Google voice and video - now available for Linux!
Google voice and video chat is now available in Gmail for Ubuntu and other Debian-based Linux distributions. As the comments on this blog indicate, I know many folks have been waiting very patiently for this day!
Context & Ripple Effects
When voice and video chat launched inside Gmail in November 2008, it shipped for Windows and Mac only — Linux users could read their mail in the browser but had to leave it to make a call. Today Google extends the same plug-in-based feature to Ubuntu and other Debian-based distributions, closing a two-year platform gap that commenters on the announcement had been openly lobbying for.
The timing matters against Gmail's trajectory: comScore data cited in mid-2009 already had Gmail nudging past AOL Email into third place among U.S. webmail services, and student enthusiasm for Gmail has been credited as the engine behind Google Apps Education Edition adoption. Making its richest communications features work identically on every major desktop OS protects both of those fronts.
First-order effects
- Ubuntu and Debian-based Linux users can now place Gmail voice and video calls entirely within the browser, no longer forced onto native IM clients or another OS for calls.
Second-order effects
- Feature parity across operating systems strengthens Gmail's pitch against rival webmail providers and reinforces the student-driven momentum behind Google Apps Education Edition, where institutional buyers weigh cross-platform support.
Third-order effects
- If Google keeps shipping communications features browser-first rather than OS-first, the browser becomes the neutral delivery layer for real-time communication — weakening the hold native clients have over who gets which capability based on their desktop choice.
The trend: Real-time communication is migrating from native clients into the browser, with Google using Gmail as its cross-platform vehicle.