Webcams: What Everyone Should Know

Instead of just communicating over the Internet with text and emoticons, people are beginning to realize just how easy and fun it is to connect using video in cyberspace. This is generally accomplished with an affordable piece of hardware known as a webcam.

A webcam setup consists of a small camera attached to your computer, operated through special software. Webcam software takes video through the camera and transfers it to another location for viewing through either a live video call or recorded video clip. Several factors contribute to the quality of a webcam call, such as lens quality, lighting and Internet bandwidth.

Two new webcams from Microsoft are providing an exciting and easy new way to share photos and memories. And by working with the world's largest instant messaging network, Windows Live Messenger, these cameras are helping to make video calls easier and more meaningful.

The LifeCam VX-7000 is a desktop webcam that includes a 2.0-megapixel sensor that delivers high-definition video resolution and still photography. And the LifeCam NX-3000 is a wired notebook webcam offering brilliant video and high-definition still photography wherever you go. The webcams' design blends into the PC monitor, allowing consumers to concentrate on the important things in life: connecting and sharing with friends and family. Both cameras offer such features as:

• One-touch Photo Swap access, which allows users to share and swap photos from their PCs during a live video call--and see and hear the reactions of friends and family;

• Windows Live Call Button, which allows users to open their Contact Picker (a tool showing which contacts are currently online) with one touch, so they can quickly initiate video calls to friends and family. It's like speed dial for your webcam;

• LifeCam Dashboard, which integrates full navigational controls (pan, tilt, zoom, face tracking and video effects) within the Windows Live Messenger interface, enabling a seamless and easy navigating experience; and

• Built-in unidirectional microphone with acoustic noise cancellation for crystal-clear audio.

To learn more, visit the Web site at www.microsoft.com/hardware.

Webcams give family and friends the opportunity to converse over the Internet and even swap photos instantly.