I never had much of a need for a webcam. Over a year ago I found one at a cheap price and without checking for Linux compatibility I bought the thing, but it had a spotty record for working with Linux so it sat on the shelf collecting dust until today.
Ubuntu forums said it works out of the box now. It being a EZcam III. So I plugged it in, turned on my computer -- nothing.
I got it working, thanks to Shantanu Goel who wrote at Ubuntu Geek: Tip: Getting Your Webcam To Work In Ubuntu Here are the steps that I took:
1. Start your computer with the camera unplugged
2. In a terminal type:
sudo modprobe -r gspca
sudo modprobe -r zc0301
sudo modprobe gspca
3. Plug in your camera
4. Test it with an application that would use it (skype)
5. In a terminal type:
sudo gedit or Kedit
Open /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist file
7. At the bottom of the file type:
#Added by [your name] on [date] to get the webcam to work
blacklist zc0301
I still need to have the camera unplugged at boot time but that is only hitch so far is. I guess that despite the blacklist command zc0301 gets loaded as soon as a camera gets detected.
Another thank you is in order here. Did you know that one person has written drivers for 235 Webcams? Read all about Michel Xhaard here.
After an exhausting morning looking out the front window, Thatcher follows the sun to the back room to rest up for the next shift. This picture was taken with my EZcam III with an application called "Cheese"
