For all the frustrated Dell customers out there who purchased Dell computers which shipped with Dell Webcam Central, only to have the application stop working with the integrated webcam ("Please plug in a supported webcam"), here's the link to a recent version of the Dell Webcam Central application:

This is version 1.40.05.  It is the full install, not an upgrade, and includes the "Live! Cam Avatar Creator" software.  I installed this package on my Inspiron 1012 running Windows XP Home, and it works perfectly.  It is also the same version that shipped with my Studio 1558 running Windows 7 64-bit.

I'm not absolutely sure, but I believe the problem is caused when Windows Automatic Updates installs a new version of the integrated webcam driver (it is a Microsoft driver).  The old version of Webcam Central (such as 1.06 and earlier) does not recognize the upgraded driver.

Don't bother downloading the "DellWebcamSW" that Dell Technical Support keeps trying to direct me to via "tinyurl.com"  (http://ftp.us.dell.com/app/DellWebcamSW.exe) -- it is an even older version than what shipped with my Inspiron 1012 and therefore won't even install.

Dell really needs to get their technical support act together, at least when it comes to software.  They have had me download Dell Webcam Central (at least three or four times), they have sent me a Dell Webcam Central installation CD, they even sent me a new, pre-imaged hard drive.  The downloads and CD always contained the same version that came shipped with my 1012, or even older, even though I told them I needed a newer version, and the new hard drive did not even have the application installed (I sent the new drive back and kept my old drive).

And don't bother looking for it on the Drivers and Downloads site (either by service tag or computer model).  It's not there, either for my Inspiron 1012 or my Studio 1558, or for any other computer model I looked at.  (The Inspiron 1012 list does not even include all the same drivers that my computer requires.)