DeviceGuru

We’ve just learned that Linux users have finally gained the ability to use Google’s chat’s voice and video features Support for Ubuntu and other Debian-based Linux distributions is available immediately, with RPM-based distribution support said to be “coming soon.”

According to the Google Mail blog post, Google’s new voice and video chat support for Linux is available right away for Ubuntu and other Debian-based Linux distributions, and RPM support will be delivered soon.

According to Google, here’s what’s needed:

• Download the voice and video chat support for Linux, here
• Sign-in to Gmail, iGoogle, or orkut
• In your chat list, select the contact you want to call. If they have a camera icon next to their name, you can make a voice or video call to them; just click Video & more.

“If your friend doesn’t have a camera next to their name in your chat list, you can invite them to download the voice and video chat plug-in from the Video & more menu in a chat window. Even if your friend doesn’t have a video camera, you can still have a voice chat or a one-way video chat.”

Further details on Google’s voice and video chat service are available here.