Google Talk is an instant messaging service that provides both text and voice communication. The instant messaging service is colloquially known as "gchat" to its users, although Google does not endorse this name.

Google Talk is also the name of the client applications offered by Google to access the service. Google Talk applications are available for Microsoft Windows (XP, Server 2003, Vista, and Windows 7), Android, Blackberry, and Google Chrome OS operating systems.

Because the Google Talk servers communicate with clients using an open protocol, XMPP, the service can also be accessed using any other client that supports XMPP. Such clients are available for a number of operating systems not supported by the Google Talk client.

VoIP in Google Talk uses an older version of what became the Jingle protocol. The technology used within the Google server network, however, is not publicly known.

Google has announced that a major goal of the Google Talk service is interoperability. Google Talk uses XMPP to provide real-time extensible messaging and presence events, including offline messaging and voice mailing. Google Talk supports messaging with any service provider that supports the XMPP protocol. This includes Earthlink, Gizmo Project, Tiscali, Netease, Chikka, MediaRing, and, according to Google, "thousands of other ISPs, universities, corporations and individual users."

Linus Benedict Torvalds (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈliːn.ɵs ˈtuːr.valds] ( listen); born December 28, 1969 in Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish Americansoftware engineer and hacker, best known for having initiated the development of the open source Linux kernel. He later became the chief architect of the Linux kernel, and now acts as the project's coordinator. He also created the revision control system Git. He was honored (shared with Dr Shinya Yamanaka) with the 2012 Millennium Technology Prize by the Technology Academy Finland "in recognition of his creation of a new open source operating system for computers leading to the widely used Linux kernel".

Torvalds was born in Helsinki, Finland. He is the son of journalists Anna and Nils Torvalds, and the grandson of poet Ole Torvalds. Both of his parents were campus radicals at the University of Helsinki in the 1960s. His family belongs to the Swedish-speaking minority (5.5% of Finland's population). Torvalds was named after Linus Pauling, the American Nobel Prize-winning chemist, although in the book Rebel Code: Linux and the Open Source Revolution, Torvalds is quoted as saying, "I think I was named equally for Linus the Peanuts cartoon character", noting that this makes him half "Nobel-prize-winning chemist" and half "blanket-carrying cartoon character".

Albert Kyle Johnson (born December 15, 1978 in Wheaton, Illinois) is an American football fullback who is currently a free agent. He was originally drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the fifth round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Syracuse.

As a senior at Woodbridge High School in Woodbridge NJ, Johnson won second team All-State recognition, All-County honors, and All-Area honors.

Johnson played collegiately for Syracuse. However, an ankle injury ended his season in the opener but still had 20 touchdowns; he was subsequently granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA.

Kyle was drafted by the Carolina Panthers as the 10th pick in the 5th round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He was cut by the team after training camp and spent time on the New York Giants and Detroit Lions' practice squads.

He was signed by Denver to their active roster in late 2002, but was inactive for the remainder of the season and spent the next year being shuffled between the active roster and the practice squad. He began 2004 with the Broncos as a backup and special teams player; however, injuries led to starting fullback Reuben Droughns being moved to tailback, leaving the fullback spot to Johnson. However, after three starts, he suffered a season-ending injury to his right ankle.

Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer and performer. Since November 2010 he has hosted Conan, a late-night talk show that airs on the American cable television station TBS.

O'Brien was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, and raised in an Irish Catholic family. He served as president of the Harvard Lampoon while attending Harvard University, and was a writer for the sketch comedy series Not Necessarily the News. After writing for several comedy shows in Los Angeles, he joined the writing staff of Saturday Night Live, and later of The Simpsons. He hosted Late Night with Conan O'Brien from 1993 to 2009, followed by seven months hosting The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, the only person to serve as the permanent host for both NBC programs.

O'Brien was born in Brookline, Massachusetts (a suburb of Boston) to Thomas O'Brien, a physician, epidemiologist, and professor of medicine at Harvard, and Ruth O'Brien (née Reardon), an attorney and partner at the Boston firm Ropes & Gray. He is the third of six children. O'Brien's family is Irish Catholic and descends from pre-Civil War era immigrants. In a Late Night episode, O'Brien paid a visit to County Kerry, Ireland, where his ancestors originated.

Bruce Schneier ( /ˈʃnaɪər/; born January 15, 1963) is an American cryptographer, computer security specialist, and writer. He is the author of several books on general security topics, computer security and cryptography, and is the founder and chief technology officer of BT Managed Security Solutions, formerly Counterpane Internet Security, Inc.

A son of Martin Schneier, a Brooklyn Supreme Court judge, Bruce grew up in Flatbush, attending P.S. 139 and Hunter High School. After receiving a physics bachelor's degree from the University of Rochester in 1984, he went to the American University in Washington, D.C. and got his master's degree in computer science in 1988. He was awarded an honorary Ph.D from the University of Westminster in London, England in November 2011. The award was made by the Department of Electronics and Computer Science in recognition of Schneier's 'hard work and contribution to industry and public life'.

In 1994, Schneier published "Applied Cryptography", which details the design, use, and implementation of cryptographic algorithms. More recently he published "Cryptography Engineering", which is focused more on how to use cryptography in real systems and less on its internal design. He has also written books on security for a broader audience. In 2000, Schneier published Secrets and Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World. In 2003, Schneier published Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly About Security in an Uncertain World.