Brennan’s Blog

I use Skype regularly to chat, but also use it to have a regular phone conversation as well. Having the audio come through my computer speakers with a microphone sitting on the desk is so much better than holding a tiny phone with questionable reception to my ear. Now Skype 3.0 has been released. And this release has the ability to do video. I am not sure how long Skype has had video, but it appears they are shipping full support for it now.

This is really great stuff. My idea for using this is to rig a home video conferencing system, especially for the holidays, between members of my family over their existing broadband connections. Connecting a laptop to the full-sized TV to show the video while placing the camera and microphone above it would really make for a worthwhile call between two homes. When you have a big family spread out across the state and country that is invaluable. And I am sure once you can get your more non-technical family members comfortable with it they would use it more often. I also like the idea of my older niece tutoring my younger niece across the state with her math homework. When you can talk freely and position the camera over your notebook it is very helpful.