Free Videoconference Software Buyers Guide Discussion

[Dustin Sklavos]

By Dustin Sklavos

Gone are the days when videochats and videophone calls are cutting-edge, high-cost CEO-only affairs; there are now several free videoconference applications available to the average consumer. But which offers the best bang for zero bucks? We break it down in this buyer's guide.

The biggest lesson learned in my long journey reviewing video chat services might actually be just how far Adobe's Flash has come, to the point where it integrates webcam management fairly well and allows many of these videochat services to operate essentially platform-independently (so long as that platform supports Flash). Steve Jobs can talk all he wants about how irrelevant Flash is or is going to be, but right now it's a wonderful enabler and a means of improving communication between people.

Another major boon to video chat has been the proliferation of notebooks. While this has certainly been going on for a while, you'd now be hard-pressed to find a notebook that doesn't come with a webcam and microphone built in. Many USB webcams also include microphones built in, and failing that, you can always just plug a microphone or mic-equipped headset into the computer. Suffice to say, everything seems to have fallen into place, and judging by how many of these video chat options are working out these days, it looks like the technology is really running smoothly.

Of course, if Apple's engineers have taught us anything, it's that functionality is no good without smart design. Even when all of the contenders reviewed essentially worked and without too much hassle, interfaces and feature bloat became a major issue. So unlike my previous software roundups, this one was relatively easy in terms of whom to hand out the prizes to.

Read the full content of this Article: Free Videoconference Software Buyers Guide

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• Adobe ConnectNow Video Conferencing Review
• ooVoo Video Conferencing Review

[SkeeteRX8]

Skype? What about that sick one?

Oh well- at least I know that the guy who patented VOIP uses it.... (david turock of Bell labs; family friend)

[Angelic]

Yeah Skype works so well, though I don't know how many connections you can get.

[roblen]

SkeeteRX8:

Just curious, how did your T61p die? Was it the faulty Nvidia graphics?

[SkeeteRX8]

sorry about the long wait- I've been trying to beat Mario 64

and yes; it was the faulty G84M chip.....it's quite a problem (especially as a senior applying to colleges)

If you need any assistance; feel free to PM me; my dad and I have been Thinkpad aficionados since the days of the 755....