<p>We got our daughter a Mac powerbook for her college graduation. She’s going to be in China for a year and we’d like to communicate with her via webcam when possible. The powerbook comes with a cool built in webcam and we would like to buy a webcam for one of our PC’s that will work well with her computer. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>S. just bought a MacBook tonight, and pointed out the same feature. I’m curious too, though I doubt he has any intention of keeping in touch with us all here in the kitchen from his dorm room!</p>
<p>I can’t believe how fast the mac came. My daughter ordered this Friday night around 11 pm and it came this afternoon! The free ipod nano came Saturday!</p>
<p>We’re researching the webcam for the boyfriend as well as us. I’m thinking she won’t mind showing us a new outfit or haircut, etc. </p>
<p>Now we’re looking for a lock. Daughter had ordered one but it was discontinued. Have you looked for a lock yet?</p>
<p>We got ours at a nearby Apple store. The rebates deals on the IPods and printers were very nice.</p>
<p>I asked about a lock, and the salesman showed us the little hole in the side of the laptop where it attaches (I still can’t quite visualize how it works - like a teeny bike chain?). He said if someone really wanted to, they could still manage to steal it, but the lock would make it difficult.
S’s college rents them out for $25 a year, but they were already out of them by the time we got the notice. I wonder how many kids use them?</p>
<p>I have:
<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-961403-0403-Quickcam-Fusion/dp/B000AA2IC8/ref=pd_bbs_sr_6/102-2669614-1820955?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1184125775&sr=8-6[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-961403-0403-Quickcam-Fusion/dp/B000AA2IC8/ref=pd_bbs_sr_6/102-2669614-1820955?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1184125775&sr=8-6</a>
It works great and I’ve never had an issue with other people not being able to see/hear me. It’s a tad expensive, but if you plan on using it a lot, it’s definitely worth the money. </p>
<p>I suggest buying a Logitech one. They’re the best brand out there and you can find a wide range of prices/features. Plus, they’re easy to install and Logitech has great customer service. Your best bet is to go through Amazon and look at reviews and go from there.</p>
<p>Others:
<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Quickcam-for-Notebooks-961404-0403/dp/B0007ZFLYS/ref=pd_bbs_4/102-2669614-1820955?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1184125775&sr=8-4[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Quickcam-for-Notebooks-961404-0403/dp/B0007ZFLYS/ref=pd_bbs_4/102-2669614-1820955?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1184125775&sr=8-4</a>
<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-931462-0403-Quickcam-Chat/dp/B000FU0XAW/ref=pd_bbs_11/102-2669614-1820955?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1184125775&sr=8-11[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-931462-0403-Quickcam-Chat/dp/B000FU0XAW/ref=pd_bbs_11/102-2669614-1820955?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1184125775&sr=8-11</a></p>
<p>Neat!
I think the only danger would be in son or daughter leaving the webcam turned on when it should be off…</p>
<p>Shoebox, thanks for your help and the webcams that you have mentioned all look great. However, they are all for pc notebooks. I am specifically looking for one for a desktop (ours) that we’ll interact with the one on my daughters Macbook.</p>
<p>I have looked on Amazon, the Apple website, and done a google search with the keywords “webcam, pc and macbook” and variations thereof but can’t seem to find any current information.</p>
<p>thanks for posting this. I posted a similar one but got little response. We too want to use a webcam on a desktop pc and communicated with D on her macbook. </p>
<p>where are all the techno-wizards when we need them?!</p>
<p>count me in as looking also! The ones I saw were a little too pricey for my taste. I’m looking for a cheap one that I can hook up to my ibook. My son has the new macbook, but it seems that I can’t see his video picture unless I also have a camera. (I was hoping that we could talk on ichat and that I could see him, even if he couldn’t see me, but this does not seem to be the case.)</p>
<p>here’s one: Macally Portable Goose Neck USB Video Web Cam - ICECAM . Amazon under 30$, needs a software program ($5 w/ coupon) from the company to work. I might try it and see how good it is…</p>
<p>The one that I have works fine on the destop (my dad uses it). The second one would work fine too, because the longer piece can be made flat or slightly bent or whatever (the first bends, the second looks like it’s on hinges). They both work nicely on a desktop because there’s always that lip of a monitor (if you have a box-y monitor, not a flat screen…these would be perfect for a flat screen as well). Also, the bases swivel so I had mine on my desk pointed up at my at one point. </p>
<p>Also, look at:
<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-961237-0403-QuickCam-Messenger-WebCam/dp/B00006OLCT/ref=pd_sim_e_4_img/102-2669614-1820955?ie=UTF8&qid=1184125775&sr=8-11[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-961237-0403-QuickCam-Messenger-WebCam/dp/B00006OLCT/ref=pd_sim_e_4_img/102-2669614-1820955?ie=UTF8&qid=1184125775&sr=8-11</a>
My sister had this one and its great as well. Logitech does the best with webcams, you won’t be dissapointed.</p>
<p>I talked to our tech guy at work today and he said that whatever works with the pc’s OS will interact just fine with the mac. That means shoeboxes suggestions will work. Our tech guy suggested these webcams:
<a href=“http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826105033[/url]”>http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826105033</a>
<a href=“http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16830108131[/url]”>http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16830108131</a>
<a href=“http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826105034&Tpk=webcam%2B6000[/url]”>http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826105034&Tpk=webcam%2B6000</a> The last one is the most expensive and has the best resolution. The first one is only around $39 and the second is just a couple of dollars more after the rebate.</p>
<p>kathiep…our son is also going overseas for the next semester and just got a Macbook (after his PC was stolen in a big city apt this summer).
What is up with skype…we don’t have a Macbook at home, so are you looking into skype for communicating with your overseas student?</p>
<p>appreciate ways anyone out there thinks is smart for communicating with a college student in Europe</p>
<p>Skype is perfect for any Mac/PC mix, webcam or not. Our D was in Paris last semester and we Skyped with her for an hour every Sunday (without webcams), absolutely free. It just works. We did have high-speed connections on each end; she was wireless, we were wired.</p>
<p>thanks to all!</p>
<p>this sounds good vossron…</p>
<p>Our tech guy at work said that msn messenger works the same as skype but is free. Skype is no longer free - cheap but not free. I don’t know what the difference is between the two. <a href=“http://www.skype.com/[/url]”>http://www.skype.com/</a></p>
<p>Skype calls from computer to computer are free; Skype makes money when one end of the call is a real telephone of some kind (landline or cell).</p>
<p>Skype works really really well, and is free comp-to-comp. It’s easy to sign up for/download and is “mom-friendly”, in that most moms who might not be too computer-savvy will have no problem with it (or so how my mom puts it =P). It’s a ton of fun, and an easy way to stay connected. </p>
<p>On a side note, this just gave me the brilliant idea to get my mom a webcam for her upcoming birthday. Her birthday happens to be my move-in day and I know how much she loves to have me home and be able to talk to me whenever (I have a 13 year old brother that drives her up the wall a lot…I was the “easy” kid, so to speak, and with my older sister off with her own life and boyfriend and such, so it’s hard on her when I leave). So, I think it would be appropriate if I gave it to her as we say our goodbyes. I just hope I don’t make her cry (she’s already done this once with me, and four times with my sister, but you never know!) :)</p>
<p>skype is brillant and completely free from computer to computer. Works with Mac and PC, with and without webcam (small sync problem between picture and words sometimes). Only pb: you can only contact the person when his computer is on, so it’s a good idea to set a fixed hour for calling or check by text message that he is next to the computer. All the recent laptops come with built-in mikes. With a desktop, you’ll probably need to invest in one (even the cheap one work well. Skype saved my sanity and my bank account when D1 was at NU last year.</p>