Less than an hour ago Google released a free service that mimics a combination of Skype and IM. Installation is ridiculously easy. Click here. Then click the downloaded file. You're in business. A box like this appears on your desktop:

Click a name, click the phone, hear a voice.

Now things get really slick. In the lower right corner of the first box it says "Add friend." Clicking brings up a checklist of all of your gmail contacts. Seamless integration in action, folks.

I gotta go. Lots of folks I need to add to my Googletalk list.

I'd love to read Google's plan for world domination.

These guys are good.

---

Peter called me from Paris around midnight. The call sounded even better than Skype.

Jerry had six simultaneous conversations open without degradation of the signal.

Kevin called this morning. He has been a Skyper. Total bill for outgoing calls during his last trip to China = 78 cents.

Google marketing has picked a product name that's difficult to verbalize. I can write that I Skyped someone, but it grates to write that I GoogleTalked them. Of course, maybe this is to force us into the co-evolutionary mode of "We GoogleTalked."

You still have a chance to be an early adopter. GoogleTalk went live but eight hours ago!

---

I'm betting that the ease of using GoogleTalk coupled with the trust people have in the Google brand will lead to immediate and wide-scale adoption of the tool. This is both good and bad. New users who haven't experienced Skype or IM are likely to make calls willy-nilly, interrupting people's concentration. It will become important for GoogleTalkers to set their availability status to "Busy" or to quit GoogleTalk when they don't want to take calls.

Nightmare: How long will it take telemarketers to start exploiting GoogleTalk? Free calls. Knowing who's available. There's bound to be some Spam in there somewhere.