Windows 2 Apples

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Since my 1st few episodes, I’ve been complaining Apple took the only external WebCam for the Mac off the market, leaving many of its customers shackled to the built-in cam or no cam at all. No more iSights to be found … except on eBay - at eye-popping prices.

A few days after un-boxing my Mac, I began my search for an external webcam. I wanted the flexibility I’ve had with all of my PCs. I can almost guarantee when you walk into your favorite technology store and read the labeling on the 10 or 15 different WebCams crowding their shelves, you’ll not find that Mac friendly logo anywhere. A quick web search proves I am not alone in this quest.

Microsoft to the rescue! For several weeks forum postings suggested that the $40 WebCam designed for the Xbox 360 was compatible with Macs running OS 10.4. I didn’t run out and buy because I was still mystified why this device would work when none of the other three or four USB WebCams laying around me have never been recognized by my iMac. But …the testimonials proved very persuasive. I knew I could lay my hands on an XBox WebCam at my local Circuit City and in 30 minutes was back home staring at their packaging … wondering if I would be shedding blood over this one.

I’m not really violent by nature. But I do think I could get close to being driven to murder each and every time I try to open one of those hermetically sealed, heavy plastic packages that almost invariably put me at risk of stabbing myself as try to cut, hack or saw my way in to retrieve what’s rightfully mine. If you are able to hack your way into one of these packages from hell you have to be able see the sense humor of final coup de grace when you read the fine print on on the warranty “return in original packaging”!

Once into the package and camera retrieved, I simply plug it in to my external powered USB hub, click on iChat, and then the camera icon and presto I have two options … built-in iSight or video camera. My iMac has eyes! Of course the Microsoft XBox webcam follows the design convention of the day with a circular green LED light at the base of the lens which glows when active. I’m pleasantly surprised at the quality of the video, even though it has that familiar ocean wave distortion of the picture is you move the camera.

When testing the manual focus of the XBox Live Vision, I noticed I was seeing a mirrored image of the keys on my keyboard. I rub my eyes surely this can’t be true. Now I’m swamped with fear I’ve screwed up some mysterious iMac setting. To my great relief I realize I have my trusty external FireWire backup. I boot from my relatively pristine disk image and still find iChat and Skype images are mirrored! To make sure I’m not losing it, I turn on my trusty XP focus the Logitech cam on text and keyboard … no mirrored image here. By now I’m breaking out in a sweat. How could you use a camera when the image is mirrored? What a mess it would be trying to show or capture a PC board layout or heaven forbid part number!

Luckily, I have a long time Mac user only a few houses away. I put on my shoes and tramp down to his house where he quickly demonstrates when using his external iSight cam the text is also mirrored. He assures me this is so the person on the other end viewing your cam will see the picture correctly. He even made an iChat call to demonstrate his friend could read his business card. The work around for this problem is found on the ecamm website and comes to you as a little application called iGlasses.

This has never been an issue in the PCs I’ve used. The image was always correctly presented on my end as well as the receiving end. Back home now, I go immediately to the ecamm website and download the trial version of iGlasses. Just as advertised, it not only allows me to flip my mirrored image so that it’s correctly displayed on my screen but also to adjust color, white balance, hue and even zoom in and out. I recommend the $9 iGlasses utility to all Mac owners frustrated with the lack of control over internal camera settings. It is a must have, if you are using an external USB cam.

Of course, Apple assumes you are quite happy with the internal iSight camera and don’t give you the option to choose from multiple sources of webcam video in many of their apps. You have to trick the iMac by first running a program like Photo Booth to tie up your iSight cam before using your external cam in iMovie 08 or 6 …. annoying, but at least a simple workaround.

iSight forums postings claim the current crop of WebCams specified as UVC compliant are plug and play compatible with most of 10.4 Macintosh video capture programs. I’ve not tried this with the UVC cams from Logitech but may check one out and report back on my adventure. So thank you Microsoft for filling in the gaping hole left by Apple when it pulled the iSight.

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