Title:
Guide to webcams
Personal Author:
Publication Information:
Indianapolis, Ind. : Prompt Publications, 2000
ISBN:
9780790612201
Added Author:
Available:*
Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000004848515 | TK6680.5 B95 2000 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
Searching... | 30000004505461 | TK6680.5 B95 2000 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
Searching... | 30000004508010 | TK6680.5 B95 2000 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
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Summary
Summary
Digital video cameras have become an increasingly popular method of communicating with others across the Internet. From video e-mail clips to websites that broadcast people's lives for all to see, webcams have become a way for people to battle against the perceived threat of depersonalization caused by computers and to monitor areas from anywhere in the world.
Table of Contents
| About the Authors | p. xii |
| Part 1 A Little Background | |
| Chapter 1 What is a Webcam, Anyway? | p. 1 |
| What it's all about | p. 4 |
| Keeping it real (and safe) | p. 5 |
| Just what am I supposed to do with this thing? | p. 6 |
| So where do I start? | p. 9 |
| Chapter 2 The Click Heard 'Round the World | p. 13 |
| Jennifer Ringley's experiment | p. 13 |
| Pandora's box | p. 16 |
| Digital carrier pigeons | p. 17 |
| Where do we go from here? | p. 19 |
| Chapter 3 Terminology: Talking the Talk | p. 23 |
| Part 2 The Right Tools For the Job | |
| Chapter 4 The Computer: Hitting the Performance 'Sweet Spot' | p. 31 |
| Five factors | p. 34 |
| A good video card | p. 35 |
| Processor speed | p. 36 |
| Amount of system RAM | p. 37 |
| Serial or USB ports | p. 39 |
| Hard-disk space | p. 41 |
| Second thoughts | p. 42 |
| Notebook or desktop? | p. 45 |
| Hunting the best deal | p. 48 |
| Chapter 5 The Camera: The Medium is the Message | p. 55 |
| Types of cameras | p. 55 |
| Connectivity | p. 59 |
| Image quality | p. 60 |
| Value | p. 63 |
| Measure twice, cut once | p. 64 |
| Chapter 6 The Software: Bringing It All Together | p. 67 |
| Imaging | p. 68 |
| Streaming video | p. 71 |
| Trying a webcam with e-mail | p. 74 |
| Basic web design | p. 77 |
| Chapter 7 The Connection: What a Tangled Web | p. 87 |
| Availability | p. 88 |
| Price | p. 91 |
| Speed | p. 94 |
| Security | p. 99 |
| Flexibility | p. 100 |
| Usage | p. 106 |
| Summary | p. 106 |
| Part 3 Getting Started With Applications | |
| Chapter 8 Capturing Video: Hunting For the Perfect Picture | p. 111 |
| Working with lighting | p. 112 |
| Composition is key | p. 118 |
| Keep it simple | p. 122 |
| Practice makes perfect | p. 125 |
| Freeze! | p. 126 |
| Filters: How interesting! | p. 131 |
| Airbrushing mistakes away | p. 136 |
| Success follows success | p. 139 |
| Chapter 9 Video E-mail: Putting Yourself in a Digital Envelope | p. 141 |
| Working within bandwidth constraints | p. 145 |
| Do you hear what I hear? | p. 149 |
| Door No. 1, 2, or 3? | p. 152 |
| Getting attached | p. 156 |
| Over and out | p. 160 |
| Chapter 10 Internet Video Chat: Videophones | p. 163 |
| Would somebody please answer the computer? | p. 163 |
| How fast is fast enough? | p. 167 |
| Horsepower under the hood | p. 167 |
| 'I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille' | p. 168 |
| One ringy-dingy | p. 171 |
| Looking ahead | p. 176 |
| Chapter 11 Cams on the Web: Living the Cam Lifestyle | p. 179 |
| So you want to live in a fishbowl? | p. 179 |
| Everybody say 'Cheese!' | p. 181 |
| Stake your claim on the new frontier | p. 183 |
| Part 4 Advanced Activities: In For a Penny, In For a Pound | |
| Chapter 12 Setting Up a Business Web Site | p. 193 |
| Put your money where your homepage is | p. 193 |
| Establishing a business case | p. 194 |
| Security | p. 197 |
| Legal issues | p. 203 |
| Designing the site | p. 205 |
| I'll make you a star, baby | p. 209 |
| Chapter 13 Special Webcams: Thinking Outside the Box | p. 213 |
| Part 5 Things to Consider and Food For Thought | |
| Chapter 14 Tool or Toy? The Corporate Question | p. 219 |
| Chapter 15 Security: Protecting Yourself and Your Computer | p. 225 |
| Raise your drawbridge | p. 227 |
| Guard your borders | p. 228 |
| Loose lips sink ships | p. 229 |
| Friend or foe? | p. 230 |
| The bigger you are, the harder you fall | p. 230 |
| Look every gift horse in the mouth | p. 231 |
| Know thyself | p. 232 |
| Never assume | p. 232 |
| Looking out for No. 1 | p. 233 |
| Finding the path through the wilderness | p. 234 |
| Forget your shoulder, look over your monitor! | p. 235 |
| Appendix | p. 237 |
| Webcam Software/Hardware Vendors and Products | p. 239 |
| Resource Web Sites | p. 252 |
| Favorite Webcam Sites | p. 262 |
| Glossary | p. 273 |
| Index | p. 285 |
