The latency also makes videoconferencing or Internet-based phone calls with products like Net2Phone difficult, to say the least.
Another approach is taken by 1414c, a subsidiary of the PictureTel Corporation of Andover, Mass., which makes videoconferencing equipment.
Mr. Ballmer did not say what other devices Microsoft might make in the future, but he hinted in an interview conducted over Skype that Microsoft could play a role in the development of technologies that make videoconferencing feel more natural, allowing participants to make eye contact.
That might make videoconferencing stocks good values.
And none make videoconferencing fabulous over standard phone lines.
One of his current favorites is Tandberg of Norway, which makes videoconferencing systems.
IChat AV makes videoconferencing as simple as instant messaging for users with compatible video cameras and broadband connections.
Saving the planet and saving money may lead to the repetition needed to make videoconferencing a comfortable, everyday reality instead of an occasional, awkward alternative.
With Meetings.io going after a clear hole in the market to make videoconferencing easier, it has attracted some good interest early on.
It's also pushing gadgets that add to the deluge, ranging from the $230 Flip video cameras (in May, Cisco acquired Flip maker Pure Digital Technologies) to the $300,000 Telepresence rooms designed to make videoconferencing across the globe as seamless as speaking across a table.
