Hasta La Gadget!

It feels a bit strange to report on a webcam privacy shade as if it were a novelty: various products already let users put a decorative background on screen in lieu of a live stream, or even pull a physical shade across the lens. What Apple is apparently proposing, though, is a camera with such privacy filters built into the camera module itself. The company just applied for a patent on a camera whose images could selectively transition from opaque to transparent and back again, depending on how much privacy is called for.

Based on that illustration up there, we’re going to hazard a guess it could be used in Apple’s MacBook and iMac lines, though the patent application doesn’t explicitly exclude mobile devices, either. (In fact, the filing acknowledges a camera like this could be used in, ahem, a television.) What we’d really like to know is how easy it would be for the user to active the privacy mode. Alas, though, the USPTO doc doesn’t give any definitive answers — the filing suggests the user could choose to switch modes, or that launching certain applications (i.e., those that use the camera) might trigger a change in privacy settings. In any case, that’s about all we can glean from the patent application, but feel free to peek for yourselves if you feel like letting your imaginations get ahead of you.

Filed under: Desktops, Cameras, Laptops, Apple

Comments

Source: USPTO

Logitech offers all sorts of products that are geared more towards business users than consumers. One of the most common products the company makes specifically for business users are certain types of webcams. Logitech has unveiled a new webcam for business users today called the Logitech Webcam C930e.

The camera is designed specifically for desktop video and has features that promise to make it easy to use and to provide high-quality video. The webcam has a 90-degree field of view and supports H.264 SVC and UVC 1.5 video encoding standards. The camera also supports high-definition digital pan-tilt-zoom capability.

The webcam offers full HD resolution allowing enterprise-grade video collaboration with large groups thanks to its wide viewing angle. The camera has a Carl Zeiss-certified glass lens that is specifically engineered to avoid fisheye distortion. The camera is optimized for Microsoft Lync and is compatible with both Cisco and Skype as well as most unified communications and video conferencing applications.

The camera’s integrated digital pan-tilt-zoom feature is able to maintain high definition images at up to four times magnification. Logitech says the integrated support for H.264 SVC and UVC 1.5 video encoding frees up PC hardware bandwidth by processing video directly within the camera. The camera will also adjust performance for maximum video quality when bandwidth fluctuates. The camera will be available in May for $109.99.

[via Logitech]

Logitech unveils new Webcam C930e aimed at business users is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Logitech has outed a new keyboard, the UC Solution for Cisco 725-C, complete with dedicated VoIP controls and a caller ID display. The new ‘board – which Logitech says pairs up neatly with its C920-C webcam and M525-C wireless mouse – is designed specifically to work with Cisco’s Jabber service, allowing users to throw out their desk phone and instead handle incoming and outgoing calls, voicemails, and more from their PC peripherals.

Dedicated buttons for answering/ending calls as well as muting are present, with illumination so that you can be alerted to an incoming call even if you have the volume shut off. The voicemail button also lights up when there are new messages.

As for the other companion peripherals, the M525-C mouse comes with one of Logitech’s Unifying receiver dongles, which can plug directly into the K725-C keyboard, and has a scroll wheel and rubberized grips. The C920-C webcam can handle up to 1080p video at 30fps, and includes stereo microphones and onboard H.264 encoding for reducing computer processor strain.

Obviously you’ll need a Jabber system in order for the bundle to be any use to you, but we can envisage Logitech developing another version of the keyboard targeting home users instead, perhaps with Skype controls instead. As for the K725-C, that’ll land in March 2013 priced at $269.99, complete with both webcam and mouse, while the C920-C webcam will also be sold separately at $109.99.

Logitech K725-C keyboard adds VoIP Caller ID screen and controls is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Back in early November, Belkin unveiled the NetCam WiFi camera, but it only supported standard definition, and it was the company’s first try at implementing a wireless camera. However, the company has released a sequel here at CES 2013, and its calling it the NetCam HD. We stopped by the company’s booth to get a look at the new device.

The NetCam HD touts 720p video capabilities, as well as digital audio capture for monitoring while your on the road. It also boasts easy setup with an Android or iOS smartphone with your home’s wireless router, so there’s no need to get on your computer to configure the device, which is incredible convenient, especially for those who use their smartphones the most.

If you need to monitor your house at night, Belkin included night vision capabilities in the NetCam HD, just like the device’s predecessor. A companion mobile app handles most of the workload, and email alerts can be pushed to your inbox when motion is detected, complete with a screenshot of the culprit passing through.

Additionally, the NetCam HD will launch with the recently outed WeMo SMART platform that adds to Belkin’s home automation tools for a variety of in-home uses with electronics and appliances. The NetCam HD is slated to hit shelves this spring at a price of $149, which is just a tad more than the original NetCam.

Belkin NetCam HD WiFi camera hands-on is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

When it comes to two of the more successful space operas around, Star Trek and Star Wars have their set of fans, although the former does have more material to fall back upon since it has movies as well as a back catalogue of TV shows to fall upon, while Star Wars folklore consists of just half a dozen movies, some computer games and a number of novels. I am not going to take sides as to which is the better franchise, as each of them has their own merit, but one thing’s for sure – both of them are cash cows which have yet to be fully milked. Case in point, the £39.95 Star Trek Webcam, allowing you to communicate with aliens. Wait a minute, I meant, your friends, right in front of your computer.

Voice control for computers are not quite on the same level as that of the USS Enterprise just yet, so you will still have to do your fair share of button clicking and typing, but to have the USS Enterprise webcam hover above your computer screen is definitely a statement of intent, and it tells the rest of the world just which sci-fi series you prefer. The USS Enterprise Starship webcam is a plug and play USB device, and comes with an adjustable flex so that you can set it up easily, while the engine nacelles light up when plugged in with the deflector dish holding the focusable camera for that touch of realism.

[ Star Trek Webcam copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]