Had a (Virtual) Family Meetup

Vaughn McMillan

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Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting Allen Levine, and it was almost a face-to-face meeting. We've both installed ooVoo video chat software on our laptops in preparation for the Larrylapalooza in Michigan next week, and we decided to give it a test run to make sure it works as expected. I'm here to report it worked great. Unlike Skype, the free version of the ooVoo software allows up to 12 people to be in the chat at the same time. (I believe you have to pay for the upgraded version of Skype to do multi-person chats with Skype.)

Allen was real glad to see me log in last night, because he knew right then and there that he wasn't the ugliest guy on the Internet. :D And you folks who will be meeting him in Michigan are going to enjoy his company. He's a fun guy with a great smile. :thumb:

I encourage any of the rest of you who can't go to Michigan to grab a (free) copy of the ooVoo software and get hooked up. We're planning to do a video chat Saturday, September 8th at 8:00 PM Michigan (Eastern) time. PM Allen or me and we'll give you our contact info so you can join in on the festivities.
 
I don't have a laptop. Can I just buy a camera and put it in/on my tower ??? Probably a stupid question:eek: I've never had one before. Seems like they are cheap enough.

you can get a decent camera for around 27 bucks, and it just plugs into the same hole as the mouse. see, Im very technical, I believe its called the usb port.or something like that.

yeah, it was pretty neat seeing vaughn, were like 2 complete opposites, hes thin with alot of hair, Im fat with no hair.
(Im better looking though)
anyway, it works great, and I can move my camera anywhere, so I can pan the crowd, and everyone can shout in, but Im not going to hold it all day and show the small demonstrations, sorry, Im going to hang out, not to be a cameraman.
 
I meant to mention...

I noticed after the installation that I had a new Ask.com toolbar on my Chrome browser. I don't know if I just missed the check box to decline the "offer" or if they sneaked it in on me. Nonetheless, I killed the toolbar and all is good now. Allen told me he didn't have the toolbar. That may be because his son (who installed the software) cleaned it up before Allen saw it, or avoided having it get installed in the first place. Either way, I wanted to give you all the heads-up on the Ask.com toolbar.

Bob, you'll need both a camera and a microphone. Looks like a lot of companies make combo units, and the prices are pretty easy on the wallet:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Delectronics&field-keywords=web+cam+microphone
 
There are three checkboxes on the second step to uncheck that will keep the ASK settings and software from being added (uncheck all three). I usually go into the settings afterwards and set it not to start up when windows starts up. Also under privacy, I change the settings so that either no one can see me or my information or only friends that I've added can see it.
 
I've been using the logitech webcams. I've got the C310, which is a good webcam for the price ($32). It's a little grainy, but good for video chats and has a built in mic. Also have the C910 and C920 versions ($89 - $99), both have excellent quality and built in mics. Have mostly used them on xp, vista64, and windows 7.
 
I had a 10 minute video chat with dan before, met his wife, he met my wife, and were all set to go for next week.
anyone else, just try to get in touch with one of us before then, me, Im packing the laptop by monday, so after this weekend, I wont have access to it.
 
could use some assitance in gettin connected to see if this wil work on the box in the shop folks.. got the voodoo software laoded and its running but i dont know how to contact anyone??? for a test run..
 
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