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The 12 WorkCams The 6 HomeCams Image Gallery Help! E-mail Nerdman |
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I don't see any homecam images. What am I doing wrong? You probably don't have java installed/enabled. Thanks to a lawsuit between Sun (the makers of Java) and Micorosoft, the MS Java Virtual Machine is no longer included with Windows. If you recently bought a computer with Windows XP installed on it, you probably don't have java. The good news is you can get the free plug-in from Sun here. There is also a java-free page here. What is this? What am I looking at? I ask myself this daily. It's basically a handful of cameras in my home and 12 cameras at my office, that all update live on a periodic basis (anywhere from 8 seconds to 2 minutes). The WorkCams Page consists of a matrix of small live images (called thumbnails). You can click on any thumbnail to view a higher resolution, more detailed live image. The HomeCams page uses higher quality network cameras that update more frequently (cool time-lapse video are also accessible). What is the number that counts down? This represents the number of seconds until the next live image(s). The updating of the image happens automatically. Why in the world would you do something like this? You might say I have a small obsession with web cameras. Coming from a background of television production, video game design, and having worked for a digital camera company for the last eight years, I've combined these three interests into The Nerdman Show. It seems like a natural progression to me. It's a great way to showcase the technology and what it can be used for. The combination of camera technology and the reach of the Internet makes for a great way to check the weather, watch what's going on at your home/office, and of course see if the cat box needs changing. Anyone with a PC and a connection to the Internet can broadcast live images. The applications are endless... security, surveillance, tourism, construction...it is now possible to deliver live images on the Internet from any location, no matter how remote. Who are you and why are you sharing your life for anyone to see? Who I am isn't part of what I'm trying to accomplish. I present the page in an anonymous fashion to show the possibilities of what the technology can be used for. I'm not really sharing my life to the extent it seems. Only a few of the cameras actually point at me, and only in select areas. The cameras do not stream live video and audio... they snap live images on a schedule I set. How long have you been live on the Internet? My dorky mug has had a webcam pointed at it since 1996. Bringing a multi-camera production into our house on the other hand, started in July of 1998. Are the cameras on 24 hours a day? Nearly all the camera are on and broadcasting 24 hours a day. How often do the cameras update? Do they stream? The WorkCams usually update every 20-60 seconds -- the HomeCams, every 8 seconds. The cameras do not stream for two reasons: 1) Live still images allow anyone to see the images, regardless of browser version, operating system or Internet connection speed and 2) the quality of still images is much higher than that of streaming images. I don't believe these cams are live. The time on the images is always different than my time. The cams are located in the Pacific Time Zone (GMT -8). While trying to "Spot the Nerd," I see another person that doesn't appear to be a nerd... Who is that? That is my somewhat reluctant wife. How many computers does it take to run 6 cameras at once? One. In the case of NetCam, none. What kind of Internet connection do you have? Currently, cable modem. For the first year, a single 33.6 modem connection. How does all of this work? How easy is it to set something like this up? It's pretty simple... whether you want to run one camera or a dozen. I'm using Capture Host software and WinCam.Live cameras, both from StarDot Technologies. Once you configure the software, everything's automated. You specify the hours you want the cameras to be live and click the play button... it runs on its own from then. The homecams are even nicer... they're standalone NetCams from StarDot. The image quality is outstanding and no computer is necessary. |