Skype 2.0 beta with video is finally out.

I didn’t use Skype all that much, but I had it hoping that I could convince more C3 folks to use it. We do a lot of conference calling using freeconference.com which is fine but you have to schedule the calls. No, “hey let’s just get together right now and have a quick chat about something.” Text chat doesn’t cut it, and the audio conferencing in AIM leaves a lot to be desired (don’t talk to me about iChat…everyone is on PCs).

Mom recently got a webcam for her PC (Logitech Quick Cam Pro 5000). We’re two hours away from her now and this way she can see the girls (and me) more often. Makes us feel not quite as distant from each other. We’ve been using Trillian to do video over AIM but the quality is only so-so at best. I have an older version Logitech QuickCam for Notebooks Pro that I got on sale at Staples a few months ago. I just used LogMeIn to download and configure it for her on her computer while she’s at work. I ran a test video chat and I’m very impressed . I think I gave her cat a heart attack, though. I don’t think he was expecting for the computer to suddenly come alive and start talking to him.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that the new beta is available for Mac yet. Surprised. Not.

Tags: Skype, LogitechQuickCam