video calls on the move

Videoconferencing becomes more attractive when it replicates a real setting, or expands our boundaries of view.

For example, our daughter is visiting another country at the moment and used a wirelessly connected MacBook laptop to Skype us.

During the video chat she moved the laptop around the back of the house she was staying at so that we could see her surroundings. We saw the back yard, a friendly dog and the back lawn.

It is a huge improvement on a "talking head" scenario. Like most people I crave variety, so a background setting with a plain wall and a pot plant does nothing for me. I want to be involved, immersed.

In my office I sometimes use a 30 foot USB extension lead on my Logitech Quickcam Pro 9000 which allows me to take the viewer with me as I walk down the hallway. Of course wireless is better than a cord for mobility, and maybe that will come later in my experiments.

There's no denying the moving eyecam experience has impressed everyone as they virtually explore my environment along with me.

Here's a review of the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000: