A webcam is a small digital video camera designed to stream or capture video and still images for use with a computer, typically connected by a cable such as USB or built directly into a laptop or display. The company Connectix released the QuickCam in 1994, widely credited as the first mass-market webcam, a grayscale camera that plugged into a Macintosh and could capture and transmit images over a computer network. Webcams became central to video calling, online conferencing and internet broadcasting as home internet connections grew fast enough to carry live video, and later models added color, higher resolution and built-in microphones.
Facts
SignificanceThe Connectix QuickCam of 1994 was the first widespread commercial webcam, a black-and-white camera made for the mass market. 1 FAQs
Was the first webcam pointed at a coffee pot?
Yes. A 1991 camera at Cambridge watched the Trojan Room coffee pot until it was switched off in 2001.
Yes, in the early history of the webcam. First developed in 1991, a webcam was pointed at the Trojan Room coffee pot in the Cambridge University Computer Science Department. It initially operated over a local network instead of the web. That camera was finally switched off on August 22, 2001.
Connections
Sources
1. Webcam, Wikipedia
Early development (early 1990s), first sentence
First developed in 1991, a webcam was pointed at the Trojan Room coffee pot in the Cambridge University Computer Science Department
Early development (early 1990s), QuickCam sentence
The first widespread commercial webcam, the black-and-white QuickCam, entered the marketplace in 1994, created by the U.S. computer company Connectix.
In Field: Computer Engineering, Categories
Computing input devices
In Group: Computer Pointing and Input Peripheral Devices, Introduction
Webcams can be built-in computer hardware, like a laptop, or peripheral devices, and are commonly connected to a device using USB or wireless protocol.
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