FWIW Tosh I use standalone cheap webcam, I set the same up at my dear mothers and it is OK for the occasional broken up chat.
If you don't already have it get messenger v6 which just works better than previous versions and is childs play to set up however your partner in chat has to have to same software.
Eboy
If you can get broadband to broadband connection then it really can be as good as overpriced dedicated systems. My brother uses a similar setup to watch his newborn daughter at home when he is at work.