The granddaddy of Mac-based videoconferencing, CUseeMe originated at Cornell University. If you're expecting Picturephone quality from Internet videoconferencing, you'll be disappointed. Even with the fast connections that my sister and I have, video is chunky-looking and motion is jerky. When we tested CUseeMe using a slow modem connection, a new image appeared only every second or two, and audio cut out occasionally. Results like these may lead you to dismiss low-end videoconferencing.
Oculus also creates time-lapse movies and can even snap images when it detects motion.
Internet cameras are particularly fun if you use a PowerBook or iBook equipped with Apple's AirPort wireless networking hardware. By roaming around with my PowerBook, I was able to give my snowbound sister a tour of our garden. She'll be visiting soon, I suspect. Jim Heid is a contributing editor of Macworld magazine. You will not be charged to look for stories, only to retrieve one.