Title: Webcam Technology – Beyond Just Entertainment Word Count: 736 Summary: In the scope of this article, I would like to focus on an emerging, or rather renewed, aspect of web-based entertainment, the webcams. The old days of delayed webcam images of low resolution via congested telephone wires have long been replaced with high-quality pictures personalized with on-screen animations of texts and icons transferred through submarine fiber optic cables. Keywords: Keywords: webcam, entertainment, voice changer Article Body: The online entertainment of web tools the like of webcams, music and movie transfers and voice changer software has indeed been given an amazing boost with the development of virtually unlimited global bandwidth and high-performing computers; huge volumes of videos and audios are quickly downloaded to personal laptops, while softwares that require significant disk space to operate like the voice changers could run smoothly like never before. In the scope of this article, I would like to focus on an emerging, or rather renewed, aspect of web-based entertainment, the webcams. The old days of delayed webcam images of low resolution via congested telephone wires have long been replaced with high-quality pictures personalized with on-screen animations of texts and icons transferred through submarine fiber optic cables. Beyond the entertainment sensations of teenagers exchanging good explicit, as well as bad explicit, photos on the web while savoring a good chat or two, sometimes even further empowered with entertainment chat tools such as the voice changers of Media Morpher, webcam technology has proved itself more than just another online entertainment tool. The little camera has evolved into a household friend that makes business sense. I’ll tell you how. 69-year-old diabetic Norwegian Karin Jordal was saved when the images of her collapsing in the living room of her California apartment were transmitted to her son, Tore Jordal, who was working in the Philippines via their connected webcams. Tore alerted his brother, Ole Jordal, in Norway, who knew just who in the States to contact to help their mother. Within 10 minutes, an emergency ambulance arrived at Karin’s apartment. She had since recovered steadily. Without the little webcam often considered for pure entertainment purpose, how could such wonder have happened to Karin and her sons? “Now I see the Internet as a way to save lives. It's also a wonderful tool for people who live alone in some remote area, and might need help," Ole said. Besides such humane quotient of the webcam and its internet associates like the voice changers or music editor softwares, webcam products also facilitate business activities in the case of, for instance, the Jordals. The webcams allow the family to constantly be in touch with one another, making them feel at ease while pursuing their interests away from their home. This psychological assurance does help one improve his professional performance, according to an America-based online research firm in 2005. Another insightful experience to illustrate how the webcams could come in handy in the business context: John Jackson, an Indian call center operator, narrated his story of how a heart-broken American lady called in one night and asked if she could speak to him face to face. John empathetically explained he could not leave his work, and assured the woman that he could live chat with her for the time being. As Indian call centers do not usually wish to be known to customers as Indians (due to problems of prejudice), John had to mask his webcam picture and adjusted his voice accordingly to sound more American. John managed to console the lady so well that night that she sent in a testimonial to him. That sparked an idea in the 28-year-old man; he thought of introducing a service line that caters specially to those who needs not the business updates but simply some one to talk comfortably to. He is now overseeing an ever thriving business. Let’s snap back. It is known that voice changers by Media Morpher could effectively help John modify his voice and calm the American lady. But it is not too widely known that webcam morpher softwares recently available could mask John’s image with some one else’s of his preference. Though still in the Beta phase, the AV WebCam Morpher by Audio4Fun is capable of many funky tricks that meet your online entertainment needs. And most of all, the webcam software is for free download right now. So scrap all the rantings about how online entertainment tools are just fads that would some day be gone! One who looks beyond the entertainment factor to recognize how to embrace entertainment technology to better his life is indeed the one that goes beyond his time. About the Author: Josh Nowell is a Media Morpher writer keen on technology development and how it enriches our experiences in life. He could be contacted at media@audio4fun.com