My fantasy football league just had our draft yesterday. The league is comprised mostly of friends from college, with all of us living in the NY/CT metro area, except for one of our friends who lives in Atlanta. One of my buddies had the bright idea to video conference him in for the draft, and let me tell you it, made a world of difference.
I was skeptical as to how well it would work, but the picture quality was excellent (except for one or two moments where it got a little choppy) and the sound was great. It really added an element to the draft that wasnt there with another guy in the league who phoned in. It’s a truism to point out how key non-verbal signals are in communication, but it bears noting that it was a lot easier to talk with my friend in atlanta - facial expressions, eye contact so we knew he was actually there, etc etc - than with the guy on the phone.
Just thought it was worth mentioning as I’m going to add it to my list of goodies to buy, and supposedly it was really cheap, only $60 or something. I have no idea what brand or model he got, but I just htink it would be a great addition for anybody who has a lot of “catching up” phone calls with people or somebody doing the long-distance relationship thing or whatever. Totally off-topic I know, but this is the forum for that and I thought it was worth sharing my excitement.
[quote]KBCThird wrote:
My fantasy football league just had our draft yesterday. The league is comprised mostly of friends from college, with all of us living in the NY/CT metro area, except for one of our friends who lives in Atlanta. One of my buddies had the bright idea to video conference him in for the draft, and let me tell you it, made a world of difference.
I was skeptical as to how well it would work, but the picture quality was excellent (except for one or two moments where it got a little choppy) and the sound was great. It really added an element to the draft that wasnt there with another guy in the league who phoned in. It’s a truism to point out how key non-verbal signals are in communication, but it bears noting that it was a lot easier to talk with my friend in atlanta - facial expressions, eye contact so we knew he was actually there, etc etc - than with the guy on the phone.
Just thought it was worth mentioning as I’m going to add it to my list of goodies to buy, and supposedly it was really cheap, only $60 or something. I have no idea what brand or model he got, but I just htink it would be a great addition for anybody who has a lot of “catching up” phone calls with people or somebody doing the long-distance relationship thing or whatever. Totally off-topic I know, but this is the forum for that and I thought it was worth sharing my excitement.[/quote]
I have no doubt that in 50 years, our current concept of the telephone will seem prehistoric. You can already make clear phone calls right over the internet with no long distance charges. The only thing that bothers me…is the possibility others may be able to listen in on your phone calls.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
KBCThird wrote:
My fantasy football league just had our draft yesterday. The league is comprised mostly of friends from college, with all of us living in the NY/CT metro area, except for one of our friends who lives in Atlanta. One of my buddies had the bright idea to video conference him in for the draft, and let me tell you it, made a world of difference.
I was skeptical as to how well it would work, but the picture quality was excellent (except for one or two moments where it got a little choppy) and the sound was great. It really added an element to the draft that wasnt there with another guy in the league who phoned in. It’s a truism to point out how key non-verbal signals are in communication, but it bears noting that it was a lot easier to talk with my friend in atlanta - facial expressions, eye contact so we knew he was actually there, etc etc - than with the guy on the phone.
Just thought it was worth mentioning as I’m going to add it to my list of goodies to buy, and supposedly it was really cheap, only $60 or something. I have no idea what brand or model he got, but I just htink it would be a great addition for anybody who has a lot of “catching up” phone calls with people or somebody doing the long-distance relationship thing or whatever. Totally off-topic I know, but this is the forum for that and I thought it was worth sharing my excitement.
I have no doubt that in 50 years, our current concept of the telephone will seem prehistoric. You can already make clear phone calls right over the internet with no long distance charges. The only thing that bothers me…is the possibility others may be able to listen in on your phone calls.[/quote]
You don’t think people can listen in on a land line or cell phone? Even easier if you’re using a cordless attached to a land line.
You don’t think people can listen in on a land line or cell phone? Even easier if you’re using a cordless attached to a land line.[/quote]
Out of all of my posts, do you really think I was in the dark on that? I am just pointing out that while technology is great, there is usually a new set of problems to work with at the onset of it. It may be very easy for random people to accidentally (or purposefully) listen in on a land line, but I also wonder how easy it is for people to literally view remotely what is on your computer screen.
[quote]KBCThird wrote:
Just thought it was worth mentioning as I’m going to add it to my list of goodies to buy, and supposedly it was really cheap, only $60 or something. I have no idea what brand or model he got, but I just htink it would be a great addition for anybody who has a lot of “catching up” phone calls with people or somebody doing the long-distance relationship thing or whatever. Totally off-topic I know, but this is the forum for that and I thought it was worth sharing my excitement.[/quote]
Good post.
I just ordered a webcam (about $25). I’m doing the long distance thing with my girlfriend for the next year or so while we both do graduate studies. Hopefully some video chat will help us keep in touch better.
Also, Skype seems like an amazing service to use for internet calls. Free download of the program. And free calls to other skype users (including video calls). I have not tried it out yet, but have been checking them out for a while now.