Snake Webcams

Happy newyears! And now, snake cames!

(Being a mobile computing and hardware entusiast in addition to being a computer game theory geek means I will sometimes make blog posts such as these)

:

I've been on the lookout for a good webcam with a bendy mount for recording lectures and perhaps webcasts and notes, in an effort to improve my oral presentation skills. Requirements were integrated microphone, atleast 30fps 640x480 video, and a bendy usb mount.

My research turned up these models:

http://www.huehd.com/index-2.html
http://www0.shopping.com/xPO-Macally-IceCam
http://www0.shopping.com/xPO-Offspring-Technologies-CAM30
http://www0.shopping.com/xPO-MSI-StarCam-Mini
http://www0.shopping.com/xPO-Philips-PHILIPS-SPC610NC-USB-WEBCAM-FOR-PC-AND-LAPTOP
http://www0.shopping.com/xPO-Flex-CP-MPC-01
http://www0.shopping.com/xPO-Notebook-USB-Web-Cam
http://www0.shopping.com/xPO-A4tech-A4Tech-PK-7ma-Flexi-Webcam-Microphone-for-WebCam-Built-in-Microphone
http://www0.shopping.com/xPO-MSI-Starcam-370i
http://www0.shopping.com/xPO-Mustek-Mustek-Web-Cam-M6323
http://www0.shopping.com/xPO-Typhoon-Toto-TEL5GGC-60-EcoPower-Electronic-Faucet-Gooseneck-Thermal-Mixing-Chrome
http://www0.shopping.com/xPO-ClearOne-Communications-FlexCam-iCam-Digital
http://www0.shopping.com/xPO-AOC-PCCDC1120
http://www0.shopping.com/xPO-Solidtek-NoteCam-B100
http://www0.shopping.com/xPO-IC-Gear-Mini
http://www0.shopping.com/xPO-Compucessory-CCS42122
http://www0.shopping.com/xPO-BYTECC-350K
http://www0.shopping.com/xPO-Micro-Innovations-CPQ54CAM
http://www0.shopping.com/xPO-Logitech-430ML
http://www0.shopping.com/xPO-Logitech-Quick-Cam-530-Plus
http://www0.shopping.com/xPO-Micro-Innovations-IC70C
http://www0.shopping.com/xPO-SIIG-CE-UMCP12
http://www0.shopping.com/xPO-Sakar-Mini-WebCam-69352
http://www0.shopping.com/xPO-Iogear-GCA210U
http://www0.shopping.com/xPO-Canon-VIZCAM-1000
http://www0.shopping.com/xPO-Ezonics-CobraCam
http://www0.shopping.com/xPO-Sony-CCD-PC1

Now most of these are probably quite crappy, and don't even meet my demands, so proceed at your own risk, and sorry for not sorting it more thoroughly...but the above list should be current as of january 2009 with regards to everything available on the market, used or new. So it's a place to start looking for a solution that meets your needs.

Your best bet for getting a really good solution may be this though:

http://www.umpcportal.com/2009/01/digitus-flexi-webcam-ordered

It wasn't available and I've already purchased an excellent alternative from the list above, the Clique Hue HD:

http://www.amazon.com/Clique-HD-PC-Mac-Webcam/dp/B000TTIP8Q

But not at that abhorent price tag though, I purchased mine straight from Hong Kong on ebay for 17$ and 10$ shipping, brand new too. Only problem was getting the drivers from a reliable source.

Clique appears to have gone belly up, at least with regards to driver downloads! Which, if you do ebay it, kindof sucks because even if it does come with a driver cd, are you going to trust your computer to a cd that a random stranger sold on ebay?

Best drivers I have found for it are available here:
http://www.kentd.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=205&Itemid=1

Or they were at the time of writing. If the link is down, email me, and I'll try to upload them!

Exact size for the zip should be:
11.517.399 bytes.
At the time of writing Web Of Trust trusted the KetnD site. Not sure if that's worth much, but hey.

And neither avast nor any of the 4 firewalls I'm behind have complained about trojans or vira, so it appears completely legit. I don't recall if the drivers were digitally signed though, and they do install a server process for configuration, so use at your own risk.

I hope this proves useful to someone at some point =]