Free Videochat Apps Reviewed

One of the most important tools any shut-in has is her videochat. It makes a huge difference when your colleagues see you and more importantly when you see them. Having easy to use tools that don't take a lot of special gear, networks, set up, or technical acumen to use is absolutely essential to a successful telecommuting program.

Stella has struggled on and off with her video conferencing tools. I've slogged along with Skype (even though it when through periods of time when it stopped wanting to drive my camera), I've tried Oovoo and Yugma (not good options because they require so much account set up on the part of your partner), there's WebEx, and my beloved GoToMeeting is promising HD videoconferencing at some point "soon". Yay.

If you're weighing your free options, the nice people at Gizmodo have a good test drive of Google, Skype, and iChat. Check it out.