Virtual Voyeur : Webcams Make All The World A Stage

Jennifer Ringley leads a normal life.relativly normal,anyway. The Dickinson College graduate, who now makes her home in Washington,D.C. working as a web site designer maintains a routine much like the rest of us - she comes home, showers, reads the mail, prepairs meals, surfs the net, and turns in for the night. All to awaken the very next day and begin all over again.

What sets Jennifer apart is the extreme amount of company that drops by on a daily basis to check in on her goings-on. Even when she's away from home visitors come by even if it's just to view her empty apartment. By night she sleeps with a light on, just so you wont have to strain your eyes in the dark when you come over to watch her snooze. Don't worry, you won't wake her - you or the thousands of others who happen by JenniCam, one of the internet's most popular and pioneering webcams.

Begun in 1995 while attending school, Jennifer has wired her home to show periodic shots of her daily life. Pop on and you might see her relaxing on he bed reading a book, another day you might catch her in front of her computer, munching an apple.

Making your life an open book to the masses is not for the introvert, however, and being on display like a barbie doll in storefront window can take some getting used to by even the most outgoing. "When I first started I was really shy," says Jennifer. "I would wear two nightgowns and run across the room to get changed. But after two weeks I started doing things more natural."

Jennifer's popularity has enabled her to charge $15 a year for access to members, although guests are welcome by for free.

The internet's version of "The Truman Show" and "EDTV" originated in England in 1991 when students at Cambridge University's Trojan computer lab installed a video camera in front of a coffee pot located in a second floor break room. When a fresh pot was ready, those working on the higher floors could cast a glance at their screens and dash downstairs for a cup and avoid a wasted trip. Care to see what's brewing for yourself? click here for a view of the world famous coffee cam.

Cruiseing the streets of Aspin,Colorado, Jon Barnes has taken the webcam to a whole new level. Why hail just any cab when for $95 per half hour when you can embark on a "journey of the senses" where high tech meets the open road.

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