Now that I have an iSight, video conferencing with me is now possible. Tried it with David on Saturday morning and it worked very well. Other friends and family members who might be interested in trying this as well, take note of this post.

Even if you don’t have a camera, one-way conferencing is still an option; you just need an appropriate instant messenger account.

Mac users running Panther will want to use iChat: use your AIM screen name, if you have one, or a .Mac account. You can get a free .Mac ID by signing up for the free 60-day trial; you can keep the ID after the trial expires.

If you’re on Windows, you’ll need AIM 5.5 or higher to do videoconferencing.

My camera is also compatible with Yahoo, but it’s video only — no sound. MSN Messenger for Mac does not support video conferencing.

You can find out how to contact me if you’re resourceful enough, or know how to ask nicely.

I’ve also been using it as a barcode scanner with Delicious Library. It works reasonably well, though the mass-market paperbacks’ barcodes are generating errors. Probably a problem with the Amazon database that the software uses for book data.

A few articles on other uses for and tips for using the iSight:

• Making Movies with the Apple iSight (Derrick Story, July 1, 2003)
• You Sexy Thing! How to Look Great on iChat AV, in Spite of Your Spiteful iSight (Nitrozac and Snaggy, March 16, 2004)
• How to Fall in Love with Your iSight, Again (Nitrozac and Snaggy, July 20, 2004)