Webcam has funky look, but 'lackluster' software

CNN.com/technology - CNET ^ | June 12, 2008 | Matthew Elliott

[Bon mots]

The VX-5000 features a square shaped camera body on top of a bendable, rubber stand, which makes it easy to position on your laptop, LCD, or desk.

Underneath the hood, the VX-5000 received a new image sensor and lens that results in stellar image quality, particularly in low light.

>>more...

[Bon mots]

Webcams are becoming more and more popular - even the other day a soldier in Afghanistan was able to see his newborn son from halfway around the world.

When you install your own webcam, be sure that it's not pointing at anything you don't want the whole world to see, or that you have secured it! There are web cam search engines out there that will find webcams, and will find yours if you install it with the default settings. Then anybody can log into your camera and even control it!

Web-Cam-Search.com

[raybbr]

Where’s a good source of info to set up a web cam between two parties. I want to set one up with my parents so we can talk on the webcam.

[RayChuang88]

What you want to get the Logitech's Communicate STX webcam, which has a built-in microphone. The Communicate STX works with current versions of AOL Instant Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger to do live video webchats if both sides have broadband connections that allow for at least 256 kbps upload data rate.

[raybbr]

Thanks. Is there a website that explains how this works?

[Mr. Jeeves]

It's funny the sharp divide between young people and those of us over 40 or so on privacy. The kids love webcams, Twitter, MySpace, and a host of other Web 2.0 technologies that broadcast to the whole world exactly who you are and what you are doing. Older people are far more reluctant to share anything about themselves in such a public manner.

Aside from enabling cyber-criminals, it seems to me that this new fetish for Internet pseudo-fame is a great help to certain governments who want to move as close to a totalitarian Big Brother model as possible without anyone realizing it. Once people are used to being spied on by everybody from the age of 10 onward, they won't mind so much if, say, the government decides to require webcams in all new television sets and computer monitors and mandate they be left on and viewable by law enforcement for "public safety" reasons.

[martin_fierro]

TTIUWP

(and wtf does CNN know about tech anyway)

[martin_fierro]

Once people are used to being spied on by everybody from the age of 10 onward, they won't mind so much if, say, the government decides to require webcams in all new television sets and computer monitors and mandate they be left on and viewable by law enforcement for "public safety" reasons.

[Bon mots]

Download Skype.
Install any old webcam, and that’s all you need.
Best of all, Skype is FREE! :-)

http://www.howtocallinternational.com/internet.html

[RayChuang88]

If you buy the retail version of the Commnicate STX webcam, they include software for AOL IM and Yahoo! Messenger that works directly with the webcam. In fact, that's how the promise of AT&T's PicturePhone has become modern reality.