Correction, 25 January 2006 12:00 CST/18:00 UTC: The problem described below turned out to be a bad individual camera. Logitech was great, replacing the bad camera with a new one, no questions asked. The new camera has been running without interruption for several weeks now.
The original blog entry follows:
I can't believe how much time is being sucked away from me by this broken Webcam problem. I am now on hold with Logitech, and though my call is very important to them, they are experiencing higher-than-normal call volumes, so they'll take my call in the order it was received.
I got a Logitech Orbit MP that should have been a tremendous improvement over the Intel Cam III I've been using for two years. The poor Intel camera is unstable, half-burned-out, slow, and basically showing its age. The new Logitech camera should be none of these things, and should have the added benefit of being able to tilt and pan so that it's never looking directly at the sun, as my poor Intel camera has on occasion done.
The Logitech camera worked beautifully on my laptop. Then it worked really well right away when I connected it to the old server. Then I logged into the server remotely, and the image froze. Then I couldn't get the server to recognize the camera. After six reboots, I thought the problem was the Belkin USB extension cord. So I moved the camera to another computer, closer to the window, for the time being.
Now the camera doesn't work at all. Nothing I can do will get the computer to recognize it. In fact, it's acting dead. Thus my call to Tech Support, which is a prerequisite to sending it back for replacement.
Let's count the damage so far: Three hours of time that I should have spent installing a server for a client (they're out of the office until Tuesday so there's at least no rush there), a parking ticket (my fault, I know), and probably an aneurism.
Final update before heading to client, 18:56 UTC: After 21 minutes of holding and a 6-minute conversation, Logitech is replacing the camera. So look in about two weeks for the second attempt.
A quick check of email showed me a notice from NOAA that the 27th tropical storm of the most active season in recorded history had formed:
...LATE SEASON TROPICAL STORM...THE 27TH OF THE YEAR...FORMS IN THE
EASTERN ATLANTIC...
AT 1 PM AST...1700Z...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM ZETA WAS LOCATED
NEAR LATITUDE 25.0 NORTH... LONGITUDE 36.9 WEST OR ABOUT 1070
MILES...1720 KM... SOUTHWEST OF THE AZORES.
And we thought the season had already ended. Wow. This is truly historic.
I posted too soon about the new Webcam. It worked great until I logged off and back on again. Then it stopped working. The problem appears to be with the drivers on the host computer.
I'll write more later. I've given up an hour of my life because of this stupid thing. I sincerely hope I'll have the cam working in the next few minutes.
Update, 17:26 UTC: It wasn't the camera. It was (a) a Belkin USB extension cord or (b) Windows 2000 Server. One of the two did not play well with the Webcam. I can't believe how long this simple thing has taken me.
Update, 17:44 UTC: OK. Got the camera working (temporarily) on an old Windows XP box. Also got the Lab Cam (below) running, but I haven't given it a home on the Website yet. That will have to come later. Right now, I have a server to build for a client.
And, apparently, a parking ticket. Dang.
The Lab Cam (live image, updated every 5 minutes):
After much searching, and more than one total Webcam collapse, I've finally found the perfect Webcam. It has numerous features, like its own stand, that will make the Inner Drive Technology Webcam even more fun and enjoyable.
The old cam will go into the Inner Drive Technology Comprehensive Testing Facility tomorrow or Monday. The image will look nothing like this one, which I include for Anne's benefit:
More when I get back from my client visit.
Great column from Krugman today (reg.req.):
A year ago, before "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job" became a national punch line, the rising tide of cronyism in government agencies and the rapid replacement of competent professionals with unqualified political appointees attracted hardly any national attention. ...
A year ago, most Americans thought Mr. Bush was honest.
No real entry today and no entry at all yesterday because I was helping my mom move. However, all of the pieces of the Inner Drive Technology Comprehensive Testing Facility are in, so we should complete construction tomorrow morning or, possibly, on Saturday. Photos will follow.
The Inner Drive Technology Testing Lab at IDT World Headquarters is nearly complete. Today we have a fully-functional, multi-computer testing lab. We'll be moving some computers around probably next week, and we expect to add a chair or two. We may also put some maps up on the wall, because we love maps.
Here's the nascent facility:
From the Associated Press (published in the Chicago Tribune): 
Actor Was Known for Creepy, Eccentric Roles
ROME — Vincent Schiavelli, the droopy-eyed character actor who appeared in scores of movies, including "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Ghost," died Monday at his home in Sicily. He was 57.
He died of lung cancer, said Salvatore Glorioso, mayor of Polizzi Generosa, the Sicilian village where Schiavelli lived.
As I'm never one to rise below a little morbid humor at the expense of the living, I would ask, with Schiavelli gone, who will play Dick Cheney in future films?
If you're Christian, merry Christmas!
If you're Jewish, happy Chanukkah!
If you just want to be with your family and share the joys of the holiday season, happy holidays!
Finally, if you believe we athiests have declared war on Christmas, read Michelle Goldberg's column in Salon, then Frank Rich (reg.req.) in the New York Times, then reflect on why any majority group in a democracy, who control the government and the press, would persist in believing that the minority were oppressing it.
The
saga of the Webcam continues. At least it's back on its perch.
Here's what I found when I got to my office a few minutes ago:
And here is what the Inner Drive Webcam saw as it teetered, tottered,
and tumbled to the floor of the office. At 5:53pm Central time, all was fine:
Then, suddenly, the mounting began to give way. The first shock came at 5:54; the
second, at 5:57:
The mounting held for a while; here are shots at 6:15 and 6:30:
The end, when it came at 6:33, came swiftly. A jolt at 6:31, another at 6:32, then
at 6:33, blackness:
Until, bleary eyed and stunned, it woke to a changed world at 7:30 the next morning.
The final shot is 9:00am, about the time I discovered the horror of the fallen Webcam:
But, gentle readers, the Webcam is back up. At this writing, here is the image,
in all its properly-mounted glory:
(Your guess is as good as mine what it sees tomorrow morning.)