How to set up Mom with Webcam for chat?

[fulloflead]

I want to set up my mom with a web cam on her computer (and me) so we can chat and see each other. (I'm about to move far away from her, so I thought it'd be nice.)

But I don't know anything about webcams.

She has about a 6 year-old pc with Windows ME.
I have a 2-year-old ThinkPad with Win XP.

She has dial-up but may be getting DSL or cable in the future.
I have cable.

Getting a pair of webcams is one thing,
but I don't know how to go about setting up the "chatting". Software? Some kind of online account?

Thanks.

 

[BlackHills]

Most of the common IM programs will allow you to use a webcam. I know that Yahoo IM and AIM have it built in.

FWIW, I think the absolute best program for using a webcam is an old Microsoft program called NetMeeting. It should already be on both computers, it has been bundled with Windows 95-XP. You can find it by doing a search on your computer for 'conf.exe' or look in Program Files. It is a little more complicated than using the one built into Yahoo or AIM, but I think it's worth the extra trouble as the video quality is excellent. If you're interested in trying it, here's a good tutorial. It seems more complex than it actually is, all you have to know is the other person's IP address and then you can connect with them.

 

[Lucky Bob]

I've had good luck with Skype. If I recall correctly, it uses better compression than at least Yahoo/AIM's built-in videoconferencing protocols (although iChat-to-iChat is another story.)

 

[fulloflead]

Thanks. I heard today that if she has dial-up, which she does, it isn't even worth trying. Oh, well. I'll spend a couple years trying to talk her into cable.

.

 

[BlackHills]

Thanks. I heard today that if she has dial-up, which she does, it isn't even worth trying. Oh, well. I'll spend a couple years trying to talk her into cable.

.

I disagree. I used a webcam on dailup for years. Will it run slower? Yes. Will it work? Yes.

 

[Cougar Allen]

A friend of a friend of mine set up one of the first webcams. I was using a 2400 baud modem at the time and I was able to see it. Of course the picture updated once every five minutes -- LOL!