Ask Slashdot: Simple, Cross-Platform Video Messaging?

DeathToBill writes: I spend a lot of time away from my kids (think months at a time) who are aged 3-8. I keep in touch with them by Skype, but the young ones are not really old enough to concentrate on it and we're often in quite different timezones, so it's not often it can be very spontaneous. We'd like to have some way that we can record short video messages of things we're doing and send them to each other. It needs to have an iPad app that is simple enough for a three-year-old to use with help and for a five-year-old to use without help; it needs to have an Android or web client, preferably one that doesn't require an Apple ID; it needs to be able to record a short video and send it to someone. As far as I can tell, iMessage requires Apple kit (there is an Android app but it sends all your messages through a server in China...) and Whatsapp works on iPhone but not iPad. What can you suggest?

Comments

Practical, not technical solution

[SethJohnson]

What can you suggest?

If you get divorced, make it a top priority over career to stay in same town as the children. Phone and video is no substitution for your presence in their lives.

Re:Practical, not technical solution

[Anonymous Coward]

There are plenty of reasons. Best not to project your personal biases onto things that you know nothing about.

Re:Use the INTERNET

[Anonymous Coward]

Yea, FTP, rsync and SCP are all great fucking suggestions, and clearly things than can easily be taught to a 5 year old. They all work great on an iPad too. "Use HTTP" is probably the best suggestion, and definitely a complete solution to his problem. Just other day my mom wanted to send a video file to my nephew, and she asked me how to do it and I said "Hey mom, use HTTP" and she was like "Oh, great, thank you, all my problems are solved now".

Hostile ex-spouses -- blame thyselves

[mi]

There are plenty of reasons.

If you once felt good enough about a person to not merely have sex, but to have a child together, he can not be a complete asshole in your opinion.

Remember this rule (it applies equally to mothers despite my use of male pronouns). The affection you once had may have disappeared, but, if you suddenly think much worse about him, then your own opinion of what constitutes an asshole is changing — your partner remains the same person as before.

You may no longer be friends, but watch yourself and don't let your friends/parents make you two into enemies. If that helps, think of yourselves as co-workers working on the same project for the next 15-20 years — and stay professional.