Webcam experiment #1

We’ve been talking about setting up some webcam action related to the trip to Taiwan, being away from each other for a while and being away from our families for much longer might be the impetus to adopt this technology.
We loaded Google Talk onto Shirley’s mom’s laptop when we were in FL for the holiday and swore there would be no way she would pick it up. But shortly after getting back home we dialed up mom and it took her a little while to find out where to click to accept the call, she figured it out. This was just for voice.
I had done some research on webcams and ended up deciding to look for a Microsoft Lifecam VX-3000, actually a pair of them, one for Shirley and one to bring to her parents when I’m back in FL in February. They go for about $40 and we must have found a price mistake at Office Max where they were marked $24.99 with no note of a markdown and the lower model VX-1000 was $29.99. Jackpot!
Went home and set up the cam on Shirley’s laptop. I recently got a new laptop with a built-in webcam so we were ready for some experimentation. The Microsoft cam has a button on top that runs their MS Live video chat application. I figured that this would be the easiest situation for the parents to handle so we’d try that first. Big mistake. Shirley sounded like she had just landed on the moon. We tried the laptop mic, cam mic, changing levels, nothing worked.
Then we switched over to Google Talk, and it was perfect! I have Skype loaded up so I can call a landline from my PC and will be giving that a shot tonight for a meeting I have to attend while travelling to Utah. Here’s the view from my built-in laptop cam:

I was disappointed that it looked really grainy after I was kinda impressed with the quality on the same floor model in Best Buy. After messing around with resolution settings and trying to find better light, I notices some goop on near the camera and it was the tab of the protective plastic sheet that was still covering the lens. Oops!
I can’t get a decent snapshot now because I’m on a flight but it’s much better. The MS VX-3000 webcam looks even better, highly recommended. I have to see if there’s a way to bind that button on it to Google or Skype instead of the Microsoft application.
The next webcam experiment will be installing the second one down at Shirley’s parents’ house. I wonder if they will be able to work it. They will think it’s really strange at first, the whole thing, but I think it will really be appreciated once we are in Taiwan.