Video Conference - For Less

Now that we are all rigged with high-speed connections at home and office, and all of our friends are too, it is time to make use of those connections. One way is by communicating via a video-conferencing system. There are obviously high-end video conferencing systems with a high-end price tag to match. However, there are high-quality free video conference systems too. Internally, we use Skype (www.skype.com), the famous internet-based telephony company, but there are others.

If you have not played with Skype, it is a fairly amazing product. It is a free software download that installs on Windows and Mac systems. Once installed, you simply create an account and then it works in conjunction with your existing webcam. If you do not have a webcam, they are inexpensive and easy to install. Just run down to Frys and you are good to go. We use Skype mostly for internal communication between employees. We have resources located in various geographies, and we have found that having video communication is far superior to voice-only or email correspondence. Video calls help maintain the interpersonal relationships. We use Skype to communicate between our 4 locations: Irvine, Seal Beach, San Francisco, and Australia, and it works great. If you need help getting started, feel free to ask our techs.