it's going to be an off topic post,
so if you are seeking for some cool code topics & examples, this is not the post fo you...

lately i found myself surrounded with overdozed hardware and rigs,
i currentlly own :

1 workstation
1 HTPC
1 downloads server
1 laptop
1 Huge CRT
1 Huge LCD.
1 KVM switch
1 Router
6564536 Wires (Help ?)

Ok, this is alot of hardware, do i really need all of this ?
so, what am i planning to do ?

1. get rid of the HTPC rig, and the CRT screen (a new computer for my mom...)
2. convert the workstation to an HTPC (this includes some minor hardware changes)
3. work mainly from my cool new laptop
4. work wireless as possible to get rid of these nasty wires.
5. install all the rigs with proper hardware

this is lots of work to be done.....

A new blog surfaced in the last few days.
this one is from Doron Yaacoby.

this dude knows what he's talking about.
i would strongly recommend to pay this guy a visit

OK,
lets start from the begining...

after i reinstalled my PC, i had to install a bunch of drivers.
one of them was for my Web-cam.

so, i connected the camera, clicked on the windows auto install,
but the damn windows won't recognize the camera.

So, i tried to google the drivers, but no luck there.
Apparently, there is no such company named Quantum (well, there is, but it does not do web-cams)

I decided to go extreme on this one.

for this "critical mission" i needed :

• 1 leatherman
  
  
• 1 canon Digital camera
  

first i opened the little Web-Cam to see what is inside.

found some board connected with a cable.

on the back of the board i found a chip with some data printed on him.
because it was so small, i couldn't see the printing, so i used my camera for this task.


but seems someone wanted to erase that model (is Quantum not the real company behind this camera ?)
after thinking a little bit, i took another shoot of this chip, but with a different angle.

this photo revealed important info :

the company that made this chip is : Sonix
The chip model is : sn9c101

so, fast as a lightning, i googled up their site and went for the drivers section for the product.

but the drivers didn't work for me... (Why ???)

i started to look for more data on this hardware...

a closer look on this board gave me some more interesting data :

the board model is : DC-2110A

googling again for this model gave me a direct link for the drivers (god knows who made them...)
the drivers and the board made by "Chicony Electronics"

this is their download page :
http://www.chicony.com.tw/download/di/driver.asp

so installing them for the second time went smoothly.

after assembling back the camera, it is once again usable :)

update :

after browsing the company site, i discovered they do have a camera for that model
http://www.chicony.com.tw/products/PCC/pandaCIF.htm

but no relations to quantum what so ever.
Did someone got their product and changed its name to sell better ?

found some quiz, giving you your extention :)

give it a try yourself here