Google and Yahoo

So recently Google announced that you can now chat (as in IM) with other in Google Talk via a web based (flash actually) client they call the Google Talk Gadget so if for some reason you can't install Google Talk on a system you can now use this instead. You can read about it from the Google Talk What's New Page. Pretty cool stuff if you ask me. Now if we can just get Adobe to make a 64 bit version of Flash for Linux we would be in good shape. :)

Along the same lines Yahoo has made a web based version of Yahoo Messenger called Yahoo Messenger for the Web or WebMessenger as I like to call it. :) It too is pretty slick and allows you to go to your My Yahoo and Y! Mail (which has been redone a while ago into a very nice UI experience).

It seems like Google (with G-Mail, G-Talk, and Blogger) , Yahoo (with Y! Mail, Y! Messenger, and Y! 360), and Microsoft (with Live Mail, Live Messenger, and Live Spaces) have all positioned themselves to have counter offers of each other. I think this is good since you have choice in which service you want to use. I personally use Blogger for blogging (obviously :) ), but the other companies have very good offerings too and not just in the blogging arena but with mail, chat, and blogging.

Overall, I think Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft are continuing to advance the user experience quite nicely. I just find it odd that AOL the once champ of everything online hasn't taken the same steps in oder to try and keep up.