webcam

Edimax's IP camera: To catch a juddery thief

IP Web cameras are great. Crave once used one to catch a cleaner who habitually left prank messages on our Dictaphone. Prior to our camera investment, we were clueless as to which idiot was recording himself shouting, "Ho ho ho, merry Christmas!" in an Uzbek accent in the middle of July. Needless to say, that particular chap no longer works here.

All those memories came flooding back when the Edimax IC-7000 IP camera arrived. It's better than your average Webcam, as its lens housing tilts and rotates to help you track a moving target. Plus it supports … Read more

Never shoot hoops alone again

If your favorite basketball team got knocked out of the playoffs or the Final Four, here's a way to pay tribute to the fallen warriors. Or, if they really screwed up, you can paint their logo on this "USB Basketball Player Cam" and twist it into humiliating positions.

Either way it can make a statement all your own, which is more than most Webcams can do even when they're on steroids--all without freaking out your co-workers or anyone else, for that matter. The best thing about it is the basketball itself, which you can actually … Read more

HP's 'Elite'--a steroidal Webcam

For awhile it seemed that Webcams were destined to become a standard built-in for many monitors and laptop screens, not unlike the way Wi-Fi cards eventually were replaced by integrated technologies in portables. But one way to ensure that a product stays independent is to load up on features--which is exactly what a new model from HP has done.

The "Elite" Webcam has a 3-megapixel resolution for live feeds, 12 megapixels for still shots, autofocus, stereo mic, and an "Instant Chat" button. Everything USB notes a few shortcomings in its frames per second, but you can'… Read more

YouTube to offer live streaming this year

In some cases it's not a bad thing to be fashionably late. Just ask Steve Chen, co-founder of YouTube.

Earlier this week, while sporting a furry coat at a warm, packed YouTube party in New York City, Chen managed to spill some juicy details about the company's plans while talking to Sarah Meyers, the host of vodcast Pop17. Chen confirmed that live video was coming to the service in "2008" and that the company has wanted to feature it for some time, but have only recently been able to get the ball rolling because of having … Read more

Waves.tv lets you make goofy faces while meeting people

One of the greatest pieces of software Apple has ever come up with is Photo Booth. It's dead simple to use, and about as entertaining as chasing a cat around with a laser beam. There are a handful of Web-based alternatives, but one of the cooler ones out there is Waves.tv.

Unlike Apple's PhotoBooth, there are no fancy effects to change the way you look (for that check out Sigost). Instead, you get four pictures to show off your "personality," and other people rate you on a "lust scale" of 1 to 5 … Read more

Digital photo frame looks back at you

If it weren't for the obvious lens, this would be an item we'd expect to have seen from a spy gadgets purveyor: A Webcam that watches you watching it, kind of like an Escher drawing come to life.

We can't help but think that this is one of those inventions that, years from now, will be laughable when everyone has a two-way video watch phone. In the meantime, this combo digital photo frame and Webcam is at least taking a step in that direction because Red Ferret says it's portable and small enough to stow in … Read more

New Review: Screensaver surveillance for Mac, PC

I was surfing the Web flipping through my bookmarks Sunday afternoon when I found a great screensaver for both Windows and Mac. SurveillanceSaver cycles through more than 400 surveillance cameras from around the world. Before you begin fashioning a hat from tinfoil and closing all your blinds, I should note these cameras are mostly wide-sweeping live shots from various countries.

SurveillanceSaver cycles randomly through each camera giving you about 2 minutes to take in the surroundings before switching to a new camera. You'll get live streams of a blizzard in Helsingborg, Sweden, followed by a shot of a lonely … Read more

Get seen online with a laptop webcam

Apple laptops come with iSight, a built-in webcam for web chatting or video podcasting, but if you own a PC notebook then a webcam usually needs to be bought separately. With its automatic face tracking technology, and great audio and video quality, the Logitech Quickcam Pro 9000 is an excellent webcam for getting face time online.

If Rudolph Valentino had a Webcam

There's apparently something about Webcams that makes companies want to design them to look like cameras from the silent movies. First we saw the "Vije Deluxe," for example, which was reminiscent of an old arcade Mutoscope. And now we have the "RetroCam" to make your silent YouTube vids. All you need is a way to make the lights flicker without waking your roomies.

There's even a period-inspired tripod to enhances its Victorian appearance, according to Red Ferret. But should you want to venture into the 21st century--or even the early 20th, for that matter--the … Read more

Get a multifunction printer for $17 after rebate

Here's the scoop: Buy.com has the Epson Stylus CX7450 printer/scanner/copier for $70. They also have a deal going where you can get a $70 mail-in rebate if you purchase a digital camera at the same time. Any digital camera. Like the $9.99 Argus Keychain Digital Camera. Add $6.79 for shipping and your out-the-door price is $86.78. Final price after rebate: $16.78. Woo!

The CX7450 employs four separate ink cartridges (one each for black, cyan, magenta, and yellow) and promises print speeds of up to 28 pages per minute. It includes a memory-card … Read more