Setting up webcam on Linux (ZC0301)

It was a rare occasion if I got my hand on a web camera. This time I borrowed it from my colleague. Last time I couldn't get it to work. I didn't remember why. But this time, it was easy as ABC.

Spec:
Model : Z-Star Microelectronics Corp. Havit 3808 (this is what it says on the tin)
Chipset : ZC0301 (from lsusb)

Last time I looked at http://zc0302.sourceforge.net/ for the driver. It has been inactive for a long time. Still so far, the driver for ZC0301 is still not supported.

This time: I looked at spcaxx project page at http://mxhaard.free.fr/spca5xx.html. The webcam I was using supported. As stated on the website, for Fedora Core 6 users like me can download the driver here. The driver is actually a kernel module and after installing it, you can load the module with modprobe : modprobe gspca

When done, open your kopete, and click Settings --> Configure.. --> Device and see whether it detects and display video from the webcam. Then you can enjoy webcam session with your friends and acquaintances.

Good luck!

ATI releases Linux driver and update

PEOPLE often complain about ATI Linux support. Nvidia rocks with driver support for the OS, and we know that Nvidia has just released a driver supporting the new kernel.

ATI is ready with its own answer, supporting XFree86 4.1, XFree86 4.2, XFree86 4.3 and X.Org 6.8. There is even a 64-bit driver and all of these drivers and XFree86 and the driver itself are version 8.24.8.

The driver supports all the modern graphic cards including X1900, X1800 cards and the older ones too. The big thing is that ATI now supports Avivo, even under Linux, and we do know that many of this community plays with video files than with games.

The Linux driver even has a GUI and you can download it here.

*UPDATE: My machine now uses ATI's proprietary driver and it rocks. The installation is a snap.