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WEB CAMERA OFFERS REMOTE CONTROL

Any video camera that transmits its images over the Internet for remote viewing is referred to as a "webcam." Webcams are all over the Internet. In fact, you can find webcams looking at just about anything you can think of and then some. Examples of webcams I've seen include cameras looking at someone's fish tank (fish cam), watching street intersections (street cam), staring at the contents of someone's refrigerator (fridge cam) and sock drawer (sock cam), checking to see what's being offered and what's left in a vending machine (vend cam), poised over a litter box (kitty cam) and on it goes. Whether it's interesting or not, it seems that people just love pointing webcams at just about anything and putting it up on a web site for anyone's viewing enjoyment. Just try doing a search on the word "webcam" and you'll be amazed at what you can be watching at any given moment. Webcams are like little animated windows to the world.

Aside from the frivolous and sometimes ingenious locations one can find a webcam, you'll discover they can also be quite practical. Properly configured, webcams offer a high tech yet inexpensive method of remote surveillance. For example, webcams allow parents to remotely watch their children at home. And many schools now offer webcams so that parents with the proper passwords can monitor their children from home and at work.

Many of today's webcams are quite small, around the size of a golf ball. Most webcams come with software and connect to a computer via the USB port. Some models are cordless and can transmit their images to a receiver that connects to a computer. But until recently, if you wanted to cover a larger area within a room, you needed to place multiple webcams. And while that always remains an option, X10 has come up with something that enables a single webcam to see more of what's going on. X10's Ninja Pan 'n Tilt Xcam2 is a cordless color web camera that offers a 60 degree field of vision that will pan horizontally 240 degrees left and right and tilt vertically 130 degrees. Operating on the same 2.4 gigahertz frequency used by cordless telephones, X10 says the Ninja provides 4 times the area of their regular webcam.

Using the included Scan Pad Remote software, you can remotely control the movement of the camera over the Internet to monitor whatever is within the viewing area. The tiny motor provides a movement that is virtually silent and very smooth. Via an ordinary browser, you see a directional arrow on each side of the video image. Simply click on the arrow and the camera moves in the corresponding direction. It couldn't be easier. A nice touch is the addition of a "Center" button that will automatically return the camera to its original centered position. The single receiver unit that attaches to a computer can discriminate the frequencies from up to four different cameras allowing you to see and control four different Ninja webcams with a wireless range of up to 100 feet from the computer.

Additional options are available such as motion control sensors that will activate the camera only if motion is detected, and software that can send an email alerting you that a camera has been activated.

Check the X10 web site for pricing and available options.

www.x10.com/ca