Setting
Up Your Own Webcam
Putting it All Together
In order to experiment with Webcams and go through the process of setting one up, try this:
Go to the local computer warehouse and buy the Intel PC Camera Pro Pack (USB).
Install the software for the camera on a computer (a Windows 98 will do). This will take two tries, and remember that it is important to turn off the virus-checking software and do a fresh reboot before installing.
Download a program online for WebCams. Try www.webcam32.com with software called Webcam32. This is a popular software package for Webcams. Webcam32 grabs pictures from the camera and uploads them to a Web server. You can get a free demo version or pay $25 for the full version.
Install the program.
After entering the address of the FTP site and a couple of other pieces of information, your Webcam should show its first signs of life!
Point the camera to your subject matter or out of the window.
Tune the software a bit to reduce the file size of the images and to enable the temporary-file copying feature.
There are many different features you can experiment with in Webcam32: streaming video, chat, captions, AVI files and different resolutions and compression ratios, to name a few. Webcam32 also supports the AutoCam feature, which allows you to create a Web page for your Webcam for free on their server. The software makes it simple.
As you can see, setting up a simple Webcam is extremely easy! If nothing else, the setup described here is a fun, inexpensive and simple way to experiment with a Webcam and see what you can do with one of your own!
