Mike recently posted about some of the pros and cons to being the owner of an iSight — pros including the simple fact that the iSight is simply a damn good camera; cons including the Mac-only nature of iChat and the somewhat less-than-satisfactory mounting options that come stock out of the box.
Cross-platform video conferencing may be coming down the pike (we hope) with a future release of AIM on the Windows and Mac platforms, as Apple has a pre-existing partnership with AIM (iChat ties into the AIM network, allowing both iChat and AIM users to IM each other). Nobody seems to know for certain if or when this may happen, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed. As far as mounting options go, Mike pointed to the SightFlex, which looks perfect, and is getting added to my birthday wish list.
I’ve noticed some other cons to the iSight, chiefly being that as of late, it’s been notoriously instable, appearing and disappearing from my system more or less at random, and at times apparently interfering with the mounting of my iPod. Apparently I’m not the only person being bit by this bug, but on the bright side, there are a few possible solutions mentioned recently on MacFixIt, including simply remembering to turn the iSight off (twist the front of the camera to close its iris) when it’s not in use. I’ll give that a shot for a while, and see if it helps.
iTunes: “Chicken In A Biscuit” by Black Happy from the album Peghead (1993, 2:55).