Logitech G19 keyboard. Holy crap!

[Claymonkey]

Logitech's gaming peripherals are getting really good. The G35 headset is getting really good reviews, and so has the G13 controller.

I'm a HUGE Logitech fan but I find their gaming peripherals rather ugly. It might just be me though.

I've lost track on how many logitech computer bits I've owned over the years. The mice alone I can't even begin to count. Currently using a MX Revolution mouse (refurb) and DiNovo Edge (rebate) on my main computer with a VX Revolution in my laptop bag. Setpoint is also probably the first version of logitech software that doesn't make me angry at the world.

[Nowhere]

I guess loving Logitech is much easier if you forget about their webcams completelly? (after all, no mention in the post)

I absolutelly despise them; it's hard to argue that they set back video conversations for half a decade (perhaps almost a whole one...), since video IM has one general issue unresolved in current hardware - lack of eye-contact.

However, they certainly gave a lot of people the impression that you can't have a good quality video from a PC peripheral cam... (yes, there were/are some decent models...but never among lower-end ones, and middle-end is still hit or miss)

[MultimediaMan]

I absolutelly despise them; it's hard to argue that they set back video conversations for half a decade (perhaps almost a whole one...), since video IM has one general issue unresolved in current hardware - lack of eye-contact.

Good Point: Thus was born Cisco Telepresence: those are spooky as hell to use for the first five minutes, then they become quite natural to use. Webcams can never hop to compete with Telepresence until they can put the camera in the upper-half/ center of the screen somewhere.

[Nowhere]

Yup...just put the webcam into the screen; perhaps hundreds/thousands of them working together to form one image; or just few/dozen, each collecting image through some part of the screen, which directs the light towards sensor.

Actually, during one of /. discussions there was a post linking to quite recent Apple patent for something like that... (which isn't totally a good thing...other manufacturers would lag with introduction of such a product, even in most areas of the world they could seel it without problems...)

PS. And I have one pet project on the todo list - essentially, placing a periscope in the immediate vicinity of the image of person with whom I'm speaking (I guess small prism on a very fine, "open" (to minimally obstruct the view) but stiff structure, with a webcam at the bottom (and of course some shuffling with webcam/additional lens) might work...)

[Evildead666]

just have a smaller screen, with the camera in the top lip.
The small screen just shows IM and Skype video type stuff.
That way the angle between the camera and the screen is small, and it almost looks like you're looking at the people.

The big screen in front of you has a small camera usually on the top, so you have to look up to it.
If there was a small screen just below the webcam, then you would almost be looking at the webcam.

No real need for any new tech, just good software/hardware linkeage.

[Nowhere]

It doesn't really work, not in netbooks for example which pretty much fit your description and yet have the same problem - humans are very, very good at noticing subtleties of eye-contact.

Well, I you'll make the screen so small that the apparent image of the person is like that scene with the table from first Batman... (the one with Nicholson) But that introduces another kind of awkardness in face-to-face contact - after all, you are relatively close when speaking to somebudy IRL, right? Especially some loved ones.