heart, and neither is it for new Linux users.The INSTALL file inside the distribution contains the exact installation procedure. Since the instructions are subject to change, we will not outline them here, but suffice it to say that the typical ./configure ; make ; make install commands work well for most installations. Automake is designed to facilitate these simplified installation instructions. Be sure that GnuTLS (www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/) is installed before compiling from source, because Gaim requires it to be able to log into the Google Talk net- work. Without it, your client will display “ERROR: Server does not use any supported authentication method” when trying to connect to Google Talk.
Figure 3.1Gaim Login Screen
This will open the Gaim Account Manager, as shown in Figure 3.2. From this window you can add, delete, or edit any of your instant-messaging accounts. Click the button labeled +Add to add a new account to Gaim.
Figure 3.2Gaim Account Manager
This will open a window, similar to the one shown in Figure 3.3, that allows you to enter the account details.
Figure 3.3Gaim Account Settings
Since Google Talk uses Jabber for communication, first set Protocol to Jabber. Doing so will automatically update the fields that apply to this pro- tocol. Figure 3.3 shows the result of this selection. In this example,Show more optionshas been clicked; this displays the Jabber Options and Proxy Options.You should type your Google Talk username in the Screen Name field. Specify gmail.com as the server.This server field only specifies where your account is stored. Since all Google Talk accounts are Gmail accounts, gmail.com is the option to specify here. Ensure that Use TLS if available is checked. Set the Connect Server to talk.google.comand the Port to 5222.
Once the account is configured, click the Save button to return to the main login screen, where you should see your account information displayed.
Type in your account’s password, click Sign On, and away you go.
Using Gaim
Gaim’s Buddy List (see Figure 3.4) is very straightforward, like most other IM clients. All your online friends will be shown with a glowing light bulb next to their names. Simply double-clicking any name will launch a chat window between you and your friend.
Figure 3.4Gaim Buddy List
The chat window within Gaim, shown in Figure 3.5, is very similar to those of most other Google Talk clients. From here you can see the name of the person you’re chatting with and all the chat traffic. Gaim will also auto- matically timestamp each message so that you know exactly when it was sent or received.
Figure 3.5Gaim Chat Window
iChat for OS X
For the many Macintosh users in the world, iChat is one of the most used instant-messaging clients.This could be simply because it’s built into the operating system and most users are too lazy to replace something that already exists, but it’s also a very simple and easy-to-use program that’s already right there in your dock. iChat allows most users to immediately get up and chat- ting on a variety of networks, including AIM, .Mac, and Jabber.You can even be logged into multiple networks at the same time, chatting with Windows and Mac friends simultaneously.
Tools & Traps
Setting Up Your Account
The first time that you run iChat, you are prompted to configure your accounts. From here, you can enter in information for your AIM, .Mac, or Jabber accounts. However, if you want to use iChat to connect to Google Talk, the setup screen, shown in Figure 3.6, does not give you all the options you need to really set it up. Simply click Continue. We’ll set up the account afterward.
Figure 3.6iChat Initial Setup
Once iChat is up and running, we need to go into its preferences to set up our Google Talk account.To do so, just select iChat | Preferences from the top of your screen, or press the Commandkey. Once in the preferences screen, you should see an icon labeled Accounts, wherein you can manage all your supported chat accounts. Now we just need to add Google Talk to iChat as a Jabber account. Do this by clicking the +button in the bottom left of the window to bring up the account creation screen, shown in Figure 3.7.
From here, pull down the list of items for Account Typeand choose Jabber Account. Under Jabber ID, type your full Gmail address, such as
yourname@gmail.com. (My apologies to readers named Your Name.) If you are not using a Google Mail account, type the username that you registered for Google Talk, followed by @gmail.com. Punch in your password, and specify Google Talk’s server,talk.google.com. Now you’ve got it almost all
set up. Go ahead and click Add, and we’ll make a few small changes to make sure you can connect.
Figure 3.7iChat Account Setup
After you’ve added your Jabber account, details will be shown in the right-hand portion of the Preferences window.These details are broken into two sections: Account Information, shown in Figure 3.8, and Server Settings, shown in Figure 3.9.The Account Information section allows you to specify your e-mail address and password and whether or not you’d like to automati- cally log into this account when iChat is launched.The information you typed into iChat’s setup dialogs is populated into these fields.
Figure 3.8iChat Account Information
In the Server Settings section (see Figure 3.9), verify that the server is set to talk.google.comand that the port is set to 5223. Because Google Talk encrypts its authentication traffic, you need to ensure that the options
Connect using SSL and Allow self-signed certificates are checked. Make sure that you have a location value set so that others know where you’re chat- ting from.The easiest option is just to check Use my machine name so that you don’t have to worry about it.
Figure 3.9iChat Server Settings
Using iChat
Once iChat is up and running, its usage is very straightforward. After con- necting to Google Talk, you will be presented with your familiar buddy list, as shown in Figure 3.10. From here, you can monitor which of your contacts are online and initiate chats with them. Double-clicking any (online) name will open a chat window, like the one shown in Figure 3.11.
Figure 3.10iChat Buddy List
Adding new friends to your contact list is as easy as clicking the + button in the lower-left of the buddy list window, as shown in Figure 3.10. From there, you can select to add a new contact and specify his or her Google Talk username.To remove a friend from your list, simply click the friend’s name and select Buddies | Remove Buddy….
Figure 3.11iChat Chat Window
iChat Limitations
The implementation of Jabber and Google Talk into Tiger’s version of iChat does have some great limitations. It can only perform some very basic func- tions, such as being able to add and remove friends from your contact list or chat with them. It does not have the capability to send files or voicemails to other users. As shown in Figure 3.12, the only options to perform under the Buddies menu are Get Info and Change My Picture. Obviously, iChat is great as a very basic chat client because it is already built into OS X, but it lacks the advanced features that some users enjoy.
Figure 3.12iChat Menu