Oh my god.
http://wave.google.com/Basically what I've gotten is:
Starting a "wave" is only a matter of creating a title, dragging people you want in the wave (In the conversation) and then pointing the topic in a certain direction. Basically, it's real time messaging with a ton of features.. If you start a conversation, you can leave it for a day - And then come back to see the responses. If poor old bill wasn't online when the wave started, but wants to read and reply to previous parts of the conversation; No problem! Simply add Bill to the wave. If you want to go back and edit what you said, it edits on ALL websites that are using that wave, REAL TIME.
All the features below are in the ONE PROGRAM, and ONE PANEL. You can basically mix and match to have every single one of these functionalities working together or apart.
Playback Allows you to play back what has gone on in a 'wave' while you've been gone, or just to see something you've forgotten. You can use selective playback to only show a certain persons replies. It shows the playback like a video file of when the conversation was going on, except it skips to when something was said.
Inline reply Works much the same as these forums do, except a person can reply to a certain line of a wave (Which people in the wave can then direct into a totally different topic if they wish.
Multi client editing Much like a wiki page, or a giant notepad that anyone you've put in the wave can access and edit. The best part is, multiple people can be editing the page at the same time, and see the other people as they're typing also real time.
Real time responses Instead of watching messenger programs say "<Name> is typing a message..." you actually watch the person type the message letter for letter, in real time. This lets you partially formulate your response while you wait for them to finish.
File/image sharing Drag your favorite images into the wave, and have them uploaded to a server so others can view them with ease. People can comment on the photos, and view them where ever you put the wave.
Use it on any website Because it's open source, Wave can be interfaced into websites to allow the same functionality as the wave client (Filesharing, messaging, etc).
Ability to be used on mobile devices Google wave will be able to be used on mobiles. The mobile wave client uses almost no extra code then the client built for Pc's (It simply has a different layout).
Wave merging Drag and drop other wave topics/threads/conversations (Not too sure what to call them) into one file, and organize them whatever way you like.
Spell checker Not just a regular spell checker that matches words up to dictionary words - The google wave spellchecker matches it up to words using the spelling and context in one.
Real time translator Having a conversation with a french friend, but neither of you can speak each-others languages? No problem.
