Having a Live Video and Audio Chat
It is possible to have video and audio chats in Google+ provided that your computer has a webcam attached to it, and most modern laptops and many desktops come with built-in webcams.
After you have the Voice and Video plug-in installed, initiating a video chat is similar to starting a text chat:
1. Click the name of a person in the Chat list.
2. Click the blue video icon in the top-left of the Chat window.
3. The person has to click Answer.
When you are connected, you see two video screens (as shown in Figure 7-10). The larger image is the person you are talking to, and the smaller one is how you look to the other person.
FIGURE 7-10 A video conversation in Google+.
As with regular text chats, it is possible to get a larger video window by clicking the pop-out icon in the Chat window. This opens the text chat and a larger video window in a new screen.
You can also get a full-screen view (as shown in Figure 7-11) by hovering the mouse over the video window and clicking the full screen icon that appears in the top-right of the screen. Click the icon again in the top-right of the screen to return to windowed view.
It is also possible to mute the audio from the chat by clicking the microphone icon just below the video window.
Also note that you can continue to send text messages while having a video chat. This functionality works as before. So it’s possible to video chat while sending text and links to web pages in the regular text interface. Click End to finish the video chat when you’re done.
What If My Portrait Window Is in the Way? You can click and drag the smaller window and position it in any of the four corners. Hovering the mouse over the small video window also reveals a minimize icon that you can use to remove the smaller window from your window.
FIGURE 7-11 Full-screen mode.
When a person attempts to initiate a video chat with you, Google+ makes a ringing noise and a text chat box (with a video screen) appears, as shown in Figure 7-12. Click Answer to initiate the call. Note that until you click Answer, you only see your own image in the video window, and the other person only sees hers.
FIGURE 7-12 Receiving a call.
Can I Make an Audio Call? Yes. Next to the video icon in the Chat window is a telephone icon. This initiates an audio call to the selected person. Audio calls work exactly the same way as video chats do but they are audio only.