I'm curious to know if you have any luck. I have a Logitech QuickCam on my laptop, and Skype uses the microphone just fine (I use it instead of getting a USB headset like you suggested).

What are the fundamental tools for tinkering with a cam in linux? I don't even know what programs to try running. Running "apt-cache show qcam" says that "you probably want to use the newer video4linux project" but I can't find that.

I would be content with just being able to take a snapshot from the camera at regular intervals, though streaming video would rock. Video with audio would be gravy.