Has anyone used a webcam under linux SUCCESSFULLY

Ignoramus24818

I actually spent a couple days trying to get some webcams working in our office (for the fun of it).

We have a Creative Webcam Live which works okay with Linux, if you compile the spca5xx driver yourself. However, it can only use up to 640x480 resolution, and it doesn't auto-adjust to outdoor lighting. Under Windows, it can take stills at 1024x768. There is a "Live Pro" model that can do higher res stills, but that has zero driver support in Linux.

We also have an old Intel Easy PC Camera that works with the same driver, if you uncomment the "RH9REMAP" define, and modprobe it with "forcergb=1". This cam only handles up to 320x240 resolution.

For the Creative cam, I ended up using Windows under VMWare because I wanted to point it outside. Unfortunately, it requires some babying to get started after a reboot, but at least it can see out the window. Also, be aware that if you go this route, VMWare doesn't support USB 2.0, so you have to disable all USB 2 drivers in your Linux host or use a USB 1.1 hub between the host and the webcam to force it to slow down.

Nathan