[Matthew Attoe]

Hi,

My sister lives a long way from my parents, and as a result, they don't get to see their grandchildren very often, which makes them sad.

So sister is looking to buy a Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000 (she can't afford the ISight) for them so that they can have video chats over the internet.

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/pr...=7313,detail=2

My parents have an eMac 700mhz, running 10.4.3. My sister has a PC, probably running XP (I forgot to ask, sorry!)

What I would like to know is what software will we be able to use on the Mac that will "talk" to the PC end. Hopefully something simple, because, remember, these are grandparents we're talking about - although my Mum is not-too-bad on her mac!

Will we be able to use iChat? My sister says she can use AIM on her PC. Would this work? How easy is it to set up and how would we get an AIM account (is it free?).

Sorry for so many questions, but it will make my parents Christmas if they can suddenly "see" their grandchildren.

Any advice or suggestions would be very gratefully received.

Many thanks in advance for both your help and time,

Matthew

[Cadaver]

I can't say how well the Logitech cam will work on a Mac, but with an iSight in theory you can video conference between iChat at the latest version of AIM for the PC. You can go to www.aim.com to register for an AIM account (yes, free).

I say in theory because while I've read it works, I've been unable personally to connect a video session between myself and my sister who uses a PC and a D-Link wireless router. I think something is funky between her PC's firewall (WinXP) and the NAT/DHCP server on her wireless router. The video connection attempts just time-out. But since I'm not in the same state, it makes troubleshooting pretty tough.

Yahoo! Messenger is also cross-platform, though the last version I saw for the Mac didn't support audio (video and text only). Not sure what/if anything has changed.

Another cross-platform app is called iVisit, but its not free IIRC.

To make the Logitech USB cam work with iChat, you may need this special driver in addition to the OS X Logitech software. This "hack" for iChat allows for use of USB cameras. Make sure the specific Logitech model # is listed as supported however. There is a US$10 shareware fee for this little app, however.

My personal advice however is to purchase an iSight for the Mac. Perhaps your parents (or you) can chip in a few extra bucks to cover the price difference. Don't forget about Apple's educational pricing if anyone is eligible.

[tooki]

I use iChat AV video with PC users all the time. Most of the time it works fine. With one person, though, I can't initiate the video -- it always fails. But if he initiates the video, it works fine.

Note that video on AIM for Windows requires WinXP. It won't work on any earlier version.

tooki