Free video conversations with anyone

Posted by zeth 1337
January 24, 2006

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Got a broadband connection? Got relatives or friends living far away, even around the globe? Stay in touch using video conference calling. Best of all, it’s free!

You need broadband (DSL or cable), and the relatives (or friends) must also have a broadband connection. You (and them) need a webcam and a microphone. These are available everywhere, even Wal-Mart for very cheap. Finally you need a Yahoo! account.

The Yahoo! email account is absolutely free, and only takes about 1 minute to create. You don’t even have to give them any real information about yourself. After creating your free email account, download their instant messaging software. It does not take long, but mind the download and installation carefully. Yahoo! software does have a tendency to force you into a useless tool bar and who knows what all else. Their stuff is easily removed, however.


The best part of their instant messaging/chat software allows not only conferencing (talking to multiple people at the same time), but enables video conferencing. If you only have a microphone and not a webcam, you can still talk for free to anyone else anywhere in the world using this software. Hook up a webcam, and you have a live video and audio connection to anyone else you want to talk to in the entire world (who also connects via Yahoo! at the same time).

There are some other methods to use cheap or free consumer technology to stay in touch, but the Yahoo! system is about the most user-friendly that I have seen. Any other free communication methods that anyone else uses?

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