By the director of some of Apple's most memorable commercials, no less! Errol Morris's awesomely-named Interrotron system captures the first-person interviews for his documentaries and commercials by using two cameras with mirrored, teleprompter-like screens in front of them, each with the image of the other person's face.

Apple's patent works the exact same way, and can eliminate the lack of intimacy brought about by looking just above or below the eyes of the person you're cybering with. Of course there's no real promise of this being integrated into a real product anytime soon, as the tech for placing a working camera behind a traditional laptop LCD is still a ways away.

But OK, while we're talking Errol Morris and Interrotrons, what the hell:

[Ars Technica, Apple Insider]

Available now as a free universal binary, FluidTunes is a simple creature; despite what looks to be a solid gesture recognition engine, it can only control iTunes, and only in a specific Coverflow mode. Still, if all you want to do is indulge your moderately lame futuristic interface fantasy for a few minutes, well, FluidTunes can probably grant you that. [Cult of Mac]

The Review
• MacBook and MacBook Pro DUAL Review (yes, two at one time)

The News
• MacBook Pro announcement and first hands on
• Aluminum MacBook announcement and first hands on
• 24-Inch Cinema Display announcement and first hands on
• MacBook Air update

Additional Coverage
• MacBook Pro video tour
• MacBook Sizemodo, new and old
• Why the new MacBook Pro has two graphics cards
• All about MacBooks' new glass trackpad and multitouch
• Apple's Blu-ray woes
• The "Brick" aluminum carving process
• MacBook rumor roundup
• Comment: MacBook pricing is still too high
• Our liveblog of the Apple keynote
• Giz Explains: Why Does the New MacBook Pro Have Two Graphics Cards?
• Rumor: New 17-Inch MacBook Pro Delayed Until Early Next Year
[Apple on Giz]

Jun 24, 2008 04:00

Logitech Unveils First Mac-Compatible Webcam with Premium Autofocus Technology, Carl Zeiss Optics

Logitech QuickCam Vision Pro for Mac Delivers Image-Perfect Detail, Exceptional Video Calling with iChat and Skype

FREMONT, Calif. —(Business Wire)— Jun. 24, 2008 To help you stay close to those who matter most, Logitech (SWX:LOGN)(NASDAQ:LOGI), the world's leading manufacturer of webcams, today unveiled its first Mac(R)-compatible webcam with premium autofocus technology and Carl Zeiss(R) optics: the Logitech(R) QuickCam(R) Vision Pro webcam for Mac. The new Logitech webcam delivers image-perfect detail and clarity, and exceptional video calling with iChat(R) and Skype(R).
"With this new webcam for Mac computers, we've integrated our most advanced video technologies to truly enrich your video-calling experience," said Gina Clark, general manager and vice president of Logitech's Internet Communications business unit. "The lens and autofocus, the sensor and the lighting software all contribute to create image-perfect detail and clarity. Whether you've used a stand-alone or an embedded webcam in the past, you'll be amazed at the difference in quality our new webcam makes."

To deliver image-perfect detail and clarity, the Logitech QuickCam Vision Pro webcam for Mac combines Logitech's premium autofocus technology with Carl Zeiss optics. The new Logitech webcam uses a voice coil motor for its autofocus system, instead of a stepper motor. Focusing is fast and fluid — crisp even in extreme close-ups only 10 cm from the camera lens. Logitech's autofocus system compensates for changes in image-edge sharpness and refocuses images in less than three seconds. And through its exclusive collaboration with Carl Zeiss, Logitech ensures that the lens meets the world-renowned Zeiss standards for design and manufacturing to achieve superior sharpness in a compact, lightweight design.

The 2-megapixel sensor helps the Logitech QuickCam Vision Pro webcam for Mac capture video images in high resolution. It is assisted by Logitech's RightLight(TM)2 Technology, which enables the webcam to adjust intelligently in dim or harshly backlighted situations.

Optimized Experience for the Mac

When you and your loved ones use the new Logitech webcam with iChat or Skype, you can enjoy VGA-quality video at up to 30 frames per second — four times as sharp and twice as smooth as any other video-calling solution — at no additional charge.

The new Logitech webcam is also plug and play right out of the box, so you can make a video call immediately — no software required. When using your webcam to capture video to store on disk or send to friends, the QuickCam Vision Pro records sharp video clips in the 720p high-definition (HD) video format (960-by-720 pixels).

Complementing the style of your Mac computer, the new webcam for Mac computers presents a black-and-silver profile with a prominent built-in silver microphone.

Pricing and Availability

The Logitech QuickCam Vision Pro webcam for Mac is expected to be available in the U.S. and Europe beginning in July. The suggested retail price in the U.S. is $129.99.

[Logitech]

This plan first launched into action when a co-worker of the nameless woman at the Apple Store noticed her computer online and notified the woman. She was then able to log into her computer and the rest is history. So the moral of the story is this: If you steal a MacBook, please be sure to cover the iSight with some tape. Otherwise, you could also be charged with a second degree felony. [Iohud via TUAW]

For those of you that are even thinking about buying this, you should be aware that there's a green light next to the iSight that comes on whenever the camera's active. Available for iMacs now and MacBooks and MacBook Pros later. – Jason Chen

Product Page [iPatch via Gadgetell]

So now, $39 can buy Mac OS 10.4.9 users "VGA 640H x 480V video at 30 frames per second and still photos at 1.3 mega-pixels" with the Xbox LIVE Vision Camera. And it's probably a good option, since the non-integrated iSight has disappeared from the Apple store completely. – Mark Wilson

Confirmed: Xbox Live Vision Works [via digg]

My unicorn fantasy is for a surprise release of OS X 10.5 Leopard to bitch slap Vista's 0-birthday tomorrow. We give this rumor a 30% chance of likelyhood, pegged mostly around Think Secret's accuracy rating.– Brian Lam

Apple product announcement Tuesday? [Think Secret]
Apple Cinema Display Rumors: Loaded with HDCP-safe HDMI, Bigger LCDs, and iSight [Gizmodo]
Apple Planning a Special Leopard Announcement? [Gizmodo]

Of course, this is just conjecture, and doesn't quite mesh with some other info we've seen.

Some more developments have popped up as well, like an upcoming iChat update. The support page was updated yesterday, and notes:

This update renews the .Mac certificate required by iChat for encrypting text, audio, and video conferences.

This document will be updated as more information becomes available.

Would Apple release an iChat update alone? To us that points to two possibilities. Leopard being revealed, which is unlikely, or a new iSight camera with new functionality. This counts as new hardware, which kinda strains what we said before.

Then there's iWork and iLife apps, which were seen on Amazon for a short time, leading everyone to believe that the new revisions are coming Tuesday.

So in short, we think there's US-centric items being revealed Tuesday, such as new iTunes Movie store content, the iPhone, possibly an new iPod, and release date announcements of Leopard.

iChat [Apple]
iWork [ThinkSecret]
Amazon Leak [MacWorld]

•Bigger than 30-inch cinema displays.
•With HDMI connections that are HDCP compliant, for full resolution playback of the alledged Blu-Ray support we talked about on Sunday.
•iSight cameras built in, fueled by the supposed discontinuation of standalone iSight cams.

I'd buy that. Those rumors read like an All Giz Wants entry for monitors. –Brian Lam

Monitor Rumors [Mac OS X Rumors]

You can even set the computer to automatically upload the pictures to an FTP so you can track the thief remotely. Though if you're anything like us, it'll probably be full of pictures of yourself (see Adam of Lifehacker) in various states of confusion as you fat finger your way to a failed login once again. – Jason Chen

Take iSight snapshots during invalid login attempts [Mac OS X Hints via Lifehacker]

Neat idea. Now if they could just make it quickly swing out of the way using electronic switching, you could use it to video record interviews between you and someone sitting in front of you. – Charlie White

It's USB compatible, and works without any need for drivers. The included software gives you added functionality, but by default it works like the iSight. Available for $59.95, which is almost a third of the price of an iSight. – Jason Chen

iMage USB webcam [ecamm]

Reader Ben felt the same and gave Apple a call. The guy he spoke to couldn't give a comment on whether it was backordered or on hold until the new models come in—Standard procedure. But it does make us wonder whether the Paris Expo will bring us some new webcams. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Apple]

But that's boring.

If you look around their Web site with a careful eye, you'll notice something called the Skype for Mac with Video Preview. Also released today, this special, possibly very buggy version of Skype for Mac finally includes video support. Apple's iSight is included on the list of supported Web cams, as is the Logitech QuickCam Pro 400. Skype is really stressing that this is only a preview, so if you do find any bugs, you're encouraged to give their developers all the information you can. – Nicholas Deleon

Skype for Mac with Video Preview [Skype]

Skype for Mac 1.5 Beta [Skype via Macworld UK]

So, this user wants to use the iSight mic on his Windows XP machine. Problem? No drivers. He's offering the same kind of bounty—people pitch in, winner collects, everyone wins—for someone to create an iSight driver and release it into open source. The pot's for Win XP only, but if someone wants to make a Vista version that's outside the requirements of this contest. Hackers have 6 months to make a driver, or he's going to return everyone's money. Get to work. – Jason Chen

iSight Microphone Windows XP Driver Competition [Mark 2000]

For €29.90 (about $38), you get a webcam that boasts the ability to record a whopping 300,000 pixels and a 640x480 VGA resolution at 30 frames per second. The webcam doesn't have a microphone, either, since nobody would want to be able to speak to whom they're looking at. If you use a Mac, you'll need to find another impostor iSight from somewhere else, since this is only compatible with Windows. C'est la vie.

Product Page [Pearl Diffusion via Ubergizmo]

Product page