I have spent long hours today guiding my 69 year old Dad in Mooloolaba, Queensland, through his webcam set up. And it didn't cost us a cent, because we talked online through our computers using the FREE internet telephony program Skype. And then, after I finished with my Dad, my brother called me with his Skype and webcam ready to go!

The internet is about to revolutionize the way my family communicate. With me in Tokyo, my brother in Port Douglas and my Dad nearly 2000 km south in Mooloolaba, there are vast distances to cover between us all, and our phone bills are pretty exorbitant at times. But not any more.

Skype offers perfect telephony services (including phone conferencing), complete with old school ring tones - I have been using a headset, but Dad just got a little standup micophone with his webcam. Unfortunately we had some problems setting up his webcam (maybe a faulty USB port) so we had to make do with 3 seperate Skype calls (his audio in and out was fine) - when we finally got him set up on MSN Messenger and I "sent" him my webcam, he was able to actually see me in a little window on his messenger page (alas, I had no view of him).

Dave, on the other hand, had fine webcam visuals (we stuck our tongues out at each other and I took him on a tour around my room) but he had no audio-out so I couldn't hear him at all - he's off to buy a headset tomorrow. It was kinda weird talking to him through my headset (using Skype) and having him reply with a typed message on messenger, all the while both of us gesturing to each other on our webcams....

Take some time to check out all the options with Skype and Messenger and you'll agree, the future is exciting. Imagine using a wireless hub so you can move your laptop computer anywhere in the house, then plug in your wireless phone/headset or webcam and go for a walk out to the garden and show them your prized tomatoes.

I hereby request all my friends and family living far away to get with the times, go out and buy a microphone-headset and/or webcam, download Skype for phonecalls and MSN messenger for webcam or audio calls and email me for my username to add to your contacts. Skype is also handy because you can also call ordinary phones anywhere in the world with it from your computer, for the cost of a local call.

Our digital futures look very exciting, real and affordable to this little techno-junkie.