9 ms·

Having an inline LED is still a bit over-engineered in my opinion. The earliest standalone webcams, for instance Logitech models and the IndyCam that came with

Having an inline LED is still a bit over-engineered in my opinion. The earliest standalone webcams, for instance Logitech models and the IndyCam that came with the Silicon Graphics 'Indy' workstation, had a 'door' that you could slide over the lens when not in use. Lenovo had this on their all in one PC's a few years ago but I don't think they kept that feature. What was wrong with the slide-across lens cover? You would think it would be an essential feature for some.

coldtea 13y ago
>What was wrong with the slide-across lens cover? The fact that you can forget it open, duh!
- anonymfus 13y ago
  It could be motorised :-)
taf2 13y ago
more parts, more cost, more to break, more dissatisfied customers, more customer service calls, more returns...
justin66 13y ago
> Having an inline LED is still a bit over-engineered in my opinion. Overengineering usually refers to something that's not simple or elegant or a solution which represents more effort than the problem calls for. None of those factors seem to apply here.
- winstonx 13y ago
  A blinking light requires electricity. The sliding cover is purely mechanical, tamper evident, and requires physical access to hack. The sliding cover is simpler and more secure.
  - justin66 13y ago
    I'm pretty sure you don't understand the significance of the "inline" in "inline LED." We're talking about an LED that will always light when the camera is powered up because it gets power when the camera itself does, from the same physical wire. It is on if the camera is getting power from the port. You could build a prototype with an LED spliced into a webcam's USB cable if you need to convince yourself that this is possible. It's not a software hackable thing because of the physical orientation of the LED. This is where the current designs get it wrong by making things too complicated (though they have their reasons). edit: I'd note that these features we're talking about aren't mutually exclusive
    - eurleif 13y ago
      You're missing the "tamper evident" part. A laptop with the LED wired using a microntroller looks externally identical to a laptop with the LED wired inline. But you can always tell whether a cover is over the webcam or not just by looking at it.
    - unwind 13y ago
      A mechanical sliding piece of material without any electrical components at all must be considered simpler (and thus "less engineered") than an LED, mustn't it? I would be way easier to convince that a piece of plastic is harder to hack than a LED. For instance, there would be no embedded microcontroller to subvert. Also, USB is a bus, you can't splice an LED into the power line of the USB going to a camera and conclude that when the LED is lit, the camera is recording. There's a lot of other traffic that could be happening beween the host and the device, that doesn't mean the camera is performing any recording. The reverse would of course be true, though (no light = no recording).
      - madeofpalk 13y ago
        > A mechanical sliding piece of material without any electrical components at all must be considered simpler (and thus "less engineered") than an LED, mustn't it? Looking at my current macbook lid, I don't how how that would physically fit. The camera would need to be recessed further into the lid to accomodate for the door. > I would be way easier to convince that a piece of plastic is harder to hack than a LED. For instance, there would be no embedded microcontroller to subvert. I'm inclined to believe that a mechanical sliding door would have a higher failure rate than an LED.
oneeyedpigeon 13y ago
Macbooks already have this: it's called the keyboard and it "slides over the lens" when you close the laptop when it's not in use. Much easier to do automatically than remember to slide a 'door' across. Or do people really leave their laptops open when not in use?
- winstonx 13y ago
  But then you can't see the keys or the monitor.
- cfreeman 13y ago
  That doesn't prevent spying when you are using your computer, which could be really embarrassing if you are for instance looking at porn. Also, sometimes you want to leave it one when you aren't using it, like when you're downloading something.
  - oneeyedpigeon 13y ago
    No; I don't think any of the suggestions here can solve the 'someone might be spying on me whilst I'm already using my camera' problem - that's a very difficult one to cater for. On the whole, I think this discussion focuses on the wrong 'problem'. If someone can gain access to your computer, taking control of the camera is just one of a whole host of nasty activities they could get up to - the real problem is securing against remote access in the first place.
winstonx 13y ago
I bought this exact webcam cover; it works great. http://www.amazon.com/C-Slide-1-0-Webcam-Cover/dp/B00AZ639VG http://www.amazon.com/C-Slide-1-0-Webcam-Cover/dp/B00AZ639VG
vacri 13y ago
A sliding lens cover is an exposed moving part, more prone to breakage and filling up with gunk, and also makes it more likely to smear the webcam with finger oils.
NickSharp 13y ago
Two words: Masking tape.
- collyw 13y ago
  Yep, my hippy friend does this. I thought he was being a bit paranoid.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
collyw 13y ago
It would be too complicated for some users.

coldtea 13y ago

>What was wrong with the slide-across lens cover? The fact that you can forget it open, duh!

anonymfus 13y ago
It could be motorised :-)

taf2 13y ago

more parts, more cost, more to break, more dissatisfied customers, more customer service calls, more returns...

justin66 13y ago

> Having an inline LED is still a bit over-engineered in my opinion. Overengineering usually refers to something that's not simple or elegant or a solution which represents more effort than the problem calls for. None of those factors seem to apply here.

winstonx 13y ago
A blinking light requires electricity. The sliding cover is purely mechanical, tamper evident, and requires physical access to hack. The sliding cover is simpler and more secure.
- justin66 13y ago
  I'm pretty sure you don't understand the significance of the "inline" in "inline LED." We're talking about an LED that will always light when the camera is powered up because it gets power when the camera itself does, from the same physical wire. It is on if the camera is getting power from the port. You could build a prototype with an LED spliced into a webcam's USB cable if you need to convince yourself that this is possible. It's not a software hackable thing because of the physical orientation of the LED. This is where the current designs get it wrong by making things too complicated (though they have their reasons). edit: I'd note that these features we're talking about aren't mutually exclusive
  - eurleif 13y ago
    You're missing the "tamper evident" part. A laptop with the LED wired using a microntroller looks externally identical to a laptop with the LED wired inline. But you can always tell whether a cover is over the webcam or not just by looking at it.
  - unwind 13y ago
    A mechanical sliding piece of material without any electrical components at all must be considered simpler (and thus "less engineered") than an LED, mustn't it? I would be way easier to convince that a piece of plastic is harder to hack than a LED. For instance, there would be no embedded microcontroller to subvert. Also, USB is a bus, you can't splice an LED into the power line of the USB going to a camera and conclude that when the LED is lit, the camera is recording. There's a lot of other traffic that could be happening beween the host and the device, that doesn't mean the camera is performing any recording. The reverse would of course be true, though (no light = no recording).
    - madeofpalk 13y ago
      > A mechanical sliding piece of material without any electrical components at all must be considered simpler (and thus "less engineered") than an LED, mustn't it? Looking at my current macbook lid, I don't how how that would physically fit. The camera would need to be recessed further into the lid to accomodate for the door. > I would be way easier to convince that a piece of plastic is harder to hack than a LED. For instance, there would be no embedded microcontroller to subvert. I'm inclined to believe that a mechanical sliding door would have a higher failure rate than an LED.

oneeyedpigeon 13y ago

Macbooks already have this: it's called the keyboard and it "slides over the lens" when you close the laptop when it's not in use. Much easier to do automatically than remember to slide a 'door' across. Or do people really leave their laptops open when not in use?

winstonx 13y ago
But then you can't see the keys or the monitor.
cfreeman 13y ago
That doesn't prevent spying when you are using your computer, which could be really embarrassing if you are for instance looking at porn. Also, sometimes you want to leave it one when you aren't using it, like when you're downloading something.
- oneeyedpigeon 13y ago
  No; I don't think any of the suggestions here can solve the 'someone might be spying on me whilst I'm already using my camera' problem - that's a very difficult one to cater for. On the whole, I think this discussion focuses on the wrong 'problem'. If someone can gain access to your computer, taking control of the camera is just one of a whole host of nasty activities they could get up to - the real problem is securing against remote access in the first place.

winstonx 13y ago

I bought this exact webcam cover; it works great. http://www.amazon.com/C-Slide-1-0-Webcam-Cover/dp/B00AZ639VG http://www.amazon.com/C-Slide-1-0-Webcam-Cover/dp/B00AZ639VG

vacri 13y ago

A sliding lens cover is an exposed moving part, more prone to breakage and filling up with gunk, and also makes it more likely to smear the webcam with finger oils.

NickSharp 13y ago

Two words: Masking tape.

collyw 13y ago
Yep, my hippy friend does this. I thought he was being a bit paranoid.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

collyw 13y ago

It would be too complicated for some users.