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Tell HN: Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and now web cams

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Re: Tell HN: Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and now web cams

#211

Post by fab1an »

valuearb wrote: post #198
fab1an wrote: post #151

It's incredibly annoying that you can't use your APPLE iPhone camera as a webcam for your APPLE Macbook, but instead are forced to use the atrociously terrible cam that comes with the Macbook. I've tried workarounds using the excellent OSB, but there's currently no software that let's you reroute video on a Mac (like Loopback does for audio) EDIT: I stand corrected, as user wolfhumble points out below, EpocCam seems…

If you are ok with a MacBook screen nearly as thick and heavy as an iPhone, you can have a better camera. The increasing thinness of modern laptops has come at the expense of improving their cameras.

I'd be good money to get a thicker Macbook Pro with a workable keyboard, that's for sure!

Re: Tell HN: Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and now web cams

#212

Post by gonzo41 »

post_break wrote: post #147

Also bidets, nintendo switches, instant yeast, powdered milk, etc. I actually snagged some wine yeast on amazon and I'm on my third loaf of bread. Bidet was the best "waste of money" I have spent in a long time. My TP usage has been slashed.

Be careful with all that baking, there's a reason bakers get fat in old age!

Re: Tell HN: Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and now web cams

#213

Post by ThePadawan »

fab1an wrote: post #151

It's incredibly annoying that you can't use your APPLE iPhone camera as a webcam for your APPLE Macbook, but instead are forced to use the atrociously terrible cam that comes with the Macbook. I've tried workarounds using the excellent OSB, but there's currently no software that let's you reroute video on a Mac (like Loopback does for audio) EDIT: I stand corrected, as user wolfhumble points out below, EpocCam seems…

I have many bad things to say about MS Teams, but it does allow you to join a meeting multiple times on multiple devices using the same user account - so you can watch a screenshare on your desktop. machine but use the microphone or camera on your phone.

Re: Tell HN: Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and now web cams

#214

Post by bredren »

TheAdamist wrote: post #110

Wyze cheap security cameras released a firmware that turns them into a webcam. Still in stock. You will also need a USB a-a cable that I didn't know existed or was legal. And a 32gb microsd. I did this last week, came in one day on Amazon prime. Under $50 for everything. Setup went okay, although the 3-4 minutes for firmware write was under a minute for me with their branded microsd. Quality is passable, lens is more…

That's really cool that Wyze did that. These are also great for making HD time-lapse videos of plant growth, etc, when a large internal SD is used for the price.

The normal function of a security camera is also good, however, a warning that these contain active microphones. So if you transition to using these as indoor, facing-outdoor security cams to strongly consider pulling the microphone from the circuit board. There are youtube videos, it can be done easily in under 10 minutes.

There is a software disable, but I do not believe this can be trusted.

Re: Tell HN: Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and now web cams

#215

Post by DangitBobby »

ivankirigin wrote: post #208

Why shouldn’t the price increase with a supply chain disruption and demand boom? Would you prefer a shortage with no incentive to increase production?

If I used to produce 100 units per month because that's how many I could sell, but now I know I can sell 10000 units per month, that is incentive enough to increase production. Notice here that raising the price is not at all required to increase profits. It's just something companies tend to do because they know they can get away with it in high demand markets.

And since raising prices to increase profits is not necessary with hugely increased damand, it's seen as profiteering to do so on essentials (or in this case things that make you feel less isolated) during a global crisis.

Re: Tell HN: Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and now web cams

#216

Post by ceejayoz »

distant_hat wrote: post #188
lotsofpulp wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Upload bandwidth for 95% of homes in the US is the same as it was almost 20 years ago. It’s so bad it’s not even advertised. If you have access to fiber, then you’re very lucky in the US. I would also say 5mbps upload is hardly an upgrade. A single FaceTime call uses a couple mbps, so it’s probably just enough for that, assuming everyone in the neighborhood isn’t uploading too, which they are nowadays.

Really is it that bad? I'm in third world India and get 200Mbps up and down at about $20/month.

Yes. The US is weirdly behind in a variety of things it got into early, but let stagnate. Until fairly recently, text messaging cost $0.10/message, for inbound and outbound. We only just got chips on our credit cards in the last few years. Broadband over 10-15 megabits is in a similar boat - only recently has it started to catch up with the rest of the world, and there's a lot left to go, especially in rural areas .

Re: Tell HN: Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and now web cams

#217

Post by spuz »

KoftaBob wrote: post #196

I still don't understand how the quality of front facing cameras on smart phones has gotten so high, and yet even the most high end laptop's built in cam caps out at 720p. Why?

It's because the standard webcam interface is based on a slow USB 2 interface which can only support enough bandwidth for 720p video. To upgrade your webcam, laptop manufacturers would need to make significant changes to both the interface and the operating system. Add that onto the lack of economic incentive, it's just not worth the cost.

Here's a good video that gives a run down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BLgS7m0W94

Re: Tell HN: Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and now web cams

#218

Post by _ph_ »

timonoko wrote: post #155
Spivak wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sourdough starter isn't some nasty poisonous culture lol. It's perfectly safe and every grocery store and bakery have huge tubs of it. If you're really concerned just go to your grocery store bakery, ask for some starter, and feed it.

Never even heard of "sourdough starter". I use them small dry-yeast packets from Lidl. The point is that human shit and saliva are the surest way start right kind of fermentation of moonshine and hooch if approved products are not available. E-coli and other critters die anyways in the anaerobic process or in the oven. BTW. My "local bakery" is probably in Estonia. In another country that is. Wider Helsinki area is u…

You can create your own sourdough just from wheat and water. Takes a few days till you have the first real dough, but from that on, you can keep the sourdough alive. There are plenty of YouTube videos about creating/using sourdough. With sourdough you make the best breads and don't need any yeast. (sourdough itself contains yeast)

Re: Tell HN: Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and now web cams

#219

Post by whatever1 »

wolfhumble wrote: post #174
fab1an wrote: post #151

It's incredibly annoying that you can't use your APPLE iPhone camera as a webcam for your APPLE Macbook, but instead are forced to use the atrociously terrible cam that comes with the Macbook. I've tried workarounds using the excellent OSB, but there's currently no software that let's you reroute video on a Mac (like Loopback does for audio) EDIT: I stand corrected, as user wolfhumble points out below, EpocCam seems…

There is this, but I haven't tried it: https://apps.apple.com/app/epoccam-webcam-for-mac-pc/id44913...

I have tried it and it works flawlessly when paired with an iphone 11. You can even use the main iphone camera, not just the front facing one. It is by far my best webcam (compared to my laptops and a stand-alone logitech I own).

PS. To make it work you need to install a driver on your PC, so it can be a no-go for many company owned computers.

Re: Tell HN: Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and now web cams

#220

Post by larntz »

lima-lima wrote: post #115
exabrial wrote: post #81

Couldn't we just use our smartphones on a stand?

Perhaps useful for others: I had this thought as well (that my handy camera is already a high quality webcam) and had great performance on Linux with the app DroidCam [1], which includes the V4Lloopback module when you install the desktop program and presents the android camera as a webcam at /dev/video#. Connected to my computer via USB (ADB) it shows no noticeable latency. This is a bit different to all the IP webc…

I've been using this app also. Works very well with linux. Haven't had any issues except when I updated my system and didn't rebuild the kernel modules.

Haven't sprung for the paid version though as I am hoping the back ordered webcam I purchased at the start of this comes in the next few weeks.

Remember to rebuild the kernel module if your kernel gets updated!

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