Happy 35th Anniversary WEBCAMS

While your webcam of choice isn't exactly 35 years old due to difference in manufacturing,

The tech behind the WEBCAM is about 35 years old as of this writing.

Who would have thought that the origins of the WEBCAM would be traced back to the UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE?

It's true.

But unlike most UNIVERSITY TECH STORIES where a product was the result of a student making something that would earn the highest praise on their thesis,

The WEBCAM was actually created to help facilitate the Coffee Rush for Faculty.

Yes. I really do mean it. A FREAKING COFFEE MACHINE facilitated the creation of the Modern Day Webcam.

The story goes that the Faculty at Cambridge were getting mighty pissed about the way things were at the Campus when it came to Coffee.

Ever hate it when you don't have your coffee before you leave your home and you have to fight your grogginess when driving or taking transit when going to school or work?

That's how the Cambridge Faculty felt.

The problem was that for many faculty members, there was a dedicated Coffee Room which meant that for certain staff members located in floors that were a few walking distances away from the room, this would be aggravating for those who make the long trip through the hallways and stairs only to find the Pot empty and devoid of any coffee.

Rather than complain to the upper brass which wouldn't do anything about it, the Faculty decide to take it on to themselves to fix this issue.

Grabbing a CCD Security Camera

and an ACORN ARCHIMEDES Computer, 

a connection with it was made.

The idea being that if a Security Camera was pointed to a Coffee Pot, then the Faculty can know if there's coffee in the TROJAN ROOM.

And I heard that leftovers of the Coffee often tasted pretty bad according to the faculty so the Camera proved to help people know when there's fresh tasting coffee available.

Sometime later in 1993, the first instances of the WORLD WIDE WEB started to emerge and the existence of the TROJAN COFFEE POT began to circulate and become a fixture in internet popularity.

And thus, the very first WEBCAM was born......

One of the first WEBCAMS to be made available to Consumers would be the SGI INDYCAM released in 1993.

But I can barely classify this Webcam as being made for Consumers due to a multitude of factors.

Because take a look at what Computer this was often paired with:

Ahh yes. The good old SGI INDY Workstation from 1993.

So why am I questioning the INDY Webcam?

Because the host computer, the INDY, had a starting price of $5000 which made it more affordable compared to SGI's other computers which often were over $10,000 more than even the highest end 486 or Macintosh Quadra of the time period.

But even the INDY was often financially out of reach for many users in the 90s.

And like I said in many past posts,

The mentality of many people who had computers was:

VIDEO GAMES.

Yes, many people only bought computers for the sole purpose of playing Video Games, much to the chagrin of parents and Computer Manufacturers.

So to facilitate the needs for the average schmuck who would want a camera for their computer, but don't want to spend thousands on an SGI or Sun Microsystems SunSparc Workstation, 

a company decided to release this:

This is the CONNECTIX QUICKCAM

A Webcam that connected to the serial port of your Computer back in the 90s.

In 1998, Logitech would eventually buy CONNECTIX and rebrand the QUICKCAMS under the Logitech Branding and it would stick for many years and counting.

And there were cameras that weren't just for Webcam use but also for DIGITAL CAMERA use by themselves.... sort of like a hybrid of the tech use.

Like this INTEL POCKET PC CAMERA from the year 2000.

Laptops originally had no webcams installed into them

until later in the 2000s and by the late 2000s such as 2009, they became more common to be installed on laptops.

Throughout the beginnings of 2020 and beyond, the Webcam would become a highly essential piece of Computers due to the heightened use of Remote Work from Home initiatives as well as the then mandatary SOCIAL DISTANCING so as a result, WEBCAMS became quite scarce during the beginning of the COVID-19 Lockdowns.

But why buy Webcams when practically almost anybody could just use the one built in their laptop?

Well the issue was that LAPTOPS, even high-end ones, often are stuck with CRAPPY 720p Webcams due to the need to cram the components on the thin display panels so that leaves little to no room to cram the more essential 1080p HD or 2160p 4K resolution sensors on the panels without further compromises or further jacking up the price.

I'm no stranger to webcams as I've had some that I used in the past, all of them USB.

My current Webcam that's connect to my MAVERICK FALCON 7900RT build is a 

CREATIVE LABS LIVE! CAM SYNC 4K USB Webcam with Backlight Compensation.

Here is the Webcam shown below in this photo of my build.....

This photo is dated early October 2024 so this precedes when I my 

AMD RYZEN 9 9950X3D upgrade and I still had my Acer Monitor that time.

I originally wanted one of the Logitech Webcams but I wanted one of the 4K models but they weren't available at the less than $200 price I was asking for so I instead went with this creative one since It was at a nice $70 I was asking for.

That and some of the Logitech ones had no lens cover which in my mind is highly preferred for privacy reasons.

There are Logitech 4K Webcams with lens covers but again, asking price was a bit much for my wallet.

Ode to the TYPEWRITER-And how it shaped writing for years until the Computer & the Word Processor took over.

You've ever watched an Old Movie or a TV show and seen these babies on the screen?

Well, that's a typewriter.

It's a tool used by many a writer back in the day where you want to write but you don't want to risk hurting your own wrist or having to memorize a certain calligraphic stroke just to make a letter on your sheet of paper.

The typewriter supplanted everything in terms of handwriting for make documents, novels, and yes, even screenplays for your favorite movies.

This pitch for John K.'s rejected PERRY GUNITE concept for HANNA-BARBERA is an example of a draft that was created using a typewriter.

There's a reason why people would use a typewriter.

The feel of the mechanical bits use for connecting the LETTERED Keys to the mechanisms to said letters as they make contact with the ink ribbon and then that ink gets into the paper being fed into the typewriter.

 
For many years, this was often the end-style for typewriters as they were manufactured

Whether it came from the likes of Underwood, Hermes, Olivetti, etc.

Typewriters were often of that particular form factor as seen above.

That sense of BLACK PAINT on the steel frames, the exposed mechanisms for the keys, that's often what most people associated with typewriters at first.

Maybe that's what most cartoonists love about those typewriters when they're depicted in cartoons.

Such as with OLIVE OYL in POPEYE.

To which I remind you how I absolutely love the way FLEICHER's artists lovingly animated OLIVE typing away on her Olivetti's with her gangly limbs...

as well as how she prevents the feed roller from dropping on the floor. 

Such craftsmanship.... on the typewriter side of things.

Look how happy Olive is with here work done on her Olivetti Lettera.

 Even when Manufacturers started to modernize the form factor with their IBM SELECTRICS or SMITH CORONAS between the Mid-1950s to the late 1980s,

There were still some enthusiasts who preferred the more antiquated form factor of the earlier typewriters of old instead of these more enclosed machines.

Even though today's writers now use Laptops & their Word Processor Software to write their novels nowadays, there are still some holdouts who refuse to use COMPUTERS for their writing.

This guy from FAMILY GUY prefers his good old OLIVETTI LETTERA Typewriter

instead of a Dell Inspiron Ryzen 7 Laptop like mine.

Though many of them are dying out due to old age or due to the fact that the still living holdouts had no choice but to make the switch to computers due to reliability problems with the older tech as well as inexperience with repairing the typewriters.

Examples include HARLAN ELLISON.

He absolutely refused to switch to a computer of any sort for his entire writing career with his argument being that "ART IS NOT MEANT TO BE EASY."

And to drive the point home: When nobody offered repairs for typewriters, he instead decided to learn how to repair them himself instead of being forced to switch to laptops.

Another Writer who refused to make the switch to laptops is WILL SELF.

His excuse? Because you can still use only a typewriter for your work.

More like his excuse is due to championing mental thinking over auto-correct algorithms.

Compare his thinking to that of GEORGE RR MARTIN who has moved to computers but refuses to use modern software like Microsoft WORD or LibreOffice WRITER due to things he calls infernal like AUTOCORRECT. 

MARTIN instead uses WORDPERFECT on an XT Class Computer.

Up until 1986's COUNT ZERO, American-Canadian writer WILLIAM GIBSON also held the sentiment to refuse to switch to computers for similar reasons to WILLIAM SELF's take. 

But it's also because he's fascinated by them.

For a good chunk of his writing career, GIBSON's novels were written on his prized typewriter A HERMES 2000 typewriter from the 1933.

But unfortunately for him in 1986, his HERMES 2000 broke on him and there weren't anybody in 1980s Vancouver who were willing to repair it for him regardless of the cost.

So he reluctantly received an APPLE IIc Computer to use for his novels.

(I hope his IIc is the one with ALPS SKCM Amber Mechanical Switches.)

Hey, if anybody in the VANCOUVER area knows WILLIAM GIBSON personally, let him know about my blog because I would love to meet him in person.

Speaking about computers, did you know that Computers also used to use Typewriters as well?

It's true....though not in a modern sense. Let me elaborate.

The Typewriters I'm referring to when I'm talking about keyboards are actually the more purpose built machines meant to be interfaced with Mainframes or Minicomputers.

These are called teletypes

These are machines that interface with them older computers the size of a closet or refrigerator.

Because the glass-type terminal didn't exist for smaller businesses until the 1970s with the first DEC terminals,

Older Computers had to make due with these teletypes.

They're appearance is different when compared to that of a regular typewriter.

The keys are more enclosed than even the IBM SELECTRICS of the time period, the paper had to be of a different material than the paper we use with typewriters and even with todays printers,

The teletypes often had their own stand built onto the frame,

And even some teletypes had a built in PUNCHED TAPE reader from the factory.

Once the GLASS-TYPE Terminals started to show up, the teletypes were soon retired due to issues with mechanical reliability as well as the expense of the paper and ink ribbon refills.

And like I said, with the exception of some holdouts, many a writer has long since moved to using computers for their writing careers.

But don't expect me to be as cocky as STEPHEN KING was when he made the switch to his WANG Word Processor in the early 1980s as seen in this photo below.

The point being is that you have to understand that despite the limitations, what with ink ribbons, mechanical parts, and the inability to backspace,

Typewriters have a certain charm that just can't be replicated on a Computer regardless if your keyboard of choice uses Mechanical Switches or Rubber Domes.

Looks like an irony on my part since I'm typing this blogpost on my DELL RYZEN LAPTOP but what I am using is my old RAZER BLACKWIDOW V3 Gaming Keyboard connected to my laptop using it's USB ports.

I don't know why but the form factor of my RAZER BLACKWIDOW is remarkably close to a typewriter I'll ever get to.

And while I prefer the heavier actuation of my AKKO MATCHA V3 GREEN SWITCHES on my EPOMAKER KEYBOARD, 

The Razer Yellow Linear Switches on my Razer will do just fine.

And yes, there are MECHANICAL KEYBOARDS out there that mimic the look and feel of a typewriter

I might order one of these kinds of Mechanical Keyboards on AMAZON after I get my Tax Returns later in March 2026 but I hope the one I order is of the hot-swappable kind because I still plan to stay with linear switches....

Though I doubt I'll use my favorite AKKO MATCHA V3 Green Switches.

I might test out some other AKKOS or switch to KAILH Switches. 

We'll see.

And I hope the board I order is of the proper Key Form Factor that doesn't mess with the key layout I'm used to which is the ANSI 104 Layout.

Maverick Update 02/03/2026-Never Mind..........

.........

Well, the backlash was immense to the point ADOBE has reversed their decision to discontinue ANIMATE......

Of course, It ain't as Open-Source as TOONZ, Clip Paint, 

But it seems those really love ADOBE ANIMATE to a point it's about as industry standard as you can get for affordable software.

The software won't be updated with new features but it will be given security updates to keep it maintained for many years.

For me however, I've long since switched to TOONBOOM HARMONY but I still keep ANIMATE installed into my computer so I can easily access my older animations that I've preserved in my Hard Drives such as my 18TB WD Easy store.

Maverick Update 02/03/2026-Adobe Animate's Discontinuation

I've read the news.

ADOBE will discontinue their ANIMATE software package on MARCH 1 2026 

and from what I've also read, people are not taking this very well due to how affordable and easy it is to use the software since they bought FLASH almost 10 years ago.

Doesn't faze me since I've stopped using ANIMATE back in January 2021 when I made the switch to TOONBOOM HARMONY PREMIUM.

But I understand how upset the community got when they hear that their 

favorite Animation Package(From a company with shady practices) Is leaving the Affordability space.

I highly doubt ADOBE will make their software OPEN-SOURCE but good luck on your CHANGE.ORG journeys. 

You all have my support to make ANIMATE Open-Source.

Meanwhile, I got to sign off and get back to working on TOON BOOM as I've got other projects that require me to work on the that software.

(And thankfully won't open MEDIA ENCODER every time I export my animations.)

So until your petitions are made a success,

KEEP UP THE GOOD DRAWINGS WITH YOUR CINTIQ TABLETS!

Maverick Quickie-The Real work starts February 2nd!!!!

Just an incredibly short Quickie for now but here it is:

After a false start I had with beginning my first shift at my new job due to an issue with my supervisor over an incident with a dog,

I'm actually starting my first REAL SHIFT as MAINTENANCE WORKER at my new job.

That will be it. No more delays.

My work starts now!

And... I sign off until the next blogpost.

Just Mickey-The 1930 Bottle Cartoon with Two Titles

In commemoration of multiple Mickey Mouse & Silly Symphonies cartoons from 1930 having entered the Public Domain back in January 1 2026,

here’s a treat:

JUST MICKEY

Or according to Disney themselves:

FIDDLING AROUND

Considering that the cartoon only features MICKEY MOUSE, let's just use the common name

JUST MICKEY.

As the title Suggests, 

Alright...

BROKEN RECORD JOKES OVER!!!

MICKEY MOUSE is just playing the Violin to an unseen but perfectly audible audience.

Why did this cartoon get made?

It could be because the budget was tight and was allocated to other cartoons like THE CHAIN GANG,

or it was because of the Great Depression of the 1930s, 

what with Wall Street crashing a year prior in 1929,

Or it was because it was a test to further evolve the emotions of Mickey Mouse himself.

Who knows.

But the way I have a hunch that this cartoon may have been made to be used as a test bed for things to come forth with the character but I haven't the slightest clue what it is.

It's so limited to just one setting and one character that it's not worth my time to just show screenshots so instead, I encourage you to just watch the cartoon via this provided link:

JUST MICKEY 1930 CARTOON

And yes, All my screenshots are from the now PUBLIC DOMAIN accessible Wikipedia .WBM print of this Cartoon.

Happy 10th Anniversary Pocket Morty's

It was almost exactly 10 years ago to this day, 

I was in the 12th Grade/My final year in High School.

I had the iPhone 5S as my primary Smartphone at the time period...

"Thanks goes to my Dad REUBEN MARTINEZ 

for sending me this phone for Christmas of 2015."

It was on that particular iPhone that I installed this game called 

Man did I have fun with this game while I was on the pangs of finishing High School.

The sheer fact that this is a homage to the Pokémon games, which by that point I was already awaiting the release of SUN & MOON for NINTENDO 3DS, 

It allowed for some level of exploration.

Although, it was kinda weird controlling RICK SANCHEZ around using nothing by the CAPACATIVE TOUCH SCREEN of my iPhone.

But at the same time, I didn't know of any LIGHTNING COMPATIBLE Game Controllers you could connect to the phone at the time period.

(Today's iPhones no longer use Lightning and instead use USB-C because of rules set by the EUROPEAN UNION.?)

I was going to post this on January 13 2026 but things in life happened.

On top of that, I nearly lost it when I got this notification from the game that it will cease any updates after April 13 2026.

...DAMMMIT ZASLAV!!!

Maverick Weather Update 01/26/2026

In this premiere edition of MAVERICK WEATHER, 

I present to you the state of things around my area in VANCOUVER, BC.

The weather?

Not too bad....

I'm saying this because I've been reading up about all the buzz surrounding the WESTERN HEMISPHERE COLD SNAP happening but so far, It seems that the areas where there's more elevation seem to be the most affected.

Here in Vancouver, Yes it is cold but so far, no weather issues pertaining to electricity and here in Vancouver, we don't have any snow at all. Just some frost.

This has to be just about the warmest January that we've had in the WEST COAST so far due to the lack of snow.

Looks like LA NINA isn't doing any favors for the weather this early 2026.

Anyhow, That's how it is.

I'm keeping track of the weather patterns and seeing how places in the more central or eastern parts of CANADA & Upper USA are dealing with the weather conditions so far.

(I didn't mention MEXICO because their weather is always consistent: WARM BALMY WEATHER.)

But regardless, This Mid-to-Late Winter might be a brutal one if you aren't prepared so STAY BUNDLED UP for the sake of your health and well being.

And remember to check the forecast on TV, Smartphone, Smartwatch, etc. for the latest weather updates.

This is Dan Martinez of MAVERICK WEATHER UPDATE signing off until the next one.  

Happy 65th Anniversary 101 Dalmatians-The one film who's art direction pissed off Walt himself but that same art direction was championed by the Nine Old Men.

65 years ago to this day as of this writing,

WALT DISNEY STUDIOS released a film to theaters that was at point before it premiered being viewed by the press as either a make or break film because it had been about 2 years since the release of SLEEPING BEAUTY which bombed in the box office due to things like the 1958 recession and the fact that it took the Disney Company almost an entire decade to complete due to disagreements with artists and filmmakers throughout the decade.

And yet, on that fateful Wednesday January 25th 1961, which was exactly 5 days after John Fitzgerald Kennedy was inaugurated as 35th President of the UNITED STATES, 

DISNEY released this one film that proved, that despite the rumors that the man would abandon animation in the wake of BEAUTY's box office failure in favor of theme parks and live action films, that same man would never abandon his pencil and acetate and remain dedicated to animation even after his own death to lung cancer in 1966.

(Barring replacing India Ink Pens in favor or Ink Toner Cartridges and Lithograph Plates.)

And this film, based on DODIE SMITH'S 1956 Novel, would be released to marvelous reviews and it also helped recouped BEAUTY's lost Production costs.

This film had a very contemporary look compared to all the other films from DISNEY at this point.

And by contemporary, I meant, it was a product of it's time which would be the early 1960s since this film was set in 1960s England.

And this was DISNEY's second film to be set in a modern setting.

DUMBO beat DALMATIANS by over 20 years prior in 1941.

To really accentuate the contemporary look for DALMATIANS when compared to the previous films, even the BACKGROUNDS have that NEW AGE 60s look.

That's not to say, WALTER ELIAS DISNEY himself was not that pleased with the final product.

As I've said in my previous posts about 101 Dalmatians, 

This film proved divisive within the company due to the art direction which was under the direction of one KEN ANDERSON.

In the 1960s, things in the animation space were changing for better or for worse.

Due to the fact that by the turn of the 60s, Animation was moving to Television due to taking advantage of the dominant method of watching the medium

Many former businesses that made their earnings with Cartoons that would be shown in theaters would be brought to an abrupt end for at least a little while until the 80s brought a different tack.

So many of these studios had to devise a different method to satiate the audiences needs.

also because of rising costs for both materials and artists' payrolls, 

(again we are talking about the Post-1958 recession recovery period)

 a new method to quicken the process was in founded and used for great effect:

XEROGRAPHY

I made a previous 2025 Update to my Xerography post which I'll provide a link below so you can get the gist of the whole shish kabab:

XEROGRAHY-The art of Photocopying drawings onto Animation Cels before Digital Animation took over in the early 1990s

But as said before, the Animation for Dalmatians necessitated the need to a way to quicken the process as well as lower the costs on producing the animation cels for the animation.

I've read and heard that the result of XEROGRAPHY for Dalmatians was not just a necessity but also the film's advantage on lowering the costs as well as making the inking much easier for the animators.

Just imagine having to ink the cels and deal with those goddamn spots.

Nobody could ink those spots for every frame by hand without driving yourself mad so Xerox was chosen because the Ink Toners and those Lithograph Plates relieved the stress on those animators.

This also resulted in giving the film a sketchy look that not only looks like an animated comic book but also complimented the film's contemporary 60s feel to the setting.

As said before, this also had an effect on the background art too.

Gone were the days of PAINTERLY TAPESTRY BGs from SLEEPING BEAUTY.

In came these BGs which looked like they came from a COMIC BOOK or a stylized magazine art piece.

How did they pull this off?

They just draw the outline for the BG.

They both get photocopied.

One copy goes to the people who paint the BG 

while the other copy goes to ones who XEROX the lines to overlay the line art on the painted BG

Therefore providing a unique look for an animated feature film

But WALT DISNEY himself hated the look of the film.

Why is that?

Well it's because WALT is notorious for being a stickler for detail and sticking true to his word.

He wants absolute perfection in the delicacy of the Hand-Inked Cel as were provided by the women who worked day and night hand-inking the animator's outlines while wearing anti-smudge gloves on their dominant hand.

Using this frame from PETER PAN(1953) for example of

Delicate Hand-Inked Colored Outlines that WALT DISNEY preferred in his work.

But anything post-1958 was dealt with rising costs due to things like the recession and the height of the Cold War preceding the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. 

So as a compromise, animation had no choice but to make the switch to UB IWERKS' patented XEROX Transfer process which printed the animation frames onto Lithograph plates and then transferred them to clear sheets of acetate celluloid.

But because of the cost of Color Ink Toners in a post-recession recovery environment, only Black Outlines could be afforded until color toners were realized in THE RESCUERS(1977).

So, them lithograph plates settled on these black toners.

But as seen below, the toners often copied the rough pencil outlines, even during cleanup of the animation, and yes, even the erased outlines during said cleanup.

WALT must have been very annoyed about how XEROX can also copy erased mistakes and leave it intact on the cels....

But that's what happens when you use tech that was originally meant for copying business documents and not for animation.

The nine-old men, and many animation fans, however championed this new look because not only does it preserve the animator's outline(though it really is the cleanup artists' line art) which in term makes the line art look more personal, which some fans prefer over India Inked outlines or even digital vector outlines.

(India Inked Line art can be personal but only to the inker)

((Digital Vector Lines can still be personal if there's no algorithm that evens out the lines.))

Another advantage that XEROX had over the previous system was that 3D OBJECTS were now more malleable to create in 2D Animation....

Not in a CGI sense since Computers at the time were still the size of a walk-in closet and required a teletype terminal to communicate, 

But rather in a Photography type of sense.

If you've seen how objects like CRUELLA's Car move around like a CG Object, then you know that how they actually pull that off was through the use of PHOTOGRAPHY.

First, the car is drawn as if it were being a design for a car company,

Then the drawings are passed down to the builders who construct that car with cardboard sheets, 

And then the car is brought in to a Blank set.

And the frames required for Cruella's Car are shot using a Live-Action Camera but shot one frame at a time

Some people might think this is cheating because the car isn't drawn FRAME-BY-FRAME like some people would prefer.

But building a CAR made of cardboard was not only a Novel Idea but it was also economical since it not only allowed the car to be 3D but also to retain a level of Rigidity on the outer frame of the car which is something that can't be done by hand due to the amount of slight motion a hand-drawn lineart can be.

Sure, the Cardboard 3D Vehicles also have some outline shimmering but that's a fault of the photographic exposure of the cameras used for said photography. 

The only thing that's still considered hand-drawn was the painting of the car because the car had to go through the same process of Xerox like the characters do so acrylic paint is still used for the car.

The same technique for vehicles would be used again for things like...

EDGAR's Motorcycle with Sidecar in THE ARISTOCATS(1970)

MADAME MEDUSA'S Swamp-mobile in THE RESCUER(1977)

WIDOW TWEED & AMOS SLADE's Cars in THE FOX & THE HOUND(1981)

(Which for some reason I can't find images right now.)

     (Looks like it's Avermedia Captures for me again.) 

 

All that CARDBOARD XEROX came to an end starting with MOUSE DETECTIVE as it was more malleable to print out WIREFRAMES onto paper before XEROGRAPHY.

One prime example CG WIREFRAME printouts that are used with Vehicles was with FAGIN's Motorcycle in OLIVER & COMPANY(1988)

101 Dalmatians is famous enough to have had admirers.

Amongst them is SIMPSONS creator MATT GROENING, 

Right down to making an episode about GREYHOUND PUPPIES

& yes,

even the late AKIRA TORIYAMA was a fan of the film.

In fact, 101 Dalmatians is so famous, that it spawned a franchise.

A live-action remake that spawned a revolution in remaking animated films into live-action for better or worse,

Brian Griffin wasn't kidding when he said

Glenn Close was VERY MEAN in this movie!

An animated Tv series created by DOUG Creator JIM JINKINS, 

another TV Series animated by the Canadian ATOMIC CARTOONS here in Vancouver.

Several Video Games & Spinoff movies & TV Shows are there to complete the package but the list would have been long and dry.

One can't deny that this film managed to be viewed as the most important of all animated films due to it's influences both to other creators and through it's way of navigating economics in the relative start of the 1960s.