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Once upon a time, people saw primary care physicians -- and often in the comfort of their own homes. These "house calls" are rare enough today to conjure Rockwellian images of doctors with stethoscopes leaning over little Junior's sweaty brow.

While these intimate visits are largely a relic, the ability to reach a caregiver quickly is getting easier and more sophisticated thanks to video chat technology. And now, online care provider American Well is joining a burgeoning number of providers (TelaDoc, Hello Health, and 3G Doctor, to name a few) that are bringing their online services to mobile devices.… Read more

A popular choice for VoIP users and those who make international and video calls, Skype (free for iPhone or iPad) received a few improvements that tweak the interface and give you more control over your video calls.

The overall interface has been slightly tweaked to look a bit smoother with a new header and buttons that are more aesthetically pleasing and better match the colors of the rest of the interface. The contact view now shows more contacts on screen, with smaller icons that don't take up as much space as they did in previous versions.

The most noticeable new enhancement is the ability to touch and drag your video preview (the picture in picture view where you can see yourself during a video call) so you can move it anywhere on the screen during a call.… Read more

Skype for PlayStation Vita essentially works just like any other smartphone version of the software, providing a comprehensive set of features, free Skype-to-Skype voice, and high-quality video calls. Also, gabbers can choose between the rear and front-facing Vita cameras during video communication. The aesthetics of the Skype client seem tailored to blend in with the overall tone of the Vita user interface, which I consider a nice touch. … Read more

Wayne Brady makes his second appearance on The 404 today to expand on some of the gaming topics we covered back at CES in Vegas, but first he has a few words for his Twitter trolls.

He's daring all of them to show up to his improvisational comedy show at the Gotham Comedy Club here in NY. He's putting on three shows running today through Sunday and would love to face his critics in person, so check it out!

Wayne mentioned that he's always been into video games, so he'll update us on what he's … Read more

Conference calls are part of the ugly side of doing business. Sometimes they just can't be avoided. So, next time you have to set one up, instead of paying for a third-party service, use CrowdCall.

CrowdCall is an app (Android | iPhone) that allows you to easily create a conference call from your smartphone, while on the go.

Setting up a conference call is easy. Before you make a call, make sure all of the contacts you are going to include in the call have the proper area/country code added to their number.

After ensuring the numbers are formatted … Read more

Video chatting in Hangouts is busting out of Google+.

Video calls among two or more Google+ users was the big draw when Hangouts launched, but now Google has flipped the switch the allow Google+ users to make phone calls to almost any phone number, not just within the Google+ ecosystem. That means that users will be able, for example, place a voice call from their computers and reach friends or family on their land line or cell phone.… Read more

Like something out of George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four" where "Big Brother is watching you," Google is trying to patent technology that could pick up on background noise during mobile-phone calls and then promote related ads.

The title of the patent application is "Advertising Based on Environmental Conditions," and it was first reported today by tech-news site The Next Web. Apparently, the technology will be able to listen in on background noise, like rain, music, or a baseball game, and then serve related ads, such as a spot for an umbrella, a new album, … Read more

More than 3,000 Verizon Wireless workers will need to find new jobs over the next few months.

The company will close or consolidate several call centers in the U.S. where it handles customer complaints and questions. The non-union employees were informed of the decision yesterday and are being given one of three different options, Verizon explained in a statement sent to CNET.

Workers can apply for a different job elsewhere in the company. They can try to find a similar job in another Verizon call center with relocation assistance in the form of $10,000 in after-tax dollars. … Read more

Chances are, you've been there: a boring meeting or social event that you're desperately seeking an escape from. The person or people you're talking with won't take the hint that you're not interested. You hope someone will call so you can have a pretend conversation about needing to be somewhere else right away. Or maybe you're wishing for a text that demands your immediate attention. Whatever the situation, you can now plan your own escape routes with this Android app. Here's how:

Step 1: Install Log Me. Once installed, run the app.

Step … Read more