We got web cams! So I guess I will give a little background before I gush about our leap into the technology of 2000.
When Richard and I were first apart way back in 2002-2004 I'm fairly sure web cams were available. But Richard didn't have his own computer, so he did all his emailing from school or a roommate's computer. I had good old fashioned dial-up Net Zero. Am I taking you all back or what? No Ethernet, no broadband, no DSL, no cable Internet. This was the Internet of old where you could actually hear your modem dialing up. It took three minutes just to open an email. And you could only save about 100 messages in your hotmail account. Forget about downloading music, watching movies, or emailing pictures. Besides, neither of us had a digital camera anyway. So web cams and video chats were way out of our starving student tech reach.
Flash forward to 2005-2006. Richard and I are living together, but he is now separated from his family and friends. I hear about this service called Skype and I tell Richard about it and suggest we get a web cam that he can use to talk to his family for free! Well, he doesn't heed my advice and we continue to live in the 21st Century Stone Age.
Fast forward to January 2009. Richard hears from an old friend living in Malaysia who is all about the Skype. So Richard gets a web cam, and has a blast talking not only to his friend, but his parents too! I'm in, so last night I went to Radio Shack and got myself a little $30 web cam, microphone built-in. Before 8pm last night, Richard and I were video chatting away on Skype. You can also do free video chatting on Gmail, which I am also all about. So basically, I just want to say that this is great, and I'm really annoyed that it took us over a year to take this step. Obviously, it is nowhere near as good as seeing him in person and being able to touch him, but being able to see him laugh and smile is a huge improvement. Plus, we will be able to better read each other's non-verbal communication. So every time I say, "I'm fine" when I'm really pissed off, he will be able to tell that I'm really not fine! Also, being able to see each other reinforces the connection. Typically during our evening chats, we would talk for about 15 to 30 minutes max. Normally the conversations would go something like this: hi, how are you, fine, how was your day, fine, what are you doing, nothing, going to bed, talk to you tomorrow good night. Last night we talked for over an hour! And it was really hard to hang-up! I'm sure as with all things the novelty will wear off, but I'm stoked and I implore everyone to get with the times! What DID we do before free video chat?
2 comments:
So the webcam isn't for some side business you're starting, right? (c'mon, someone had to go there... and there are plenty more webcam comments I won't touch)
My bro-in-law got the parents-in-law a webcam so that the whole family can do the skype thing. The folks love it, and it's cool that they get to see their grand-kiddos grow up.
What did take you so long to figure this out?
I don't know why it took us so long. I guess maybe because we kept hoping it would be over sooner rather than later, so what was the point?
So no I won't be starting a side business, although I am willing to bet I could make way more money that way! I'm sure there are plenty more comments you won't touch, but I'll be going there in an upcoming post too.
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