Hi newcomer and welcome to the Tom's hardware forum.
If u want use it for a video call u need a software like MSN or Skype (The best IMO) but if u only want take a picture or some video look for the software that comes with ur notebook for the cam and this give u the possibility of do the thing that u want.
Webcams can be handy! I use the webcam built into my laptop to chat over Skype with a friend who is doing work in South Korea. It is a great way to close the distance between you and a friend that is far away. Here is a resource to get you started - http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Seeing-is-b...
Hope this helps!
Cassandra
Microsoft Windows Outreach