Web Cams for Dummies provides a detailed look at these hot gadgets! Veteran Dummies author Wally Wang gives users a complete overview of their web cam, including: setting up your web cam, selecting a webcam (for those users buying one after their system purchase), picking and using the software and in-depth coverage of the utility of this great visual tool!
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Before buying a book, many people like to know who the author is so they can determine whether the author's credentials may somehow make the book more pertinent or valuable in some obscure way. So to help you make a snap decision on whether to buy this book, here's a quick look at my resume. Name: Wallace Wang; E-mail address: bothecat@home.com; Objective: To convince people that they're not stupid; it's the poorly designed computers and software that are. Work and Education Experience: 1979 Graduated from high school with absolutely no marketable skills or direction whatsoever. Support your local school system.
1983 Graduated from Michigan State University with an (appropriately abbreviated) Bachelor of Science degree in Materials Science, the only engineering major I could find that offered the most non-technical electives. Also pursued a dual degree in English that I never completed because I felt I already knew how to get a minimum wage job all by myself.
1983-1985 Worked as a technical writer for General Dynamics, home of the nuclear-tipped cruise missile. Got in trouble once for referring to General Dynamics as a bomb factory, so from that point on I bought chocolate covered doughnuts for my boss, hoping to clog his arteries with cholesterol and induce a fatal heart attack. After turning in my resignation, I spent every day, for the final two weeks, taking home office supplies in shopping bags.
1985-1987 Worked as a writer/editor for a San Diego computer magazine called ComputorEdge, where I met Dan Gookin (DOS For Dummies, 3rd Edition), Tina Rathbone (Modems For Dummies, 3rd Edition), and Andy Rathbone (Windows For Dummies). At one time, Dan Gookin and I got in trouble with the FBI for printing a fake FBI poster of myself, proclaiming that I was a criminal for buying a Macintosh computer.
1989 Worked as a writer/editor for a San Diego computer magazine called ComputorEdge, where I met Dan Gookin (DOS For Dummies, 3rd Edition), Tina Rathbone (Modems For Dummies, 3rd Edition), and Andy Rathbone (Windows For Dummies). At one time, Dan Gookin and I got in trouble with the FBI for printing a fake FBI poster of myself, proclaiming that I was a criminal for buying a Macintosh computer.
1989 Spent a month teaching computer classes at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare, Zimbabwe. Took time off to visit Victoria Falls, canoe down the Zambezi River, and sleep in a hut where wild monkeys snuck up behind me and stole my breakfast.
1990-Present Decided to pursue stand-up comedy and began performing in comedy clubs around San Diego and Los Angeles.
1993-Present Got married and soon became the owner of four cats named Bo, Scraps, Tasha, and Nuit.
1994 Appeared on "A&E's Evening at the Improv."
1995 Became a columnist for Boardwatch Magazine.
1996 Finally ran out of office supplies that I had taken during my final two weeks working at General Dynamics 11 years ago.
1997 Tried to get another job with General Dynamics so I could steal another decade's worth of office supplies.
1998 Invented a solar-powered car. Unfortunately it stalls every time you try to drive under a bridge.
1999 Solved the Y2K millennium bug by turning back all the clocks in my house 100 years.
2000 Discovered the missing number that would solve Albert Einstein's Grand Unified Field Theory. That number is 4.
2001 Wrote to Arthur C. Clarke and told him his book was wrong.
1983 Graduated from Michigan State University with an (appropriately abbreviated) Bachelor of Science degree in Materials Science, the only engineering major I could find that offered the most non-technical electives. Also pursued a dual degree in English that I never completed because I felt I already knew how to get a minimum wage job all by myself.
1983-1985 Worked as a technical writer for General Dynamics, home of the nuclear-tipped cruise missile. Got in trouble once for referring to General Dynamics as a bomb factory, so from that point on I bought chocolate covered doughnuts for my boss, hoping to clog his arteries with cholesterol and induce a fatal heart attack. After turning in my resignation, I spent every day, for the final two weeks, taking home office supplies in shopping bags.
1985-1987 Worked as a writer/editor for a San Diego computer magazine called ComputorEdge, where I met Dan Gookin (DOS For Dummies, 3rd Edition), Tina Rathbone (Modems For Dummies, 3rd Edition), and Andy Rathbone (Windows For Dummies). At one time, Dan Gookin and I got in trouble with the FBI for printing a fake FBI poster of myself, proclaiming that I was a criminal for buying a Macintosh computer.
1989 Worked as a writer/editor for a San Diego computer magazine called ComputorEdge, where I met Dan Gookin (DOS For Dummies, 3rd Edition), Tina Rathbone (Modems For Dummies, 3rd Edition), and Andy Rathbone (Windows For Dummies). At one time, Dan Gookin and I got in trouble with the FBI for printing a fake FBI poster of myself, proclaiming that I was a criminal for buying a Macintosh computer.
1989 Spent a month teaching computer classes at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare, Zimbabwe. Took time off to visit Victoria Falls, canoe down the Zambezi River, and sleep in a hut where wild monkeys snuck up behind me and stole my breakfast.
1990-Present Decided to pursue stand-up comedy and began performing in comedy clubs around San Diego and Los Angeles.
1993-Present Got married and soon became the owner of four cats named Bo, Scraps, Tasha, and Nuit.
1994 Appeared on "A&E's Evening at the Improv."
1995 Became a columnist for Boardwatch Magazine.
1996 Finally ran out of office supplies that I had taken during my final two weeks working at General Dynamics 11 years ago.
1997 Tried to get another job with General Dynamics so I could steal another decade's worth of office supplies.
1998 Invented a solar-powered car. Unfortunately it stalls every time you try to drive under a bridge.
1999 Solved the Y2K millennium bug by turning back all the clocks in my house 100 years.
2000 Discovered the missing number that would solve Albert Einstein's Grand Unified Field Theory. That number is 4.
2001 Wrote to Arthur C. Clarke and told him his book was wrong.
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More About the Author
I may be the only computer book author who hates computers. I love what computers can do but I hate the fact that they're so complicated, hard to use, unreliable, and downright troublesome. Besides writing computer books, I also enjoy performing stand-up comedy just to do something creative that involves human beings as opposed to machines.
I've been involved in computers, stand-up comedy, teaching, writing, and game designing for most of my life. In the computer industry, I've written over 50 computer books. Initially I focused primarily on Microsoft products such as Visual Basic and Microsoft Office. Later I switched focus to the Macintosh, iPhone, and iPad as I've watched the trend of computing shift from the PC/Microsoft dominated world to the mobile/Apple-influenced world. I've also shifted my programming focus from Delphi/Pascal and Visual Basic to Objective-C and LiveCode (a HyperCard clone) to create Macintosh and iPhone/iPad programs.
In the stand-up comedy world, I've been performing stand-up comedy for over 20 years, having appeared on A&E's "Evening at the Improv" and SiTV's "Latino Laugh Festival" along with appearing at the Riviera Comedy Club in Las Vegas. Currently I'm focusing my comedic writing skills towards occasional comedy performances but mostly towards screenwriting. You can read my screenwriting blog at The 15 Minute Movie Method (www.15minutemoviemethod.com). I've collected the best ideas from my screenwriting blog and condensed them into an e-book also called "The 15-Minute Movie Method," which is available as an e-book.
In 1992, I got my first cat and after reading a basic cat care book, I found that none of the advice offered had any basis in reality for dealing with the quirks and whims of a real cat. Based on that experience, I wrote a parody of a cat care book called "How to Live with a Cat (When You Really Don't Want To)." This book is now available as an e-book.
In the teaching world, I've taught at community colleges around San Diego as well as teaching at the University of Zimbabwe in Africa. Currently I teach an online Microsoft Word course through a company called Ed2Go.
In the writing world, I've written for several magazines including Computer Power User (CPU), Boardwatch Magazine, and Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities. I also write a weekly Macintosh column in an online computer magazine called ComputorEdge (www.computoredge.com). In addition, I've ghost written several books for real estate experts, stock day trading specialists, and network marketing millionaires. In 2008, I also helped San Diego State University's film department win their first student Emmy when they filmed my sitcom pilot, "Three of a Kind."
In the game designing world, I've created and published a game in 1983 called "Orbit War," which was published by Steve Jackson Games (the game is now out of print). The game simulated low orbital combat between satellites. I'm currently designing educational games for teaching various college level topics such as organic chemistry, calculus, and geometry.
I'm interested in always learning something new and combining my various skills and experience to stay ahead of changing technology and I enjoy writing about complex topics and making them easy to understand.
I've been involved in computers, stand-up comedy, teaching, writing, and game designing for most of my life. In the computer industry, I've written over 50 computer books. Initially I focused primarily on Microsoft products such as Visual Basic and Microsoft Office. Later I switched focus to the Macintosh, iPhone, and iPad as I've watched the trend of computing shift from the PC/Microsoft dominated world to the mobile/Apple-influenced world. I've also shifted my programming focus from Delphi/Pascal and Visual Basic to Objective-C and LiveCode (a HyperCard clone) to create Macintosh and iPhone/iPad programs.
In the stand-up comedy world, I've been performing stand-up comedy for over 20 years, having appeared on A&E's "Evening at the Improv" and SiTV's "Latino Laugh Festival" along with appearing at the Riviera Comedy Club in Las Vegas. Currently I'm focusing my comedic writing skills towards occasional comedy performances but mostly towards screenwriting. You can read my screenwriting blog at The 15 Minute Movie Method (www.15minutemoviemethod.com). I've collected the best ideas from my screenwriting blog and condensed them into an e-book also called "The 15-Minute Movie Method," which is available as an e-book.
In 1992, I got my first cat and after reading a basic cat care book, I found that none of the advice offered had any basis in reality for dealing with the quirks and whims of a real cat. Based on that experience, I wrote a parody of a cat care book called "How to Live with a Cat (When You Really Don't Want To)." This book is now available as an e-book.
In the teaching world, I've taught at community colleges around San Diego as well as teaching at the University of Zimbabwe in Africa. Currently I teach an online Microsoft Word course through a company called Ed2Go.
In the writing world, I've written for several magazines including Computer Power User (CPU), Boardwatch Magazine, and Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities. I also write a weekly Macintosh column in an online computer magazine called ComputorEdge (www.computoredge.com). In addition, I've ghost written several books for real estate experts, stock day trading specialists, and network marketing millionaires. In 2008, I also helped San Diego State University's film department win their first student Emmy when they filmed my sitcom pilot, "Three of a Kind."
In the game designing world, I've created and published a game in 1983 called "Orbit War," which was published by Steve Jackson Games (the game is now out of print). The game simulated low orbital combat between satellites. I'm currently designing educational games for teaching various college level topics such as organic chemistry, calculus, and geometry.
I'm interested in always learning something new and combining my various skills and experience to stay ahead of changing technology and I enjoy writing about complex topics and making them easy to understand.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Particularly useless, even for a "Dummies" book!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Web Cams for Dummies (Paperback)
It seems like they just keep slapping 'Dummies' on book covers and expect it to sell. This book is a waste of time, focusing too much on inconsequential 'tips' and not explaining in any depth about how webcams or webcam applications work. Bought this and 'Guide to Webcams' by John Breeden and Jason Byrne, and 'Guide to Webcams' was much more helpful in getting my website setup and in learning how best to use my new webcam.
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