Catching the Bad Guys Red Handed
I don't want to scare anybody, but you have to be careful out there – and inside as well.
Most of us hate to think about it, but crime is a fact of everyday life. And crime is up; not too long ago, many of us lived in neighborhoods where you didn't have to lock the door (I know it sounds strange to new immigrants, but just ask veteran Israelis). Unfortunately, those days are probably gone forever. Naturally, we all seek ways to protect our homes and families. Some people – in fact, a lot of people - go for “burglar bars” (soragim). But bars ruin your view and are far from foolproof. The alternative, of course, is a burger alarm. But both alarms and bars can be very expensive.
Hence the subject of this column. You can set up a comprehensive security system throughout your house for very little money, with the help of your PC – and one or more Webcams. Although they don't make noise or keep out bad guys, Webcams can be used to set up a surveillance system, and with signs displayed in a prominent place, the cams may turn out to be just as effective a deterrent to crime as the “big boy” systems. Don't think they work? Well, a Webcam surveillance system caught some thieves red-handed earlier this year.
If computer equipment could be compared to neighborhoods in a big city, Web cams would be in the “red light district” - that's the reputation they have. And where there's smoke, there's fire – the truth of the matter is that we mostly hear about Web cams being used for the kind of stuff we try to keep away from the kids. Add to that the usually stiff and low quality pictures transmitted by Web cams, and most people say “feh” when asked whether they have one. True, they are useful for setting up live video chats with friends and family, but with the proliferation of digital video and digital cameras that can take short (usually up to 3 minutes) of video, which are much higher quality than what you get with a cam, the popularity of those little orbs has waned dramatically in the last couple of years – and the low prices Web cams demand reflect that unpopularity.
But forget their iffy reputation and iffy video performance – Web cams have other features that can give them a place of honor in your electronics stable. Most Web cams, for example, can take still photos, and software which we will describe can take a still photo when the camera detects movement, zip it up an e-mail it somewhere, buzzing your cell phone with an SMS alert to boot. And if you invest in Wi-fi Web cams, the sky's the limit – you can build a full service surveillance system that cam keep an eye on every corner of your house.
Of course, you need a Webcam, or a bunch of Webcams, in order to get this done. There's a cam for every purse, but of course, the more you spend, the more you get for the money. Simple no-name cams cost as little as $10 these days, while “professional” cameras cost between $50 - $100. Many of the cams in that price range can do all sorts of tricks, like panning and turning, which make them far more effective in performing surveillance in a given area. Then there are wireless Webcams, which range from $200 and up. They of course have the advantage of “travelling” anywhere in the house and usually have all the bells and whistles, including panning and tilting.
But the guts of a Webcam surveillance system is in the software, which can make the equipment go a long way. A plain vanilla Web cam costing NIS 50, for example, can be attached to the USB port of a computer and controlled with a software application like the highly rated PC-Alarm and Security System. With this program, you can set your cam to automatically “perk up,” take a picture and send a message when the microphone detects sound in the room (like when an intruder enters).
You may have to experiment a bit in order to make sure the camera can distinguish between the buzzing of the refrigerator and the sound of objects being stuffed into a sack by a thief. It will also automatically e-mail a picture when the Webcam's software detects someone within range of the camera. And, the program will even dial a phone number and play an alert that a picture was e-mailed, if the computer is connected to a phone line. For $20, you get a pretty complete piece of surveillance software.
Of course, there's always a cheaper way to do things, and you can get many of the same features in the freeware WebcamFirst, which can also do motion detection, scheduled image capture, and uploading of pictures to a Web site via ftp,or copying over a network. It does not, however, send e-mail – for that you have to get the shareware version - but you can use the freeware version and write a script with an e-mail utility like Blat, a command line e-mail program that integrates well with other applications, working in tandem with them to move files.
Both these programs support only a single Webcam on a USB port, but Jaxcam supports a nearly unlimited number of cams, which would be a great way to really keep an eye on things. All you need is a couple of USB splitters – preferably with their own source of power - and appropriately long USB cables to extend tour cameras' coverage as far as you need. Jaxcam (which costs $25) will also e-mail you files and send you an alert when it does, and will also alert you if someone gets too close to the host PC or plays with the keyboard. Somehow, when you call up and tell the cops that someone is robbing your house right now, they get into action and try to catch the bad guy on the spot - and thanks to your Webcam surveillance system, you may just get better service from the men in blue.
digital.
newzgeek.
com
uodated June 1, 2009
del.icio.us
Furl
digg this!
