February 19, 1998
With the advent of high speed air travel, people began to speak metaphorically of the world becoming a smaller place. Getting from point A to point B no longer took two months by sea. Today, staying in touch with people across the globe need not be an expensive and slow process.
With the advent and subsequent popularization of first, the fax
machine and more recently, the Internet and e-mail, one might say that the world just got
a bit smaller.
However, with the Internet becoming ever more advanced, one can say that the world just got even smaller. So small in fact, that you can fit the entire globe onto your Windows Desktop.
How does one do this, you ask? Simple -- get online and start surfing. But to achieve the true effect of a smaller world, don’t just surf anywhere, read on and follow my lead.
The Camera
Some time back, the inventors at the various computer hardware and computer peripheral
manufacturers began to develop cameras that could digitally capture an image in a way in
which the image could be displayed over the Internet. This technology has matured somewhat
since its early days and reached a point where one can now install one of these cameras
wherever you deem appropriate and then display images in real time (live - for the not so
kewel among us) over the ‘Net. Such is this new-found interest that a vast collection
of sites offering live netcams or webcams (as they are known) can now be viewed.
What follows, is a review of some of the sites that I have visited in my virtual global tour. At each of these sites, you will find a webcam offering its own specific view of the world.
The Cams
For the first stop on the tour, allow me to take
you Oxford Street Circus in London. Here
you will see a view from a first floor window overlooking the street. The image is updated
every five minutes, 24 hours a day.
Staying in London, this camera offers a streaming video image from the HMS Belfast on the Thames River. The view from this camera gives a range of angles as it pans across the river.
Heading across the English Channel, this site offers some spectacular shots of Paris including some splendid views of the Eiffel Tower. The camera is fully interactive and you can zoom in and out to get a closer look. Unfortunately the site is all in French but then again, you are here for the views.
Staying in Europe, but down to Italy for this stop we go to Cortina. Three camera views are offered at this site and the images are updated every hour between six in the morning and nine at night. Here as with the TF1 site in Paris, the text is not in English, but navigating to the desired camera view is easy enough with English sub-titles where necessary.
Our next stop takes us across to Japan. Here you can see live views of Mount Fuji. The camera is fully interactive and with some patience you can control the direction in which the camera points. This site is in English, but for those with a knack for the Japanese language, there is a full Japanese version of the site too.
Slipping south into Australia, this site offers some splendid views of Perth. Two cameras provide two different views of the city from a good vantage point in one of the many tall buildings in the city. Not to worry though, all English at this one.
Coming a little closer to home for me, this site offers wonderful live views of Cape Town. The site was set
up for the 2004 Olympic bid (which went to Athens) but the popularity of the site has
allowed for it to remain in action after the festivities have come to an end. 
For a slightly more chilly view, why not head for the bottom of the earth to Antarctica. Live from the Mawson Station, manned by Australian scientists, you can see how large or small the icebergs are. A nice touch is the fact that the camera is rarely in the same place for very long - the scientists tend to move the camera around and provide some wonderful stories behind each of the views.
Taking a final leap across the Atlantic, we head over to the Big Apple for some spectacular views of Manhattan. This is arguably the best site of the lot. Taken from the top of the Empire State Building, you can open up three separate windows which then display larger views to the north, south and west. These images are self-refreshing and update continuously, 24 hours a day on their own.
Let’s Move Indoors
So far all of the sites that have been listed, provide you with splendid panoramic
views of landscapes and city views. But with the cameras as small as they are, it was only
a matter of time before they were moved indoors to see what the people were doing inside.
Café Bilteks is an Internet café
located in Riga, Latvia. The camera offers views across the counter where you can observe
the avid Internet surfers and relaxed coffee drinkers passing the time. The camera is
updated every five minutes. 
Thumbnails point you to pictures taken over
the previous twenty minutes.
CyberPlayce is an Internet café located in Boise, Idaho. Two cameras have been placed in the café to provide two different views of the staff and customers alike. Although both cameras are supposed to be live views, it appears as if only the one is live at all times with the second offering only recently captured shots.
Located in San Francisco, Internet Alfredo is argued to be San Francisco’s only 24 hour Internet café. The camera offers a nice shot of one of the computers which allows you to see the action while it happens. With this site and the two above, directions to the café are obtainable from the site as are price lists and at CyberPlayce, you can even purchase the webcam on your next visit to the café.
In Closing
The tour that we have just been on, is but a drop in the ocean in terms of what is
available if you have the time. For a comprehensive list of where some of the best webcams
are located you can head here for some very long lists of sites with live webcams.
So there you have it. If you want the world on your desktop, all you need to do is surf for some of the best views in the world - easy.