The Google "Call" widget allows you to place a phone call from within the Gmail interface to any phone number in the US and Canada. Details here: http://www.google.com/chat/voice/

It requires that you install "Voice and Video Chat" software (GoogleVoiceAndVideoSetup.exe) which is available here: http://dl.google.com/googletalk/googletalkplugin/GoogleVoiceAndVideoSetup.exe

I've tried running that on two different win-98 systems, each with KernelEx 4.5. When started on both systems using the default KernelEx setting, you get this popup message: "Installation failed. Google Installer requires Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 or better."

When setting the KernelEx compatibility setting to "win-2k/sp4", I get the message "Unknown Installer error" on one system, and on the other I get a different error - something like missing export "getversionW something" in kernel32.dll. I can't unpack that file at all with winzip/winrar, and 7-zip doesn't give anything useful.

Any idea if this software can be installed under win-98?

yeah it Fs up for me too, i really wanted/needed it, i really want trilian.

Look in your temp folder before you click OK on the error message and you'll find the files there. They are only google update helper browser plugin files though and presumably once they are properly in place and provided they can run they'll download the actual voice and video chat plugin through using your browser I guess.

Unlike what you you state you can also extract the files using 7-Zip I have just found out.

Edited April 6, 201115 yr by loblo

I think that the problem is that Google Voice and video chat plugin won't run on firefox 2.0.0.20. Not even on a PC running XP. So I'm still going to experiment with this and find out if it will install and run using a more up-to-date browser under win-98.

PS: I can confirm that Google voice-call (a popup that is found on the gmail control panel) does allow you to call north-american (US and Canadian) phone numbers (land line and cell) from Europe. I used this on a recent business trip to Switzerland (I just got back yesterday).

You can get the option to install the google voice-call plugin ONLY if you set your country setting in Gmail to "United States". It doesn't matter where on earth you are when you install it.