There are so many ways to get in touch with people these days. Calls, emails, texts and Face Time. I’m sure that most of you have either heard of it or already use it. It can be used on iPhones, iPads or iPod Touch as long as they are Face Time compatible. And it is available on your Mac with OS X 10.7 Snow Leopard or later.
I think that this is a wonderful feature for communicating with long distance relatives or people you don’t have the ability to see often. This is great for keeping in touch with grandparents since children grow and change so quickly. But I must warn you, that my kids tend to be more amused with seeing the small picture of themselves in the corner than with keeping up with a conversation. There’s a lot of zooming in close to the camera and face-making going on. You’ve been warned.
Here’s how this goes. Start by clicking on the Face Time icon, which looks like a little movie camera, and conveniently enough, says Face Time! You may have to sign in with your Apple ID and Password. Once signed in, all of your contact info will be displayed, like your email addresses, cell phone numbers etc. You can check all of the ones that you would like to receive Face Time calls to. Click Next. At this point you will be startled by the large, live picture of yourself that is staring back at you. Compose yourself. Next to the shot of you will be your list of contacts. Click on the name of the person you wish to FT. Then choose which of their devices you wish to call them on by selecting their cell number or Apple email address. Once you have made your selection the call is being made so you better be ready to be seen!!! Once the recipient answers, their image is large to you and a small version of yourself is in the upper right corner. I must admit, it is a bit awkward at first and I had to get used to the slight delay in response time. Just know that your recipient isn’t ignoring you, there’s just a delay.
Enjoy your “visit” with your friend or family member and when you are done you just End Call.
If you have never tried Face Time, I hope you can use my instructions to give it a whirl. Let me know if you have tried it and if you enjoyed it.