Video Chat Ignorant and need help setting up?

Well what operating system are you using? Is it a windows one like Vista or XP?
Have you tried Skype? It seems to work with little work for most users. Your model of laptop might be good to know as well if Skype doesn’t work. Your type of internet connection will affect the video stream as well so need to know that as well.

vista..but, don’t understand how to get my webcam to work..I had skype and my kids told me to uninstall and try the google, which didn’t work at all. Keep freezing and losing connection. Already have msn windows live..will that work same as skype?

Have DSL connection and new laptop from Gateway.
I want to have a full screen picture of my grandkids like they do with their Apple ichat. Is that possible with these programs?

I’ve never used Windows Live Messenger (WLM) for video chatting but I understand it is pretty good, and I suspect you should be able to get fullscreen. I haven’t used windows in a while but if I remember correctly you should be able to configure your webcam for WLM somewhere under “Tools” in the menu. It might be called “audio and video configuration”.

Basically if it is installed correctly I don’t think you need to change anything in the settings. All you need to do is to click the camera icon, or something like that, that appears when you open a chat window. You should be able to start a video chat by right-clicking on the person, on the userlist, you want to chat with as well. I’m assuming you’ve added your grand kids to your messenger..

Sorry if I’m not of much help here.. DSL should be ok for video chatting so your problem with google video probably isn’t related to your internet connection. Maybe you have a router or firewall that is slowing down things?

I hope someone here who uses Vista and Live messenger can help out.