can anyone tell me about webcams?

[swallowsandamazons]

I know nothing, but would love to get a webcam, so that my DS (3) can talk and see his cousin.
What do i need and how does it all work????

I also know nothing but I went to a camera shop and bought a kit for £25, which contained a tiny camera with built-in mike which clips to the top of my computer with a lead to the usb port (easy to find). The software was really easy to intall and it somehow linked itself into Windows Live Messenger without me needing to understand anything. DD aged 2 talks to her grandmother in France (when I can bribe her to sit still for more than a minute at a time).