2. What is a webcam? A webcam is a digital camera that takes images and videos. It is connected or built into a computer therefore it uploads the footage immediately. The footage can also be shared or streamed on the internet.
3. The size of a webcam Over the years the webcams size has significantly decreased. Although the size has decreased the quality of the footage has increased.
4. Energy usage There are two types of webcams. A streaming and a snapshot. When comparing these two types, the snapshot webcam uses a lot less energy than the streaming webcam. This is because the webcam only takes still images and no motion.
5. Is it user friendly? Nowadays the webcam is very user friendly. A lot of the webcams are plugged into the USB ports and make it very easy to use. Once the software is downloaded (by using the disc provided) then the webcam is free to use any time.
6. History of the webcam The first webcam was called the CoffeeCam. It was turned on in 1991 and the turned off in 2001. It was in the computer science department at Cambridge University. The called it the CoffeeCam as it was pointed at a Trojan room coffee pot. I am unaware of the actual inventor.
7. How does it work? They act very much like digital cameras that you carry around with you. 1. Once on the computer the user presses the take photo button and the webcam will take the photo, almost immediately it will pop up in the files. If the user is streaming, the webcam will be recording the footage and it is then uploading to the internet almost simultaneously. There is often a delay as the uploading can take a while.
