When the first beta of Google Talk was released almost a year ago, I put up a first-impressions post, particularly emphasizing the superb quality of the PC-to-PC calls feature. Unfortunately, Mac and Linux users were out of luck, since the official client was (and still is) for Windows only.

Last evening, I installed a copy of Tapioca on my Ubuntu setup to test it out. Tapioca is an IM client for Linux that includes libjingle support, which allows users to make voice calls to other Google Talk users. I called my brother in New York, who was using Google Talk on Windows, and establishing the connection was as quick and painless as using GTalk itself. The latest beta of Jabbin, another Linux client, apparently also allows you to do the same.

Now someone just needs to show the Mac users some libjingle love soon. I hear the Adium guys are cooking something up.