Facebook has been slowly rolling out its web-based chat applet to users. By now most users should have seen the new tab in the lower right when they sign on. On the surface, it offers a simple clean interface. No need to set your status since it borrows from your profile status. Even better, it supports smileys :D

To run the Facebook chat in a Firefox sidebar, create a bookmark for:
http://www.facebook.com/presence/popout.php
Or drag the URL to your Bookmark Toolbar. Then right click on the bookmark and select properties, then tick "open bookmark in sidebar." Now you can see what FB friends are online and chat anytime while surfing the web.

I'm already a dedicated user of Google Talk (gtalk) because it automatically lists the people I contact most at the top of my buddy list. With hundreds of Facebook friends, will Facebook chat just add a lot more noise or will it enhance our social networking experience?

Update: Good discussion on Lifehacker about Fchat vs. Gtalk