|
Raw Bytes Computer News KPBX FM 91.1 Spokane Public Radio National Public Radio Network Frank Delaney Producer Broadcast on Wednesday
Morning 7:35 AM During Morning Edition Support Public Radio ! The Theater Of the Mind |
In computer news this week 12/16/2009 Looking for that perfect low cost
computer Christmas present ? A review of the Microsoft
Lifecams I
remember going to a technology show back in the 1970’s, and one of the
items demonstrated was a telephone that would allow you to see the
person you were talking to in black and white slow motion video capture. It
would take a single picture and display it for about a minute, and then take
a new picture. One of the reasons for the slowness was the speed of the
telephone line. This videophone sold for over $ 1000 and never really caught
on. But the
idea of being able to talk to someone far away and see them at the same time
is a wonderful concept, and now it’s here. Imagine what you can do with
this technology ! Web cams
have been around for many years now, which have allowed people to take and exchange
pictures on the internet. But now
Microsoft has its own line of Lifecams – designed to work with their
own software or with Microsoft
Windows Live Messenger – which is a free part of Windows –
and now the concept of being able to talk to someone – and see them at
the same time – is now a very low cost reality. You really have to see this technology
to let your imagination run with what you can do with this either on a
personal or business level. You can also create movies of yourself, take
still pictures, or record just your voice and sounds. Amazon is
selling several lifecams, including the LifeCam-VX-5000
and the Microsoft
VX-6000 Lifecam for under $
35.00 . These are high resolution full color webcams
with a built-in microphone that plug into a USB slot on your desktop
computer, and install easily with their own software, and you’re ready
to go in just a couple minutes. For
videoconferencing you just create a free Microsoft Windows Live
Messenger – Account and create a screen name
and password for yourself, and then make your friends or clients aware of
what your Instant Messenger Screen Name is, and learn what theirs are. Then you
can call them, or they can call you, and you can talk with anyone in the word
in realtime, and see them in real time full color ! No long
distance charges, no muss no fuss; just full motion
video and sound of the person you’re talking to. It truly
is wonderful, and the possibilities of this technology are mind boggling. You can now
literally reach out and touch – and see and hear – anyone in the
world. The only
requirement technical requirement is that you do need to have a high speed
internet connection, DSL or better. I can
truly see this technology changing business and personal communication
forever. And of
course on those bad hair days, you can choose to just talk and not have the
other person see you, or you can even just type to each other. For those
of you that have laptop computers with a wireless network in your home, you
can even walk around and use your laptop Lifecam as a roaming camera. This is
one of the most exciting technologies I have seen in the PC industry, and
anyone with a computer can afford and should consider this technology. I’ll
be doing more on what else you can do with these in an upcoming show. |
|
|
For Raw Bytes This is Frank Delaney (C) 2009 MTA Micro
Technology Associates http://www.mtamicro.com/kpbx.html PO Box 31522 Spokane, Wa 99223-1522 (509)624-7230 |
|