Saturday, February 19, 2011

Skype

One of my more recent projects has been introducing myself to Linux operation systems. It's been a few months now, and I've got a fair level of comfort. Just recently, I wanted to try and get my web-cam up and going on the system. It took a bit of guessing, but was fairly easy to do. In the past, I would primarily use it with yahoo messenger. I'd find it convenient. Of course, my obstacle here is that yahoo messenger won't support video with Linux.

I decided to try Skype. A friend of mine uses and recommended it, so I gave it a whirl. Like Yahoo Messenger, you would need to know the persons screen name, and they do need to accept you to allow a connection. After that, connecting is very simple. I was very impressed with the quality of the sound and video. One of the functions that I found amusing was that when you see a friend on line and request a connection, you hear a phone ringing while waiting for them to “pick up”. Neat.

I still lack a decent positioning for my web cam. One day. It's not all that of a high priority for me, as I don't use the cam all that much, but it can be fun.

More info:

http://messenger.yahoo.com

http://www.skype.com

Tuesday, February 01, 2011

What's Hot

The must have item in New England that disappear from store shelves as soon as they arrive? Roof rakes.