So, what's the big deal? Well, as opposed to other instant messaging services, Google claims that their system will work with other IM services, such as AIM, Yahoo Messenger, MSN and others. In addition, today marks the first time that GMail will be available to individuals not invited to the party by someone else. Anyone can sign up for a GMail account (provided you have a cell phone with capabilities for text messeging), so even if you weren't one of the cool kids before, you can be now.
Or to put it another way... if you haven't been assimilated yet, you soon will be.
