The web version of Hangouts, tucked away in the bottom of left-hand corner of Gmail or the right-hand side of Google+, has just received an update that hearkens back to simpler times. Now when a contact is currently available, a green dot is displayed atop their avatar (instead of the green line the web version used to display). It's not exactly the same green dot that many of us grew accustomed to in the days of Google Talk, but it gets the point across. In addition, avatars are round now, and there's a new search icon for quickly picking out friends.

No, the dot doesn't come in multiple colors to indicate away status like it used to (or let you set an away or idle status), but hey, Google would much rather you check this out - now Hangouts will let you set your mood using an emoticon.

The changes are rolling out today, with there being a good chance that they're already activated for your account. Go take a look, and if you walk away thinking that these differences are stinky, Google has just the emoticon to express how you feel.

Source: Google+