Do you actually use your webcam?

Discussion in Software PC & Mac started by AB91000 • Apr 29, 2014.

  1. AB91000

    AB91000Active Member

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    Does anyone here actually use their webcam?

    In my opinion the Webcam is A outdated feature. It was really big about 3 years ago, but now i think it is useless. I was looking at my Laptop the other, realized that i never use the webcam. There are just to many other options now. Manufacturers have flooded the market with devices with that capability. For instance the Smart phone.

    You can video chat with anyone, anytime you want. With a device that fits in your pocket. Using your Smart phone is a much more convenient way to video chat these days. Using my phone is much better tan lugging around a bulky Laptop all the time.

    Do you still use your computers Laptop?
     
  2. deansaliba

    deansalibaActive Member

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    Every laptop I've bought within the last five years (and there have been a few!) has had a webcam built into the laptop and I think I've used it once or twice and that was only to take pictures. I don't do Skype or another other kind of chat that requires me to show my face on screen.
     
  3. Strykstar

    StrykstarActive Member

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    I think the only people nowadays that are consistently using their webcam online are the people who are streaming games, they always have the webcam on for some reason.
    I personally haven't used one for years, I don't even have one hooked up anymore.
     
  4. mikelouis

    mikelouisActive Member

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    I use my webcam on a regular basis. In most cases I use it for Skype since I am a freelance writer and programmer so most of my clients might want to conduct a video interview. Personally I think it is great I have no issues with it so far. I must also say that to some people, it is a feature of the computer that they rarely use and it is something that a few people really use these days.
     
  5. BlacKnight1090

    BlacKnight1090Member

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    Here I thought I was the only one. I absolutely NEED to use my webcam when I'm in a meeting. I develop games and have to conduct business with either clients or the group of workers I'm doing project with. We pick days and specific times to get online and host a meeting with a streaming software. If it's just one on one, I prefer Skype (or Oovoo for the very rare times I just want to goof off). I use Team Viewer, by the way. It's quite effective and I like the options it has.

    Unfortunately, the days of webcam outside of business are quite dead. In fact, it seems people have back-tracked to the days when we just spoke through IMs (whatsapp/kik) and just send personal pictures. The most obvious turn-around is how people just do it from their phones if they care to see someone live, as mentioned. I don't mind this change as I was never too hype on the webcam period anyway.
     
  6. prettycolors

    prettycolorsActive Member

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    I never used my webcam :eek: I don't own a laptop so I had to buy a cheap webcam for my tower PC. The intention behind it was to chat with family members that were abroad but in the end we settled for audio only. To be honest, right now I don't think I'll ever use my webcam - maybe if I get an online job interview, but the chances are slim.
     
  7. Steverd

    SteverdMember

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    No, I never use it, I've never even tried. No need, all of my friends have iPhones and iPads, we can just facetime each other.
     
  8. deathbyprayer

    deathbyprayerActive Member

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    Well, it's not really outdated or useless in general, you just don't find it useful since you don't really use it. Many people do use their webcams, just because you don't find any use for your webcam it doesn't mean its completely useless altogether. I too rarely use my webcam to the point that it just doesn't work anymore, but I don't consider it useless really. It's the same thing as the built-in microphone on your laptop, you don't really find it useful, but handicapped people do.
     
  9. ohiotom76

    ohiotom76Well-Known Member

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    I really don't like how computers and phones all come with webcams and microphones embedded in them. At the very least, they should come up with some sort of physical covers to block them. These built in cameras and mics make it very easy for someone to secretly spy on you, especially if your computer gets hacked. There was an issue with this several years ago when a school got busted for spying on its students at home on their laptops. I guess the laptops were school property, but still, that is a huge invasion of privacy to be spying on people, kids no less, in their own rooms/house. What if these kids happened to be changing their clothes or something while the teacher was spying on them!?

    There is supposed to be a secondary feature on computers with built in cameras, where it's supposed to flash a blinking LED when in use, so you are alerted when it is recording or not. But I would imagine that could be hacked as well.
     
  10. lovemwaf

    lovemwafActive Member

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    To be honest, i hardly use my computer to chat with people. My webcam is really under used, but i do love having one and knowing that if i ever needed to make any skype calls or anything of the sort, that i am in capable hands and never need to worry about making extra purchases
     
  11. Sly14Cat

    Sly14CatActive Member

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    Eh I don't really use it anymore. When I make Skype calls I'll use it rarely, but most of the time I don't even use it then. I don't think it's really outdated, but it is slowly being replaced by camera phones, especially now that you can Skype on a phone whenever you want, which is what most people use webcams for anyways.
     
  12. ebby23

    ebby23Member

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    When I first brought my Macbook a couple years ago, it came with a webcam. I was excited the first couple weeks and played around with the we came several times a day for the first few months. After awhile, I stopped using the webcam and forget it's even there at times. If I want to chat with someone face-to-face now, I'll just FaceTime them from my iPhone.
     
  13. daimashin

    daimashinActive Member

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    I had a webcam once which I bought a few years back. I used it once or twice before unplugging it for good. The reason I bought it was due to hype and I never actually needed it so after trying it a couple of times I never used it anymore. I think less and less people use a webcam now, even streamers opt to use other better equipments for recording since they have better features and stuff.
     
  14. whnuien

    whnuienActive Member

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    I used my webcam for Skype everyday until last year because even though my husband and I were already married and I was pregnant but we were still far away from each other.

    Now that we live together with our baby, we still use our webcam once a week to Skype with family members. I wouldn't mind to use my smartphone for that but it really takes away the battery charge so fast and that bothers me a lot.
     
  15. 7zer0z

    7zer0zBanned

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    I've got an old cheap laptop that doesn't even have a webcam. It's not really a problem because I could always just skype/snapchat from my smartphone which has a better front-facing camera than most laptops anyways.
     
  16. sidney

    sidneyWell-Known Member

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    I have never used my webcam because I don't do any video chat, so it's pretty much just a paperweight on top of the computer table, lol. I will only get to use it if ever I will video chat with a friend or something. I have tested it a couple of times, but that's just about it.
     
  17. DrRipley

    DrRipleyExpert

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    I think they are still necessary for laptops because not having one would be a bit of a step backwards. Even if you almost never use it, there may come a time that you need it wherein you might not have access to any other devices. I admit that the webcam is much more practical and utilized in phones, though, since it's way easier to take pictures and cam chat using these devices, but I think having a cam on the laptop is a good thing too just to be sure.
     
  18. etc

    etcActive Member

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    My desktop isn't inside my bedroom so I use my laptop just when I'm in my room. This way I could save a space in my room. And yes I do have a android phone as well but then I never actually use it for chatting with someone. I use my laptop all the time when chatting with my clients and to anyone else.

    maybe i'll use my phone to chat when in hurry or probably commuting.
     
  19. richc3

    richc3Active Member

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    I use the microphone component all the time, especially coupled with gmails phone feature. The video camera for Skype sessions with family.
    Outside of those two things, there isn't really much else that we use it for. That said, we use those two things enough to warrant having one.
     
  20. Dora M

    Dora MWell-Known Member

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    Yes, I use the built-in webcam in my laptop all the time on Skype and also on yahoo messenger. I like to see my family and friends on a big screen, and not some gadget that fits into my pocket. I travel a lot and a lot of the people I communicate with, are literally on the other side of the world. Sometimes I can't visit them for a year, so the webcam helps a lot to stay connected and also "close".