Web Cam how to's?

[morningstar]

I have a job interview coming up on Monday. It's the third of four levels and I need this job real bad. This guy wants me to use the web cam to turn the interview into a video conference. He's in San Diego and I am in Seattle.

I have never used a webcam (pause for collective gasp). OK so I am a troglodyte. Sock it to me.

What are the basics of using this thing? I have a 17 inch HP G72 model laptop with the camera in the bezel. It seems to have lots of horsepower and will hook directly to the cable modem to maintain maximum speed. The hardware profile shows it is HP webcam 101.

Back to square one, all good, but how to fire this thing up and make it go?

Thanks

morningstar

[Feynman]

What service will you be using? Skype? Something else? Once you know that, it will be easier to help (and if it's Skype, it is likely that it will recognize your camera and work fine right away).

Windows 7?

[morningstar]

They did not say. However, Skype seems to be the go to service.

It is a Windows 7 machine.

Thanks!

morningstar

[Feynman]

My company and many others use WebEx for offsite video conferencing things like this, so check into that too. Unfortunately, there are many other options as well.

If it might be Skype or Webex, I'd suggest just downloading the free Skype app, creating an account, and running the program. There's a good chance it will recognize your camera right away when you start the setup process. I don't know what you'd do exactly to get started with WebEx, but I assume it's not bad and would be started at their website.

A lot of people here use Skype. I'd be happy to make a test call with you over Skype once you have it if you'd like. Just PM me if you have no other Skype users to test with.

Is it possible to confirm with this guy what they want to use? That would help a lot.

If you see your camera listed in your device list (START--DEVICES AND PRINTERS), you're off to a good start.

P.S. Good luck with this interview!

P.P.S. Sometimes built-in cameras are not the greatest. If so, you could possibly, uh, borrow a nice cam from a local PC store to try out for a few days...

[morningstar]

Check. Found and ran the webcam. I am one pasty white boy. Yuk.

Check. Downloaded Skype. Mom has Skype (and I did not, how embarrassing). I am at their place Saturday, and we can test the heck out of this gizmo. They use Skype all the time to talk to our nieces on the East Coast.

Next: I will inquire if we will be using Skype, WebEx or something else.

Thanks!

morningstar