Yesterday a friend of mine (Bill from Mahtomedi) sent me information on a free online video phone service, SightSpeed (www.sightspeed.com). You visit their site, download the software and magic presto you can make video calls to friends who have downloaded the same software. It took only a few minutes.
Admittedly you have to have a camera, mic and speakers – but other than that you don’t need much. Bill and I tried out the service and it was a little echoy – but it worked. You can also make audio-only calls. It’s a great, free way to talk to and see friends around the world.
If you sign up, feel free to list me as a call buddy and we can test out the service.
Byte of the Week 
Glad you liked it! You should have no echo issues at all, actually — (1) are you using a headset? If so, then make sure that the appropriate boxes are checked in the “Settings” tab in the upper left-hand corner of the application and then click on “Microphone Settings” (if you have a headset, I suggest you uncheck the “I am in a noisy place” box); (2) if you are not using a headset, do the opposite. Check this out and let me know what you think by sending me a note at pcsathy@sightspeed.com. And, Happy SightSpeeding!
Peter I think actually the fault may be faulty equipment. Bill has a microphone on his computer and on his camera and we decided that the issue is probably the feedback from the double mic. We’re working on how to fix the problem.
I really like the tool. So much so that I am going to include it on a monthly article that I write for the Blandin Foundation that they pass on to local newspapers throughout Minnesota. I’ll make sure to send a copy of the article to you. You can see past articles here: http://www.blandinfoundation.com/bsite/promo.htm