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[leveled]

My daughter and family have moved to Scotland recently, so what equipment would I need to see and talk to them on the computer, Would Messenger be any good with webcams?, would my 900 speed be O.K for this?,I would welcome any views before spending an money  Thank You E

[mr_chris]

Messenger and webcams works well I find, the quality is perfectly acceptable if both parties have a fairly decent broadband connection (max should work better than standard ADSL because of the extra upload speed).

I would say if you're doing it a lot to get a reasonable headset (doesn't have to be an expensive one) which will make the voice quality a lot better and will eliminate echo and feedback, meaning you can 'just talk' without having to worry about it.

[leveled]

Thanks , but can you name a particular camera or package of two as there are so many and variable in price

[mr_chris]

Yes they are very variable in quality and price...

The webcam I have isn't sold anymore, and I wouldn't recommend it either, as it was a pig to get set up with drivers etc..

I've just had a quick look around and found this one at ebuyer.com which has some good reviews.

As for headsets, I'd probably be tempted to get something like this one - the reason for going for a USB headset over a normal one is that you don't have to faff about with unplugging your speakers if you don't have front audio connectors on your PC.

If you do have front panel audio connectors in the PC and they work (try plugging your existing speakers in the front and see if you get anything), then you could go for a cheaper headset if desired. Ebuyer have loads of headsets - direct link to headset category

Not endorsing Ebuyer by the way, just they happen to normally have a massive range of peripherals to choose from, usually at decent prices

Just to re-iterate, I haven't got any of the products that I've pointed out today, as I don't use internet audio chat at all, so have no need for a headset, and I already explained about my webcam!

Hope that helps

[oldfogy]

That camera advertised on ebuyer.com is the old model, the new model is now (if I remember correctly) 600 pixels and no change in price.
Or at least my local shop still charges the same, the quality is good and the setup to be honest is mixed.

Some people have absolutely no trouble whatsoever and a few have had problems (me for instance), so I took the laptop into the shop eventually and it installed first time.
There was one other customer some weeks later and the same happened to him.

However, so far to-date I have purchased 5 of those web-cams for people of whom are very pleased with them.
But the 600 is by far the better camera.

[mr_chris]

Cheers for adding that OF.. like I said I didn't really know anything about it other than it got quite a few good reviews and the price was definitely right!

Does yours have the lights? If so, are they any good, or just a novelty, or even worse, blind you when you look at the webcam?! lol

[oldfogy]

Yes they are quite good, not that I use one myself, they were all for other people who are very happy with them.

>> Does yours have the lights?

"The Lights" yes, but these only light-up when the daylight sensor on top of the unit detects it's getting dark (tiny little hole which is very easily missed) in-fact the first time I held one I thought it was faulty because the lights kept going on and off (I had my hand on the top of the unit) 


>> or even worse, blind you when you look at the webcam?

Yes they do a little, but, my friends rooms are usually quite dark, probably in a "normal" room they would hardly ever come on.