From...

December 30, 1999
Web posted at: 1:32 p.m. EST (1832 GMT)

by Cameron Crouch

(IDG) -- Web cameras beam live views of places and people from around the world right to your PC. But who's to say which ones are the best?

EarthCam, a portal site that provides a directory of Webcams, announced on Tuesday its list of the top 25 WebCams on the Internet. After EarthCam producers and users selected the 100 top Webcams, a panel of judges chose the 25 best based on quality of image, content, and page design.

Judges included Ron Belbruno, senior editor of Yahoo Internet Life; Justin Camerlengo, president of Panasonic Corp. Enterprises; Michael Lieb of TV Guide Online; Jill Carvajal of NYPost.com; and several others. Many of the nominees came from EarthCam's bimonthly Top 10 List, which can be found at the EarthCam site.

From sky views to home spies

The 25 WebCam winners included everything from city cams in Glasgow, New Orleans, Paris, and even Times Square to live views of the Old Faithful geyser steaming up in Yellowstone.

If you like Web cameras that are on the go, the NY Taxi Cab Cam will show you the Big Apple the way most tourists see it: from the back of a cab. If you're lucky, you might even catch a rude gesture from the driver. Those who like to look in on individuals can gawk at Jenni as she lives her life in front of the JenniCam or, better yet, see who'll pig out next at the Real Fridge Cam.

Animal lovers will appreciate the exotic feeds from the AfriCam, a live view of game reserves in Kruger National Park, South Africa; the Amazing Updating Elephant Cam puts you inside the Elephant House at the National Zoo in Washington D.C., but spares the smells that go along with it. If watching ants crawl somewhere other than on your kitchen cabinets appeals, the Insect Zoo Cam takes you among the six-legged at the Iowa State University Insect Zoo.

Of course, no voyeurism list would be complete without an entry from Vegas. The Wedding Cam beams views of who's getting hitched this minute at "A Little White Chapel" in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Site for sore, peeping eyes

Beyond the top 25 selection, EarthCam's Web site offers myriad opportunities to search for the Webcam of your choice in categories including arts and entertainment, business, traffic, even weird and bizarre.

EarthCam has updated links to over 5000 live WebCams. The site also has portal features such as e-mail, communities, and shopping, all catered to Webcam viewing. If you're a doer and not just a viewer, you can purchase Earthcam WebCam systems for home, office or locational webcasting. A basic home package including camera and EarthCam software is on sale for $49.95