I'm surprised no one has mentioned a great technical solution for this: Hangouts (disclaimer: I work for Google).
Other posters are correct in that there is friction with Skype or in fact any solution that isn't always on (you could keep Skpe up of course) but I can tell you from experience that if you get in the habit of just keeping a Hangout open it gives you much of the benefit that physical proximity does.
Remote debs can keep a Hangout open on a second screen or possibly a dedicated machine. Your main dev site should just hang a monitor on the wall and hook up a Mac mini to stay always on (per room). You may need a decent mic for this.
Is there a solution whereby this common "monitor on the wall" could be logged in via some common account instead of with a particular individual's account?
Other posters are correct in that there is friction with Skype or in fact any solution that isn't always on (you could keep Skpe up of course) but I can tell you from experience that if you get in the habit of just keeping a Hangout open it gives you much of the benefit that physical proximity does.
Remote debs can keep a Hangout open on a second screen or possibly a dedicated machine. Your main dev site should just hang a monitor on the wall and hook up a Mac mini to stay always on (per room). You may need a decent mic for this.