I bumped into my neighbor Francis Fullam on a commuter train the other day heading into downtown Chicago.

Francis, a market researcher at a major medical center, and I have followed the development of Voice on the Net since the mid-1990s . I can remember when Francis, his then grade-school son Spencer and I made calls out into the ether, reaching people we didn't know, like the guy claiming to be in a hammock in Hawaii. In those days, Voice on the Net was akin to CB radio.

Things have come a long way since then with advent of broadband service and Skype.

Francis told me he used Skype Audio to speak with his son Spencer, now a University of Illinois student, while he was studying in Prague last year.

Over Thanksgiving, Francis expanded his Skype capabilities and spoke with relatives in Seattle using Skype Video.

He said he expects to make weekly Video calls to distant family.

"It will be part of our family tradition," he said.