Webcams are those handy little cameras that attach to your PC and send images to a web page that can be viewed by others. This enables you to share daily life events with friends and family in other parts of the country or the world, or to arrange a video-conference with colleagues and maintain long distance relationships of all kinds. Of course the number of ways to use this technology is limited only by your imagination.

But before you buy a webcam, it pays to understand a little about how the technology of broadcasting images over the Internet works. Of course, if you're a full bottle on this already, you can skip this section and go straight to browsing the options on Myshopping.com.au where you can compare products and suppliers, their specifications and prices.

Webcams provide 'real time' images of people; places and events that can be viewed 'live' on a web page. The broadcasting end has a camera that captures the images, feeds them into a computer to an ISP and out to viewing pages across the Internet. There are two different types of broadcast: streaming images, where the images are a constant stream downloaded in video format; or Java, where the images are captured at fixed time intervals and refreshed on the web pages at a rate fixed by the broadcaster.

Webcams are cameras that are either attached to or installed in a computer, and allow users to capture video and stream video live over the Internet.It's also possible to capture photographs with some Web cameras. This page is a guide on how to install a webcam.

Installing a webcam can be done with of course patience because it relays few steps. In either way of the following used conferencing, staying in touch with friends and family or for surveillance. A webcam has become the most important part of computer setup.

Step1.You have to purchase a camera. Webcams can range from a basic model for around $30 to ones that contain a motion sensor for around $350 or so. Most mid-priced models come with a microphone install. Decide on what this camera will be used for and choose accordingly for different variations and purposes being intended.

Step2. You also have to read the installation instructions completely before attempting to install the camera. This for sure may seem tedious and unnecessary; it can save time and headaches in the long run.
Step3. Back up the computer's hard drive just to be safe. This will allow for a speedy recovery should the installation mess up the computer.

Step4. Install the webcam software. Before deciding to install the disc that came with the camera, check the Internet for an updated version of the software and download that if available.

Step5. Plug in the webcam. The software should give a prompt at the appropriate time. Cameras are usually installed with a USB cable. If installed correctly, the computer will acknowledge so by popping up a message saying it can see the new device.

Step6. Download an instant message program if using the web camera for chatting. Some free IM download programs include Yahoo Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger and Apple iChat.

Upon using a webcam, you can now communicate with friends and family online both visually and by audio. A webcam can be used to capture and stream live video during chats and instant messaging and to capture video and post it to YouTube, your homepage or other Web sites.

A video cameras is a camera used for electronic motion picture/images acquisition, which developed by the television industry but now common in many applications as well. The very early video cameras were those of John Logie Baird, based on the electromechanical Nipkow disk and used by the BBC in experimental broadcasts through the 1930's. All-electronic designs are based on the cathode ray tube, such as Vladimir Zworykin's Iconoscope and Philo T. Farnsworth's Image dissector, supplanted the Baird system by the 1940s and still in wide use until the 1980's.

A video camera that attaches to the computer typically via USB or that is built into a laptop or desktop screen. It is used mostly for videophoning over networks such as Skype as well as the continuous monitor of the activity and deliver the video to a Web server for public or private viewing. Webcams have been set up that stream video continuously to a Web site, capturing virtually anything, including a dorm room, schools,offices, a street corner, an interesting outdoor view and, of course, pornography, the latter inspiring programmers in the 1990s to greatly improve Webcam software.

Webcams can be purchased as separate components generally have a microphone built into the camera body, or an external mike is part of its package. If you buy a laptop or desktop computer comes with a Webcam, the microphone is included.

The two primary modes of video camera. The first mode of video camera, is characteristic of much early television, is what we called a live broadcast, where the camera feeds real time images directly to a screen for faster observation; in addition to live television production, such usage is characteristic of security, military/tactical, and industrial operations where surreptitious or remote viewing is required. The second mode of video camera, is to have the images/picture recorded to a storage device for archiving or further processing; for many years, videotape has been the primary format used for this purpose, but optical disc media, hard disk, and flash memory are all increasingly available. Recorded video is used not only in television and film production, but also surveillance and monitoring tasks where unattended recording of a situation is required for later purposes and usage.

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Webcams being hosted in schools

It’s possible that having seen the teaching and learning the benefits of webcams, teachers and students may wish to make their own use of webcams or web camera, perhaps to promote experiments to support classroom works. Schools considering hosting their own webcam should think very carefully about the issues that will soon arise regarding its usage.

First, schools must define precisely why they wish to use a webcam or web camera, what images they want to captured, and where the images will be presented. The answers to these questions should be considered because these would have a great impact upon the safety and management implications of hosting a webcam in school.

If schools were to use a webcam or web camera to view non-human subjects or shall we say objects, for example to view close-up images of a bird nesting in a tree in the school grounds, this shouldn’t present too many problems. The images should be displayed on the school website for general interest and purpose, and there would be no safety issues. On the contrary, if a web camera were used in such a way that it might capture images containing human subjects, whether students, staff or visitors, the school must exercise extreme caution for fairness purposes.

There are many issues regarding privacy, and schools should have the duty to inform people that a web camera is in operation. Many schools operate an opt-in system of parental consent to include images and digital video of students on school websites and the same principles should be applied to webcam activities and policies. Schools should consider also how they can ensure that students whose parents have withheld consent are not inadvertently captured on the camera.
Displaying web camera images of students on a publicly available school website could present a real risk to safety. It allows identification of individual students, but there should be a real risk of attracting unwelcome interest, from pedophiles for example. In addition, as the images are effectively real time, the schools have no control over what are being broadcast via its website. It may be more appropriate to use a school intranet, or a machine which can only be accessed locally, for broadcasting web camera images if they are likely to add images of students.

What are the possible risks associated with the use of webcams?

As with the internet today, some webcam sites may contain, or have links to, inappropriate or adult material. Although this should be address clearly before entering the site, teachers were strongly advised to view any webcam sites or listings before allowing pupils to do so.

One of the greatest risks associated with streaming webcams is one-to-one chat, which serves as an extension to chat rooms. While it’s extremely unlikely that students will use webcams for chatting where setting was organized videoconferencing activities for educational purposes, it is possible that they may use them outside of school and so should be alerted to the possible dangers ahead.

We have to keep in mind also that as webcams provide a real time view, there is no way you can control what students are viewing upon surfing the net. While in some cases where it’s likely to be fairly safe – for example, a webcam view of weather activity - in others, such as views of a busy shopping area, this may present more of a risk, particularly where people might be seen.

The risks of chat rooms are greatly reported – you can never be sure who you are really chatting with, and chat can sometimes become inappropriate too. Pedophiles are also known to use the anonymity offered by chat to ‘groom’ young adults, with the intention of developing friendships in the online world with the eventual aim of persuading them into sexual activities. It is also possible that webcams could be used as a stage in this grooming process, with young adults being encouraged to ‘meet’ using a webcam, and then coerced into inappropriate or abusive activities.

It is advisable for children and young adults to only chat over a webcam with people that they only know and trust in the real world, under adult supervision as much as possible.

A webcam is a camera being connected to the internet. A live picture, or snapshot, is uploaded to a website from the camera at regular intervals, usually every few minutes. By looking at the web page from which the camera operates, you can see what the camera sees almost as it happens in the actual. Thats the great contribution of web technology.

There are thousands of webcams across the world. Through th use of web technology showing images of practically every topic imaginable - cities, weather, volcanoes, space and animals are just a few examples.

The act of streaming webcams provide a continuous stream of live video, and are typically used of web technology, for one-to-one chat, video conferencing or broadcasting across the internet. High bandwidth is required in order to send streaming video at a reasonable rate and quality.

The best example of web technology, is when you are sitting at your computer chatting away. You come across with this new people online and their profile looks impressive. With the help of web technology, you consume hours on end long hours chatting with them and everything that they shares with you appears to draw you in more and more but you have to bid goodbye because it is rather late looking forward for another fulfilling chat day with them.