Mouse Clix

By: Hobie Lunin

I see you, do you see me?

Sometimes a gadget comes along and I get the feeling that it is going to become a “rage.” The prices on PC Cameras have been coming down rapidly and I bought one to fiddle around with.

It’s a little plastic globe the size of your fist. It has a lens and a focus knob and a long wire with a USB connection at the far end. Before I proceed, if you do not have a PC with a USB installation, you can easily install a pair rather easily following the directions in the box. You just have to feel comfortable opening up the cover of your computer.

Set the PC Cam on top of your monitor and install the software. Read the directions carefully, as some of the installation must be done in a particular order. When the directions call for you to plug in the camera in the USB port, there will be your live picture on the screen! First thing is to focus it with the knob and then start adjusting lamps in front of the computer so your face is well lit. After that, click on some of the menus on the screen to find a selection of screen sizes. Use the smallest size for sending video and the larger size for sending snapshots. The instructions help you find the right buttons to click to take a picture (of yourself in front of the screen). Go ahead and take a snapshot and e-mail it to a friend, asking them to report on the reception.

Next hook up your microphone. Next, check that it is working properly. The PC cam software may have a way to check the sound, but here is how you can do it in any computer with windows.

Click on Start, Programs, Accessories, Entertainment and Sound Recorder. Click on the round dot to Record and then start speaking into the Mic. You should start to see the horizontal line jump around like a sound wave as you talk. Then, click on the button with a square to stop recording. Then click on the left pointing arrowheads and it will rewind and playback. If it does not play back, click on the single arrow to the right. You should then hear your voice over the speakers. If you do not hear anything and the line remained stationary while you were talking, you may not have the Mic plugged into the correct port. You must be sure it is plugged in the one that has an icon of a microphone next to it. If you have no Mic, they are $15 or less. If you have no place to plug one in you probably don’t have a sound card.

Once you know you have a working mike, you can now make a video clip and send it to a friend. You will attach it to an e-mail the way you would attach any file, like text. After you send it, look for the mail in your Sent folder and click on the attachment so you can see what the video will look like to the recipient.

You will take notice that the video is a little jumpy. This is because the frame rate is lower than a normal video. If you are using a dial-up connection, keep your message under 10 seconds so they don’t take too long to download at the receiver’s end.

Well, that’s fun, but as far as I can see the best part will be when you get to the point that you can have a video and sound chat. My unit came with 2 choices one was through software that allows you to “broadcast” your video to your friends via a web site that hosts it. They will do this without charge for a while but then there is a charge for it.

The best way to do the video chat (in my opinion) is with Yahoo Messenger. I gave Yahoo a lot of credit for making video chat so easy to do. Video Chat will be like an answered prayer for friends and family who live too far apart to see each other frequently. Just the idea of being able to see a distant newborn grandchild or other loved ones several times a week without traveling is guaranteed to make PC Cams popular.

Here’s what’s involved. Both sender and receiver need to have Yahoo Instant Messenger installed. This is a fairly quick down load from Yahoo (www.yahoo.com). You will need a user name and you must be registered with Yahoo (no charge). Either one or both parties may have a PC Camera.

Once you are on-line and see the other party is also on-line (their user name will be bolder), you invite the other person to Chat. Then invite them to use the sound. Talk to each other using the sound. Remember in order to speak you need to click and hold the “talk” button (bunless you select “hands-free). Next, the person who has the camera at their end will click on Tools and Invite to View My Webcam after clicking on Start My Webcam and then on Broadcast. The other party will accept and the video screen will appear in a small window on their screen. In one of the menus there is Zoom to increase the size of the picture on your screen. Continuous still shots are generating the Video a few seconds apart. This makes the video a bit jumpy but if you are basically a “talking head” this won’t be a problem.

This is really an easy process even for the not so technically inclined. I guarantee that when you see that other special person talking to you on the screen that it will be well worth the effort.

Hobie Lunin is a Computer Instructor and Consultant. He can be reached at mouseclix2@yahoo.com

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