Re: built-in iSight have a lens cap?

In article <znu-67D19D.02161214012006@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, ZnU
<znu@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> In article <140120061915593198%helpful_harry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
> Helpful Harry <helpful_harry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> > In article <znu-83B0C3.00514814012006@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, ZnU
> > <znu@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> > > In article <140120061819057260%helpful_harry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
> > > Helpful Harry <helpful_harry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > >
> > > > In article <2006011319265916807-mhosbornnospam@coxnet>, MacMike
> > > > <mhosbornnospam@xxxxxxx> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > On 2006-01-13 20:01:48 -0600, Rick Jones <rick.jones2@xxxxxx> said:
> > > > >
> > > > > > OK, so perhaps being born and bred in Washington, DC makes me
> > > > > > paranoid, but do these Mac's with the built-in iSight cameras
> > > > > > have lens caps to physically prevent the camera from seeing
> > > > > > anything?
> > > > >
> > > > > Nope...no lens cap. There's a small light next to it, though,
> > > > > that's lit when the camera's on.
> > > >
> > > > Just stick a piece of tape over the lens.
> > > >
> > > > Why Apple has bothered putting such a useless thing in as standard is
> > > > a question even they probably can't answer ... no doubt they're
> > > > trying to push the technology forward.
> > >
> > > In order for video conferencing to work, obviously, both parties need a
> > > camera. This reduces the utility of buying a camera for each individual.
> > > If nobody else had a phone, there'd be much less reason for you to buy
> > > one, right? Who would you call? Same thing here.
> > >
> > > This makes it hard for widespread video conferencing to ever get off the
> > > ground -- a certain number of people need cameras before cameras will be
> > > useful, but nobody buys cameras because they're not useful yet.
> > >
> > > Apple is probably including cameras as a standard feature in order to
> > > sidestep this little catch-22, and get the availability of systems
> > > capable of video conferencing over that critical threshold.
> >
> > At the moment the number of people who need or even want
> > video-conferencing is minimal at best. For most buyers the camera will
> > be a gimmick or not ever even used, just like the microphone - a couple
> > of hours making rapberry sounds, and then it's forgotten about.
>
> Video conferencing is something regular people won't go out of their way
> to do right now, but it's something they'd probably do fairly often if
> they had the capability, and I suspect it's the kind of thing that, once
> you start doing regularly, you wouldn't want to give up.

See, you're repeating what I'm saying. Few people actually want
video-conferencing, but Apple has stuck the camera in to push that
technology forward.

BUT, few people will even use it now that it's there, just like the
microphone. It's the same reasons video-phones haven't taken off.



> > > > Keeping the modem would probably have been more useful in the laptop.
> > > >
> > > > They did the same thing with microphones starting why back with the
> > > > Mac LC (a plug-in extra that came in the box) and it's still nothing
> > > > more than a 10 minute gimmick, if that, for most users.
> > >
> > > Sure, back in the LC days, there wasn't much you could do with those
> > > microphones. But *now* mics are useful because people are doing
> > > voice-over-IP. Apple wants to add video to the mix.
> >
> > I know in America "everyone" is rich and uses unlimited high-speed
> > broadband connections, but here in the real world most people are still
> > stuck on dial-up or over-expensive slow "broadband" with silly data
> > limits, things that make video-conferenceing for the average user a
> > non-starter ... hell, we're still waiting for an iTunes Store down
> > here.
>
> Broadband now accounts ~70% of US Internet connections -- and the US is
> something like 16th for broadband penetration. Countries like South
> Korea and the Netherlands are *way* ahead of us.
>
> Your 'NNTP-Posting-Host' suggests you're in New Zealand. I don't know
> what the broadband situation is like there. But in many countries now,
> broadband is pretty much the standard way of accessing the Internet.

It's hopeless here in New Zealand, mainly thanks to ONE monopolistic
company owning all the lines / exchanges / etc. and therefore setting
all the rules / prices for all the ISPs. See one of the other replies
for the dismal details.



> True, some broadband isn't really fast enough for decent video
> conferencing, but that, too, is changing. When I first got DSL in 2000,
> it was $50/month for a 640/128 line. Now it's $30/month for a 3000/768
> line.
>
> > As I said, it's just Apple again trying to push the technology forward
> > (plus trying to add a new sales gimmick that few / nobody else has
> > yet).
> >
> > Usually what happens is they try these things for a while, then they
> > give up and cancel it ... often just as it's about to take off as the
> > "next big thing" (eg. Newton, Pippin, and others).
>
> Apple hasn't had many of those reversals since Jobs came back. (Except,
> of course, for all the pre-Jobs stuff that Jobs tossed out early on.)

Ummm ... they have dropped the display connector and now FireWire 800
seems to be history, and those are just of the top of my head - there
may or may not be more.




Helpful Harry
Hopefully helping harassed humans happily handle handiwork hardships ;o)
.

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