~~ TAKE A PICTURE - IT LASTS LONGER ~ MICROSOFT LIFECAM VX-3000 WEBCAM ~~

Long gone are the days of web cams being for just creepy people looking to show off to other creepy people on the net! They are now being used every day on places like YouTube and MySpace for people of all ages, backgrounds, shapes and sizes and are being used to debate, have your voice on politics, to be silly, and even doctors are having conference calls with patients in non-emergency medical appointments!

Which is one of the only reason I bought the Microsoft LifeCam VX-3000 Personal Web Cam, as my youngest son is seeing a Defeat Autism Now doctor who works out of state, and we are going to be doing our follow ups in a much more comfortable and cheaper out-of-pocket expense! Otherwise, I cringe at the thought of being on one of these. Why? Because up until I saw myself on this, I always thought people looked like they were in a fun house mirror, or one of those panoramic peepholes in the front door! OK, I know I am exaggerating a little here, so I will redirect focus to the case in point!

The life cam is lightweight and portable, and is easy to set up. You can put it on your monitor or set it down. It is attractive, and has groovy features that you will flip over!! Let's first see if you can even have this treasure. Do you have....Windows XP? 64 MB of RAM? 300 MB of room? 16 Bit color? Sound card? Speaker and/or head phones? A Microsoft computer keyboard? 2 MB of video memory? If so, you are ready to roll!

Once you hook it up to the computer via USB, you turn it on and you can do one of many things. First, you can take the infamous photos of yourself. You know the ones that make you look like you are bored or something!! Even so, they turn out really well for being a webcam. With a 1.3 megapixel, they are amazingly attractive! If you decide that you just want to make a mini "fly on the wall" video, you can do that too in a 640 X 480 format.

One thing you will love is the feature that traces your face, once activated, to go where you go, by zooming in on your face and focusing in that area. My oldest son likes to lip sync to his favorite songs, and this feature will move with him as he air guitars about..I think my husband and kids use it much more than I do, I am a little more leery of having someone watch me as I talk to a screen! And of course, my son has friends that he likes to talk to all the time after school, and we allow that.

The clarity of sound is awesome! You could hear a pin drop and listen to it bounce! It has a built in microphone, so you do not have to adjust the settings on your computer at all! Of course, even with that, much like a digital camera that you record on, or a video camera, you don't always sound like yourself. But there is no muffling or distortion, it sounds like you are right there in the room! Of course, if you are in a chat with someone who has a less sophisticated webcam, you still benefit from hearing it more clear!

This is great for business contacts, if you have them. With this being a Microsoft product, you can easily get on Windows Live, with just a press of the button, as well as adding a video onto your IM, for Windows Live, AOL IM or Yahoo. It moves really fast, there is no delay like many cams out there. I have noted the light looks great and it is meant to flatter! It is such a great way to keep in touch with your long distant friends and family, as well as any new friends you may meet on the net!

This camera looks fun, fun, fun but it means business!! If you are going to have a webcam, you might as well get it right from the source!!