|
Name of Site: All Cam
URL: http://www.allcam.com/
Plug-Ins: Yes
Navigability: Easy
Graphics: Medium, Good Quality
Internal Links: 25
Review: The Internet camera phenomenon has boomed almost as rapidly as
the Internet itself. In a short space of time, with increased bandwidth
and cheap set up costs, the number of cameras strategically positioned
around the planet is so large that this kind of portal site has become
a necessity. In much the same manner as a search engine categorises web
pages, AllCam has organised the entire spectrum of web cams for your viewing
enjoyment. Free membership benefits include sharing info about broadcasters,
collecting images, and the ability to participate in the voting procedure
which elevates particular sites to cult status. From banks to nightclubs,
construction sites to traffic, the world is here to behold. - SS
Rating: ****
Name of Site: Australian Live Streaming Web
Cams
URL: http://members.iinet.net.au/~kevinr1/Livecams.html
Plug-Ins: Yes
Navigability: Medium
Graphics: Heavy, Medium Quality
Internal Links: 16
Review: At the time of review, this site was promising to move to a new
domain - www.australianlivecams.com, after the owners efforts have earned
him the right for the site to have a real identity. A cute map of Australia
links to categorised cams - each with a short blurb - from cafes to external
vistas of our great land. It is easy to add your own camera link or modify
your entry with a simple form, and the site also includes a "what's
cool", "new sites" and "top rated" links. It
is clearly a low budget operation, but the local content angle makes up
for the lack of magnitude and hype, that some other sites might rely on.
- SS
Rating: ***
Name of Site: World Map of Live Web Cams
URL: http://dove.mtx.net.au/~punky/World.html
Plug-Ins: Yes
Navigability: Easy
Graphics: Medium, Medium Quality
Internal Links: 10
Review: Its a simple concept, but quite a handy one, since most of us
do see the world as a map, and not as a bunch of hyperlinked text. The
main page is a large map peppered with red hotspots, where the digital
eyes survey their local scenery. You can zoom in on the more populated
regions, and get a quick run down of the relative merits of each location,
before heading off to see for yourself. Quick links jump to categories,
such as volcanos, airports and peregrine falcons, and the site's owner
is keen to maintain, update and improve what is on offer here. Some great
shots in the gallery highlight the benefits of world-watching and there
is a section for mobile cams (that could do with some additions) and plenty
of links to other camera portals. - SS
Rating: ***
Name of Site: Web Cam Search
URL: http://www.webcamsearch.com/
Plug-Ins: Yes
Navigability: Easy
Graphics: Heavy, Good Quality
Internal Links: 50
Review: America always seems to be a few steps ahead of the rest of us,
when it comes to implementing web sites and making the most of the technology
available. Here we have a web cam portal that harnesses marketing devices
and design concepts to make it a lot more worth your while hanging around
and participating, rather than simply locating a cam and watching it.
There are thousands of cameras in the directory, each one described and
rated, but there is also a book and video store, guides to setting up
your own camera(s), an events calendar, forums, chat, feature cams, even
email facilities and an active referral program. A special web cam spider
will even locate more cameras based on your key words. - SS
Rating: *****
Name of Site: Spot Life
URL: http://spotlife.com/
Plug-Ins: Yes
Navigability: Medium
Graphics: Heavy, Good Quality
Internal Links: 30+
Review: Welcome to the era of "personal broadcasting". The days
of sitting there like stunned mullets soaking up the pap of commercial
TV are over. This is "Spot Life", where everyone is a star,
the doors to media success are open and your success is only limited by
whether or not you really have anything to offer. Even if you don't want
to be an Internet star, or create a booming video streaming enterprise,
you can have a lot of fun interacting with people around the globe. Spot
Life provides the tools and know how, including the server technology,
to get you beaming your smile to the world. They have split the broadcasts
into "channels" and offer a scaled range of services, from free
domestic to unlimited minutes of commercial streaming. With some very
strong industry partnerships and plenty of financial backing, this site
should be around for quite some time. Long enough for you to hone your
TV presentation skills. - SS
Rating: *****
Name of Site: Camarades
URL: http://www.camarades.com/
Plug-Ins: Yes
Navigability: Easy
Graphics: Heavy, Good Quality
Internal Links: 50+
Review: Besides the very large header on this site, which forces every
page to be scrolled, you will find a complex and involving camera community.
A lot of thought has gone into creating a personalised and friendly zone
for those who like to watch and be watched. The only catch is that to
make it all work, they need money. After a free trial membership, you
will invited to pay US$9.95/month to become an elite "camerade"
and take advantage of the services provided; video chat, a 'buddy list',
visitors log, the chance to earn money, alias cams and whatever new features
your membership money might fund. They have pretty good policies regarding
use of the site, so it should remain a reasonably safe place to hang out.
- SS
Rating: ****
Name of Site: Web Cam Now
URL: http://www.webcamnow.com/
Plug-Ins: Yes
Navigability: Easy
Graphics: Heavy, Good Quality
Internal Links: 10
Review: Instant gratification is the name of the game here, with a simple
1-2-3 process to get you up and running. If you want web cam now, you
got it. No complicated procedures here, just get in there and do it. They
offer a range of cameras and other devices for sale, and the chance to
pay for an upgrade to '10 times faster' video. Head into the chat rooms
and have fun, but a word of warning about the "unmoderated"
channel. Don't go there! Amateur groin-cam is definitely not a good look.
Stick with the friends and family zone, and you'll be impressed with the
interface, the text chat and simple loading of countless video shots of
un-camera-shy folks the world over. - SS
Rating: ****
Name of Site: Earth Cam
URL: http://www.earthcam.com/
Plug-Ins: Yes
Navigability: Easy
Graphics: Medium, Good Quality
Internal Links: 40+
Review: How big can one camera site get? Earth Cam literally has the entire
globe contained within a slick and functional hub around which millions
of us are spinning. In countless categories and sub-categories, multiple
formats, and covering everything from sporting events to religious happenings,
the eyes of the world are now hard-wired to your frontal lobes. Earth
Cam TV is the personal chat zone, where everyone becomes a TV star. The
facilities to get up and running are all provided, as well as plenty of
membership benefits. You will be sure to find your place in amongst the
crowd, and with fairly strict controls on content, the emphasis is on
fun, not filth, joy, not junk - just the way the earth should be. - SS
Rating: *****
Name of Site: ComFM
URL: http://www.comfm.com/
Plug-Ins: Yes
Navigability: Easy
Graphics: Heavy, Good Quality
Internal Links: 20
Review: Though this is a French site, it is worth having a look at, because
a lot of the links are English, and it is good to see how cultural differences
translate through the familiar formats of web pages and streaming video.
ComFM combines Internet TV, Internet Radio, MP3s and Web Cams to create
a more diverse and appealing portal. Navigate the various sections by
country, type, or 'special', and although not every single word is translated
perfectly for you, the style, scope and feel of the site is quite easy
to behold. There are monthly featured destinations, clelebrity streams
and a "weird world tour", for the nutters - though it's actually
fairly tame, compared to some stuff you might dig up. - SS
Rating: ****
Name of Site: Animal Cam
URL: http://www.animalcam.com/
Plug-Ins: Yes
Navigability: Easy
Graphics: Medium, Good Quality
Internal Links: 15+
Review: Humans can be so boring. They are so self conscious and self absorbed,
the very thought of watching them on Internet cameras could be enough
to turn you into a bookworm. When it all becomes too much, why not try
animal watching instead? They are so natural, so free, so unassuming,
they will sit there picking fleas out of their fur, or cleaning their
bottoms for hours without any fear of ridicule or humiliation - it's so
refreshing. Animal Cam takes you to every cage, pen, sty, pound, tank
and burrow you could ever dream about. Constantly updated listings, a
top ten, tutorials on how to get your own critter exposure and a shop
to buy all the goodies you need to get started, as well as link after
link of every link in the DNA chain - and you'll be a happy puppy. Woof!-
SS
Rating: ****
Name of Site: Loch Ness Monster Cam
URL: http://www.lochness.co.uk/livecam/
Load Time: Normal
Ease of Navigation: Signposted
Plug Ins Required: Java
Review: Not only do you get to peek at one of the most picturesque parts
of the world, you also get the chance to catch a glimpse at ‘Nessie’
her/himself! You control the zoom, and when you think a monster is passing
by, take a snapshot. Other links on the page take you to the picture archives
and to other Loch Ness oddities such as ‘White Witch fights to save
Nessie from capture...’ and ‘News Flash! - UFO radiation suspected
in Loch Ness.’ Only for the true believer. You might have to sit
here for a long long time to get that oh-so-desperately-desired image
of the most invisible tourist attraction in the world. - SS
Rating: ***
Name of Site: GhostWatch at Irelandseye.com
URL: http://www.irelandseye.com/ghost/webcam/iugeur3ig.shtm
Load Time: Normal
Ease of Navigation: Walk in the Park
Plug Ins Required: Java
Review: A young linen worker, named Helena Blunden, died after a tragic
fall in a Belfast mill in 1912. There are many people who believe she
still haunts the mill today. These include the people who thought it would
be a good idea to train a web cam on the poor ghost of this woman 24 hours
a day. Apart from the web cam, which gives you a view of a ‘haunted’
storeroom, this site is rich in the history of the mill and includes a
section on ‘The Staffs' Experiences’. What chance do ghosts
have in this day and age? Once upon a time your average ghost could cool
their heels and make the odd chain rattle for the tourists. Now they are
on call around the clock for the whole world to see! Why would anyone
leave the safety and comfort of their own home in order to see a ghost?
It's all here (or is it?) - SS
Rating: ****
Name of Site: BBC Radio 1
URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/webcam/
Load Time: Normal
Ease of Navigation: Signposted
Plug Ins Required: None
Review: Radio is becoming ominously TV-like with stations like the BBC
training web cams onto the 'on-air' studio. As the announcers and guests
jibber away about the lastest developments in war torn trouble spots or
facsinating chinwags about the lesser spotted eastern Peruvian aardvark,
you, the listener can peer into radio-land and gain a greater insight
into the whacky world of radio. There are two cams in the studio, facing
each other from other sides of the room which is a pleasant change from
trying to see the people behind the mic AND the people being interviewed
through one badly positioned camera. Just click to change views and you’re
in business. Oh yeah, you can hear them as well via the streaming audio.
Calling all radio stations with cams. Take a look at this site. - SS
Rating: *****
Name of Site: Sterlet
URL: http://www.sterlet.com/
Load Time: Slow
Ease of Navigation: Signposted
Plug Ins Required: None
Review: Get to know Midas, Hellen, Stephanie and Birgit who share a house
in the Nedlands. You not only can see them in action, you also get to
control the lights in their house! Why? Who knows, but it’s a great
way to bug the hell out of them. They also have their own not-so-private
computers hooked up so you can see via screen grabs just what they are
up to and where they surf. (Mostly South Park it seems.) News of the day
is posted from these Big Brother wannabes. Latest news was the death of
their pet ferret Aw... ;( Get the disco happening and flick those lights
baby! We are all Sterlets, uh starlets, in the wired-up world. - SS
Rating: ****
Name of Site: Nantucket Live Cameras
URL: http://www.nantucket.net/live
Load Time: Normal
Ease of Navigation: Signposted
Plug Ins Required: RealPlayer
Review: "The first webcam in the USA to see the sunrise!" Wow
I’m so excited - the antipodean Byron Bay! This site is fairly satisfying
as it gives you a live video stream of no less than 3 locations in Nantucket,
one of them facing out to sea over a very pretty harbour. I got up just
before dawn to experience that magic sunrise moment, without realising
the major time differential, but finally after 15 extra strong coffees
and a slab of energy drinks, I can now say “I was the first person
in Australia to see the sunrise in America!” A strangely soothing
site, or was it the sleep deprivation/caffiene overdose combination? -
SS
Rating: ****
Name of Site: Exploratorium Roof Cam
URL: http://cams.exploratorium.edu/CAM2/
Load Time: Normal
Ease of Navigation: Signposted
Plug Ins Required: Java
Review: (sings) I left my web cam….. in San Francisco. OK, enough
of that, but I could not get enough of this great live streaming view
of San Francisco. Even at 2am, SF-time, there is something to see. That
traffic never stops! Those West Coasters sure know how to get a life!
The site also tells you about the technology needed to bring you the live
video as well as a picture of the cam that is taking the pictures (fascinating!).
A click takes you to ‘Exhibit Cam’ so you can check out what’s
going on in one of the best science museums in the world. Put those flowers
in your hair and take a look. - SS
Rating: *****
Name of Site: NASA - KSC Video Feeds
URL: http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/countdown/video/
Load Time: Normal
Ease of Navigation: Signposted
Plug Ins Required: RealPlayer / Windows Media for live videos
Review: How the hell do NASA keep their secrets when the place is full
of live web cams? Not only that, it seems that the space shuttle is crammed
with them too! I guess there are just no countries left who have the cash
to do anything about it anyway. America has bombed or swindled most of
them to the stone age. This first page gives you 15 channels to click
into, each with a ‘screen shot’ jpeg, updated frequently.
Take a look at the top and bottom of the page and find the links to live
NASA TV. Now sit back and see the team in action as they direct the goings
on far above your head. A great site when the shuttle is taking off or
coming home. The only thing missing is Mr. Spock. - SS
Rating: *****
Name of Site:.webcam.com
URL: http://www.webcam.com
Load Time: Normal
Ease of Navigation: Walk in the Park
Plug Ins Required: none
Review: It’s so obvious! Webcam.com! Give the staff member who jumped
onto that domain name an employee of the month award! What else would
you type into your address bar to find web cams? It is a cam directory,
store, tips and a message board. Want to know how to set up a web cam
with PC or MAC? This is the site for you. Want a directory of web cams
(including adult) from around the world? This is the place… you
know the rest. Don’t miss this one. Even the old web cam hands might
pick up a trick or three from this site. Great URL, great site. Lights,
cam', action! - SS
Rating: *****
Name of Site: The Dash Deli
URL: http://www.dashdeli.com/delicam.shtml
Load Time: Normal
Ease of Navigation: What navigation?
Plug Ins Required: none
Review: What the…? This site is worth checking out just to see how
bad a web cam site can be! Somewhere in the mess of colour and very bad
button navigation, there are random scenes from around and about Fairbanks
Alaska. I tried to look around the site to find out about the deli itself,
but all I found was a list of ‘Awards These Pages Have Won’
(yeah right!) That was the most amazing thing on the whole site! It was
all a bit too much especially after the pop-up told me the weather in
Alaska. I really needed to know that. Is this site worth your time? I’d
say ‘No Way!’, but take a look anyway :-) A fun mess -and
a great "what not to do" lesson in Web design. - SS
Rating: *
Name of Site: Sydney on View
URL: http://www.viewsydney.com/
Load Time: Normal
Ease of Navigation: Walk in the Park
Plug Ins Required: none
Review: Now you are in real control. Zoom and pan around Sydney Harbour,
(well the bit near the Opera House anyway) and get live streaming video
from the heart of Sydney town. The best thing about this site, apart from
the views, it that it’s so easy to use. No tricks, no flashy stuff,
no trying to be amazingly amazing with web technology and the all-to-common
bells and whistles. It’s just a straight forward, easy to use web
cam. The cheapest Sydney Harbour cruise around. All they need to do now
is install another thousand of these and they'll get the entire Harbour
in view, but they'll kill the tourism industry! - SS
Rating: *****
Name of Site: galway.net live webcam
URL: http://www.galway.net/webcam/
Load Time: Normal
Ease of Navigation: Walk in the Park
Plug Ins Required: none
Review: A little bit of Ireland has found its way onto the world wide
web. A slice of life as people stroll up and down a street in Galway.
Strangely enough they look just like people anywhere else in this homogenised
world we live in. The site is very easy to use, with a page of the last
30 minutes of cam grabs, all are at 640 x 480 pixels which is a nice change
from those tiny 100 x 100 images. Those desperate enough can save all
the pictures and turn them into an animation - thrills galore! No, just
take a look at life on the other side of the planet and start saving up
to one day appear on the cam yourself. Pour the Guinness, I’m there!
- SS
Rating: ***
Name of Site: Web Ring
URL: http://m.webring.com/webring?ring=livecams
Load Time: Normal
Ease of Navigation: Walk in the Park
Plug Ins Required: none
Review: Get into the loop with this web ring and more cams than you can
poke a memory stick at. But don’t just click away and hope for the
best. Each cam has a short review so you sort of know what you are going
to get. A good way to steer clear of those disgustingly lame adult perve-cams,
or, if you are so inclined, a good way to find them. This site, like most
web rings, gives you the chance to add your own web cam to the list so
others can behold your domestic vista complete with dirty socks draped
over chairs and junk sprawled over the floor that you never get round
to stowing in the closet. This runs rings around the other web cam sites
(groan). - SS
Rating: ****
Name of Site: Camfun
URL: http://www.camfun.com/
Load Time: Normal
Ease of Navigation: Walk in the Park
Plug Ins Required: none
Review: Much like other portals, this site gives you the categories of
Adult, Business, Nature, People, Sports, Traffic, Weird and Worldwide.
It's very slick with ‘Webcam of the day’, ‘Top ten webcams’
and ‘Webcam tutorials’. This last section has ‘How to
Choose a Webcam’, ‘How to Set Up a Webcam’ and ‘How
to Choose a Digital Camera’. Great information for those wanting
to join in the fun and appear live on the Internet, especially with so
many products and configurations now available. As simple as webcams have
become it is still a technical maze to choose the right set up for your
own needs. Make those important purchasing decisions and let the cam fun
begin. - SS
Rating: *****
Name of Site: Art Bell
URL: http://www.artbell.com/webcam.html
Load Time: Slow
Ease of Navigation: Signposted
Plug Ins Required: none
Review: Art Bell is the sort of guy who sees ghosts in his cornflakes
packet. His top rating radio show is devoted to any and all supernatural
and strange goings on that anyone anywhere can think up. What I like about
Art is that he does his show from home! Here’s a guy who takes full
advantage of the Internet as he churns out his weird view of the world
and after-world over the airwaves and web. Listeners on the web get to
see him in action via his 3 web cams as he promotes the possibility that
he is a mere mortal surrounded by an army of metaphysical freaks watching
his every move - oh hang on, that's us, right? - SS
Rating: ****
Name of Site: Wellington Views
URL: http://www.wn.co.nz/webcams.php
Load Time: Normal
Ease of Navigation: Signposted
Plug Ins Required: none
Review: This site seems to have Wellington blanket-covered with web cams.
From the hills to the coast and everywhere in between! I think this is
the site the NZ police turn to when someone has given them the slip. This
is a must for ex-pat Kiwis who are a little home sick as it makes you
feel like you are almost there. For those in Wellington, use this site
to see how the traffic is, what the harbour is doing or even if it’s
worth going outside at all. The attention seekers of Wellington now have
a new hobby - driving from cam to cam and waving inanely to the world.
If you hunger for Wellington, this site has more Wellington than a plate
of beef. - SS
Rating: *****
|
