My USB ports - all six of them! - got blasted and aren't working. The only clue I have as to why/how this happened is the knowledge of when it happened, thanks to the last image taken below. Hence, no webcam until I get to the bottom of it and either fix, replace them, or, replace the computer.
Webcams are fun and easy to set up. This webcam is perched to watch me while I work and play at my PC, and is updated every minute. Normally you have to refresh this page yourself, but if you're a die-hard Nut fan you can use the alternate external viewing window which refreshes itself for you. You'll see some interesting things which I'll try to explain in a simple FAQ format below.
Frequently Anticipated Questions (FAQ)
Q. Are webcams so interesting these days that one like this even needs a FAQ?
No, in general the web's fascination with webcams that published people sitting and working at their computers or that showed off parts of their homes and offices, came and went in the late 90s. Personally I think the passing nature of that fad had more to do with the complexity of setting up and maintaining such webcams, just as the complexity of setting up personal home pages on the web drove most people to packaged social networking sites like My Space or Facebook. The younger generation coming online is more opt to re-discover the joy of live webcamming through services that similarly ease the process such as Justin TV or U Stream TV. People have also abandoned webcams in favor of webcamming through personal chat applications like instant messengers.
This being said, this FAQ is meant to address the things you might specifically see on this webcam.
Q. Why no live streaming cam?
Live streaming is really webcam overkill. Most of the value in webcamming is more efficiently realized by a simple time interval based image that updates every minute or so. Maybe even less often depending on the webcam's purpose. Time interval webcams use far less bandwidth and energy than the types of cameras and schemas necessary to maintain live streaming webcams, and yet still provide all the necessary value. Aside from the curiosity peekers, people are only going to use it to see if you're in or that everything at home is basically fine. A static image relevant to the minute is as every bit ideal for such uses as a camera that is burning up bandwidth to upload a live picture of the very same scene. Plus, interval image based webcam presentations are just plain safer. If you pick your nose or step in front of the camera naked, there's still a chance of intercepting the image before it is posted. With streaming cameras, everything is "live" second to second so there's no way to take such foul images back. Finally, the technological infrastructure supporting static image webcam presentations like this is far simpler. It really amounts to just a simple USB camera and some always-on software to take regular pictures from it and transfer them to the web. By contrast, streaming cameras are usually independent network devices that must be integrated and configured as such.
Q. What's with the funky neck-tickling thing?
Beats me, but something tells me it's related to an undiagnosed life-long nervous anomaly. There's nothing more soothing for me than to occasionally go into a fit of "neck tickling" (my family has always referred to it as "flapping" which is apparently how it started. The "tickling" is probably a compromise habit from having suppressed the urge around people in everyday living). I don't do it in public, but I do it in private or when I feel private, or, am quasi-private, such as I am on the webcam. As for what it "is" as a "habit", I've always called it "autistic residue". Lately there's something trendy called aspergers that's all the rage, which seems to be a good match in terms of an informal diagnosis. So, maybe it's that. I hate fad neuro-pop disorders like ADHD, bi-polar whatever, and so on, but, well, when the shoe fits, damn. Not that my website doesn't reek of anything asperger's mind you. Well, okay, there is that train page I keep - and don't ask me about the files I keep on people. It'd just creep you out. Whatever it is, I have a feeling it would cost thousands to get a doctor's formal stamp of diagnosis, and frankly, I'd prefer to use that money for even more disassociate techno-toys. The bottom line, it looks odd on the cam, but isn't hurting me none. And, it feels gooooood. You'll see me rocking too.
Beats me, but something tells me it's related to an undiagnosed life-long nervous anomaly. There's nothing more soothing for me than to occasionally go into a fit of "neck tickling" (my family has always referred to it as "flapping" which is apparently how it started. The "tickling" is probably a compromise habit from having suppressed the urge around people in everyday living). I don't do it in public, but I do it in private or when I feel private, or, am quasi-private, such as I am on the webcam. As for what it "is" as a "habit", I've always called it "autistic residue". Lately there's something trendy called aspergers that's all the rage, which seems to be a good match in terms of an informal diagnosis. So, maybe it's that. I hate fad neuro-pop disorders like ADHD, bi-polar whatever, and so on, but, well, when the shoe fits, damn. Not that my website doesn't reek of anything asperger's mind you. Well, okay, there is that train page I keep - and don't ask me about the files I keep on people. It'd just creep you out. Whatever it is, I have a feeling it would cost thousands to get a doctor's formal stamp of diagnosis, and frankly, I'd prefer to use that money for even more disassociate techno-toys. The bottom line, it looks odd on the cam, but isn't hurting me none. And, it feels gooooood. You'll see me rocking too.