Webcam

A cam, homecam, or webcam is a video camera, usually attached directly to a computer, whose current or latest image is requestable from a Web site. A live cam is one that is continually providing new images that are transmitted in rapid succession or, in some cases, in streaming video. Sites with live cams sometimes imbed them as a Java applet in Web pages. Cams have caught on; there are now (we estimate) several thousand sites with cams. The first cams were positioned mainly on fish tanks and coffee machines. Many of today's live cams are on sex-oriented sites.

For travel promotion, traffic information, and the remote visualization of any ongoing event that's interesting, webcams seem like an exciting possibility that will become more common as users get access to more bandwidth.

Have a look at 2 live webcams that are used by freedivers & scuba divers to determine up-to-date weather conditions in Plymouth and Portland. Carp Services installed both cameras at:

www.freediver.co.uk

Read more about it at:

> CNET's review of the Connectix Color QuickCam 2 gives you some idea of what a webcam is like and how much one costs.

> See what the landscape looks like within the past hour from the webcam at Mawson Station, Antarctica.

> If you live in Atlanta, Georgia, Phoenix, Arizona, or certain other cities, you can view traffic conditions on major highways in the area from cameras positioned in multiple places along the highways. Several of these offer live cams with streaming video. In many cases, these cam sites are brought to you by the Web sites of local television or radio stations.

> Kind of wish you were in Hawaii right now? Here's what Maui looks like looking inland from the seacoast.

> Planning to visit the Empire State Building in New York City? Preview the view in live shots from several different high-up floors. Or see the latest Manhattan skyline from Hoboken, New Jersey.

> Some cams are in people's offices or homes. Probably the most famous is the Jennicam, which is in the home of a "tall redhead" with a sense of humor. Her idea is to show all of someone's real life, at least from one camera's point-of-view.

> A definitive list of cam and live cam sites is available from Tommy's List of Live Cam Worldwide, which originates in Albuquerque, New Mexico.