Unhappy with the latest Logitech QuickCam Drivers

Logitech Here is an example of when the automatic update feature that is increasingly being enabled on software and drivers is a headache.  Driver stability.

Aspire5610My "new" laptop (I bought it in May), has a built-in 1.3MP WebCam that utilizes the Logitech QuickCam firmware.  That’s great because it’s recognized by the Logitech drivers and all the advanced functionality that their software brings.  Now the bad thing about it is that the latest Logitech software seems to be less then perfect.

The camera picture will lock up and the camera will "turn off".  This sometimes will be accompanied some time later (minutes to hours) with a complete, spectacular system crash, complete with blue screen (yes, it still exists) with dual outputs for both cores since it’s a Core Duo.

Pretty neat – hadn’t seen the dual-core dump, but I’d rather have the camera function like it should.  This event simply underscores the necessity of stable drivers for any operating system, and that there are enough possible combinations of hardware that it will become nearly impossible for a hardware company to be able to completely test them all.

I’ll be checking into rolling back to older software to see if that solves the problem.  It just shouldn’t happen in the first place though.  One more reason I’ll be checking out a MacBook next.

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New Headset – Logitech® Premium USB Headset 350

image I finally pulled the trigger on getting a decent headset for online vid-conf work.  The Logitech® Premium USB Headset 350.

With better sound quality than I can probably detect (I’ve not the best hearing), it sounds better than any of my previous headsets.  I usually buy cheap ones and end up being disappointed in them, not that this unit is really expensive, I made sure it was of good quality and read lots of gaming headset reviews, it was $40 at my local Wal-Mart and I’m glad I got it.

Just a few points on it.  It’s very comfortable, has a USB connection (drivers ship with Windows/OS X), and automatically sets itself as the default playback/record device when plugged into the computer.  Reverts back to previous defaults when not installed.

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