With the exception of that time in college I hooked up my PS2 EyeToy to my PC (just because I heard you could), I haven’t ever really paid mind to using a webcam. For the most part, IMs got the job done, and if I wanted to talk to someone, I had a phone in my dorm room or I could eat up some minutes on my cell phone. If I wanted to see someone face to face, it was a matter of minutes to go to each other’s dorm or to meet somewhere else on campus. The device just never fit in to my lifestyle, even as gadget-filled as it was.

Today I went with my folks to ye olde electronicks shoppe and picked up a pair of webcams so I could still see my parents while they travelled. After installing communication software and making a Skype account, my dad finally joined some of our other relatives in the video-chatting age and even beat me to webcam usership. I thought it amusing that my parents would have a webcam before I did, and then I remembered that my netbook had a built-in webcam. Of course I forgot about it; I never used it. (more…)