iSight and PCs

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Ian A. York - 30 Jul 2005 02:58 GMT

My mother-in-law lives in China. She's elderly, and not what you'd call
technically adroit, but she misses her grandchildren. Her neighbour has a
computer and a broadband connection, and are willing to have her visit
regularly. We would like to set up a video chat system, so she can see
and talk to the kids.

We have Macs, but her neighbour uses a PC. I know the iSight is
officially compatible with PCs now, but what I don't know is how much
setup and configuration is involved; if it's a lot of fussing, we're
pushing our luck, but if there's just a bit of tweaking (or, ideally, if
its plug-and-play) then we will definitely go that route.

What experiences have people had? Easy to set up at the PC end, or hard?
What factors do we need to think about?

Ian

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Ian York (iayork@panix.com) <http://www.panix.com/~iayork/>
"-but as he was a York, I am rather inclined to suppose him a
very respectable Man." -Jane Austen, The History of England

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Bob Harris - 30 Jul 2005 04:04 GMT

> My mother-in-law lives in China. She's elderly, and not what you'd call
> technically adroit, but she misses her grandchildren. Her neighbour has a
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>
> Ian

Suggest AOL Instant Messenger for the PC with a compatible USB webcam
for your Mother-in-law. The recent versions of AOL Instant Messenger is
suppose to be compatible with iChat AV.

Bob Harris

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Ian A. York - 30 Jul 2005 04:34 GMT

>> What experiences have people had? Easy to set up at the PC end, or hard?
>> What factors do we need to think about?
>
>Suggest AOL Instant Messenger for the PC with a compatible USB webcam
>for your Mother-in-law. The recent versions of AOL Instant Messenger is
>suppose to be compatible with iChat AV.

Yeah, I know that, but there's compatible and then there's compatible, if
you know what I mean. I don't mind doing a certain amount of tweaking at
my end, but if setting up their end is complicated at all, then it's going
to be difficult to get traction. I'm looking for people who have set it
up on a PC, and their experience: easy, or hard?

Ian

Signature

Ian York (iayork@panix.com) <http://www.panix.com/~iayork/>
"-but as he was a York, I am rather inclined to suppose him a
very respectable Man." -Jane Austen, The History of England

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Shawn Hirn - 30 Jul 2005 05:58 GMT

> >> What experiences have people had? Easy to set up at the PC end, or hard?
> >> What factors do we need to think about?
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> to be difficult to get traction. I'm looking for people who have set it
> up on a PC, and their experience: easy, or hard?

For the PC, just get a cheap web cam. You can find them anywhere PC
stuff is sold for around $20 - $30 and setup with AOL IM should require
minimal effort. This will allow you and your mother to communicate.

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Randall Ainsworth - 30 Jul 2005 04:46 GMT

> Suggest AOL Instant Messenger for the PC with a compatible USB webcam
> for your Mother-in-law. The recent versions of AOL Instant Messenger is
> suppose to be compatible with iChat AV.

iSight - Firewire - no USB

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Mac Forum / Applications / Mac Applications / July 2005

iSight and PCs