Builder Runs Live Webcam On Windows 3.11 Emulator Using AI-Generated Code

📸 Back in the early days of the internet webcams were actually available quite quickly and the first one was invented in 1991 at the University of Cambridge

Their first webcam was a famous "Coffee Camera" where people at the uni could see if the coffee pot was full or not, it ran for 10 years

But quickly after people started using webcams for communication too, doing video calls with each other, as it obviously felt much more personal than just text chat. But the internet was very slow then so it had low frame rates, think 1 frame per second or maybe even 1 frame per multiple seconds

I remember especially with MSN Messenger camming got big when I was in high school, you'd buy one for $30 usually from Logitech and connect it

Now we all have a webcam integrated in our laptops, and it's a normal part of how we work, doing 1-on-1 or Zoom calls

So I wanted to see if I could make modern webcams work on Windows 3.11 in your browser, so I asked Claude to generate its own WEBCAM.EXE while JavaScript pumps the Webcam feed from your computer into the DOS COM4 port

And it works! And you can even print your face 😊

Try it on http://pieter.com