Post AmBcQNwubw5h9f39gO by PhilipKing@mastodon.social
(DIR) More posts by PhilipKing@mastodon.social
(DIR) Post #AmAtiDPW2IqzkFYaXI by foone@digipres.club
2024-09-19T22:09:42Z
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my roommate got me something fun from ewaste: A parallel port webcam! It's the VIP Camera, which is supposedly "Simply The Best"
(DIR) Post #AmAuDMmfEhjjnEEqCu by foone@digipres.club
2024-09-19T22:11:09Z
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System requirements are "Windows 95" fullstop, so I'm guessing this thing is from 1995-1998? okay, the CD-ROM says April 1998. So this thing is ONE MONTH before Windows 98.
(DIR) Post #AmAuDPl0BLBp0wU3X6 by foone@digipres.club
2024-09-19T22:12:07Z
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So here's the fun part: It's not just parallel, it's parallel and (sorta-)keyboard! See, it's gotta get power from somewhere, and the parallel port isn't a reliable source of it (especially on laptops), so... it has a keyboard pass-thru to steal some 5v
(DIR) Post #AmAuDQiYbupPzeLcMS by foone@digipres.club
2024-09-19T22:13:50Z
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Interestingly, on that previous page it says it can capture still images of up to 1600x1200! but this side says it has a 508x492 sensor, so I don't know about that chief.
(DIR) Post #AmAuDRm8g5HtH31zaC by foone@digipres.club
2024-09-19T22:15:46Z
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the box just has the camera, cables, a CD-ROM, and a tiny manual, so I'm skipping to the good stuff: OPENING IT UP.It's got a surprisingly big board for a webcam, but it IS a webcam from 1998, so...
(DIR) Post #AmAutX6DH4ZDwpUMam by m@autistics.life
2024-09-19T22:14:44Z
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@foone Is that a pigtail to get power from a PS2 port?
(DIR) Post #AmAvkgZYmcsCg1YpIO by foone@digipres.club
2024-09-19T22:16:53Z
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So the camera daughterboard has only one chip on it, a Sanyo LC89901.That's a CMOS Driver IC for 1/5" and 1/6" sensors.
(DIR) Post #AmAvkjCd0LJQplr3T6 by foone@digipres.club
2024-09-19T22:17:35Z
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Here's the top of the main board, with camera daughterboard and parallel connector removed.
(DIR) Post #AmAvkkWA7CX2ue0AYS by foone@digipres.club
2024-09-19T22:19:24Z
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Our Sanyo part on the left is an LC99067MA0.No datasheet, but I did find a mention that it's a color digital signal processor.
(DIR) Post #AmAvklkjWVmWk7pJuC by foone@digipres.club
2024-09-19T22:23:37Z
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Then we've got two of these Samsung ram chips.Each are 512 kilobyte CMOS DRAMs, so an entire megabyte of RAM.
(DIR) Post #AmAvkmmtfx6fx7qYuu by foone@digipres.club
2024-09-19T22:24:13Z
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Now, the bottom of the board.Two main chips and five small ones
(DIR) Post #AmAvkntJZZpnNJrCYi by foone@digipres.club
2024-09-19T22:29:57Z
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First up, an Alaris QV108-02A.No datasheets on this thing. Date code of November 1998. It's probably an ASIC/microcontroller that is doing the grunt work of converting the video data to something that can be shoved over the parallel port.
(DIR) Post #AmAvksBBd4VUfuFWyG by foone@digipres.club
2024-09-19T22:32:21Z
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And then Sanyo LC99057LA8:This is another one I can't find a direct datasheet on, but it's mentioned in a different datasheet.It's a "color CCD camera CCD controller"
(DIR) Post #AmAwlL2ERdc47gqZDk by anthony@bitbang.social
2024-09-19T22:19:14Z
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@foone NetMeeting, though! Better calls over dial up than Zoom can often manage over gigabit Internet 🤣
(DIR) Post #AmAx3ZG8IY9tS22cls by GabeMoralesVR@mastodon.gamedev.place
2024-09-19T22:20:17Z
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@foone never said itd capture at that resolution all at once lol
(DIR) Post #AmAx9xW71OEkQGYyem by ruthan@triangletoot.party
2024-09-19T22:22:49Z
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@foone excuse me i think you meant Window 95 ;p
(DIR) Post #AmAxa6x6YzzxDOevHU by foone@digipres.club
2024-09-19T22:26:15Z
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@ruthan just the one!
(DIR) Post #AmAyLVNxXVBgbTor2G by Llokalla@mastodon.social
2024-09-19T22:32:11Z
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@foone the “graphic design is my passion” logo really makes this for me.
(DIR) Post #AmAyvwY01sTdGmtGoS by rotopenguin@mastodon.social
2024-09-19T22:34:59Z
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@foone that is so delightfully stupid. The EPP/ECP standards gave us a parallel port fast enough to do this, but PS/2 was still a better place to grab some power?
(DIR) Post #AmAz4WCnKzcWB53qca by cr1901@mastodon.social
2024-09-19T22:35:08Z
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@foone I desperately need a source of keyboard-power siphoning pass-through cables :D!
(DIR) Post #AmAzIcWscd0BqTBEGm by foone@digipres.club
2024-09-19T22:35:38Z
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This chip is an SN74F125D: a 4-channel 5-volt 3-state bipolar buffer.
(DIR) Post #AmAzIfGgRIpSL6cpwO by foone@digipres.club
2024-09-19T22:38:43Z
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There's three of these NJM2360 DC-to-DC control ICs.
(DIR) Post #AmAzIgbdStBOUNR5Em by foone@digipres.club
2024-09-19T22:40:53Z
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And this tiny thing is a CSI 24C01J: A 128 byte serial EEPROM.This is probably used for some internal calibration settings or something?
(DIR) Post #AmAzIhpUupriHevfU0 by foone@digipres.club
2024-09-19T22:41:27Z
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So that's all the board. Now I need to figure out how to talk to it. My main PC doesn't have a parallel port, which is going to be a bit limiting.
(DIR) Post #AmAzIitmwMtLbFwboG by foone@digipres.club
2024-09-19T22:44:46Z
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The camera has the part number FGB-V000-002700. No results, patent pending.
(DIR) Post #AmAzIkAqCS7tYQvk1o by foone@digipres.club
2024-09-19T22:50:45Z
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also a couple people have pointed out that I'm wrong, it doesn't require "Windows 95". It requires "Window 95".Just the one Window.
(DIR) Post #AmAza3Rbo264FA1mdM by ieure@retro.social
2024-09-19T22:40:50Z
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@foone System requirements are "Window™ 95." Only window for you. The webcam video window.
(DIR) Post #AmB0HH4uzUM6ys1VLM by mossmann@mastodon.social
2024-09-19T22:48:50Z
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@foone “still” as in “you have to hold still like you’re posing for a photo in 1890”
(DIR) Post #AmB0Q5TbUmWdbXlvcm by jaykass@mastodon.online
2024-09-19T22:51:01Z
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@foone "Window 95" singular
(DIR) Post #AmB0i2ShRU7xT2uQEq by renatodoesnotexist@mastodon.social
2024-09-19T22:54:25Z
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@foone Am I tripping or is that thing a privacy cover?
(DIR) Post #AmB0st4sflxXY3wP32 by jpm@aus.social
2024-09-19T22:56:07Z
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@foone that’d be the frame buffer
(DIR) Post #AmB12OI1zpS4xPcioq by foone@digipres.club
2024-09-19T22:57:37Z
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@renatodoesnotexist it is!
(DIR) Post #AmB1OzB3WvK1jU8QxE by hisham_hm@mastodon.social
2024-09-19T23:08:51Z
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@foone It's the only one that runs Microsoft Words.
(DIR) Post #AmB1P1kDz8drh8bY36 by hisham_hm@mastodon.social
2024-09-19T23:09:18Z
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@foone (or, if you're short on cash and don't need all the features, Microsoft Work)
(DIR) Post #AmB1XYz4Hlq16McN84 by RueNahcMohr@infosec.exchange
2024-09-19T23:12:13Z
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@foone Billy, I'm STILL going to select "Its a 74F74' because, altho I know foone knows his stuff, its a 74F74.... Upper flipflop not used, inputs tried high....
(DIR) Post #AmB1e4B3DrsXaEK8G0 by RueNahcMohr@infosec.exchange
2024-09-19T23:13:28Z
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@foone WHY DOES IT HAVE SO MUCH LATENCY BILLY.THATS RIGHT! __BUFFERS__
(DIR) Post #AmB1ozoTmwgBEYygCm by RueNahcMohr@infosec.exchange
2024-09-19T23:14:42Z
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@foone "software enhancement" (to 1600x1200)
(DIR) Post #AmB21npfdzPfqBdqIS by rotopenguin@mastodon.social
2024-09-19T23:17:39Z
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@foone before MS came up with "S mode", there was Window (singular).
(DIR) Post #AmB2AKJikbB8uHlIRM by m@autistics.life
2024-09-19T23:31:41Z
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@foone I didn't know "Window" was trademarked... lol
(DIR) Post #AmB2n3bonxHsNhh9UW by tekhedd@byteheaven.net
2024-09-19T23:55:46Z
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@foone Just the one
(DIR) Post #AmB3lefy7Tx0iXX13w by tth@mastodon.tetaneutral.net
2024-09-20T00:06:26Z
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@foone : Oh! I remember CuSeeMe!
(DIR) Post #AmB6y4Iaymt5WVD3Zo by renatodoesnotexist@mastodon.social
2024-09-20T00:42:03Z
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@foone this is really impressive! like you said this is one month before Win98 and people were already thinking about privacy covers back then when computers were not supposed to be online 100% of the time
(DIR) Post #AmB79mMbULTDNAfVcO by NTICompass@bitbang.social
2024-09-20T00:44:18Z
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@foone It's actually Window™ 95. Completely different than Windows 95.
(DIR) Post #AmBB1FHJ103mGBNQ8m by leilei_@mastodon.social
2024-09-20T01:27:46Z
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@foone so it'll work with the Okey Dokey sound card then
(DIR) Post #AmBX7sEjHO29ogjmfQ by bytex64@awesome.garden
2024-09-20T05:35:51Z
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@foone Connectix QuickCam worked the same way.
(DIR) Post #AmBcQNwubw5h9f39gO by PhilipKing@mastodon.social
2024-09-20T06:34:58Z
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@foone If I remember the data rate down a non ECP parallel port was quite low. Interesting to see how they compressed the video.
(DIR) Post #AmBvoUN6HZSd9WVRrM by funjon@terra.incognita.net
2024-09-20T10:12:10Z
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@foone its amazing how I looked at that and so easily misread "16MB" as "16GB"
(DIR) Post #AmCEwOnEnyENIUDWZE by mikaellundin@mastodon.social
2024-09-20T13:45:52Z
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@foone I would love some ”Video Email”
(DIR) Post #AmERApvWJ6knGqf5qS by keen456@infosec.exchange
2024-09-21T15:11:29Z
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@foone I've got one of these: https://www-user.tu-chemnitz.de/~heha/basteln/PC/USB2LPT/index.en.htm if you'd like it