iCam
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Popular iCam app gets a big brother with a lot more features
I've really enjoyed using the iCam app (US$4.99) over the years. It lets me remotely view the webcams in my house, helping me keep track of my parrot and make sure no one is breaking in. The old iCam is still for sale, but it now has a sibling in the form of iCam Pro (free, but a subscription will most likely be needed). It adds a lot of features, like support for wide aspect ratio cameras, improved quality and frame rate, and sound detection and recording, as well as auto network detection for setting it up. You can automatically start a recording on the detection of motion or sound, or start recording manually. The iOS iCam Pro app is universal. The downside is that you need to have a monthly or lifetime subscription if you want to access the cameras away from your own network. The prices aren't that steep; $0.99 a month or $9.99 for a lifetime subscription, which seems the better deal. As with the original iCam, you need to have server software running on your Mac or Windows home computer. That software, called iCamSourcePro, is free. The developers have a handy chart that compares iCam to iCam Pro. In my experience, the iCam and iCamPro software can connect to almost any webcam. I can easily see my D-Link and Linksys wireless webcams, and also get a connection to the Logitech webcam attached to my desktop Mac. It's also possible to connect to built-in webcams on Windows and Mac computers. Support from the iCam people has always been quick and helpful for those needing it. I'm happy to report that the non-subscription iCam app will not be killed off for those wanting to keep using what they have. This new iCam Pro app is very full-featured and works as advertised. It requires iOS 7 or later, and the iCamSource Pro software needs to run on Windows 7 or later or Mac OS X 10.7 or later.
Man watches his home being burglarized via his iPhone
The AP is reporting the story of a Dallas man who went out of town to visit relatives 1400 miles away in Hartford, Conn. While he was there, he got an alert from his iCam app, which was running on his iPhone, that motion had been detected in his house. It turned out to be two intruders that were trying to get in; they eventually threw a brick through a glass door to gain access. He called 911, and the next motion alert he received was the arrival of police officers with guns drawn. It isn't clear from the story if the burglars got away with any loot, but iCam certainly did work, and it relayed the important message to the owner of the house. We've reviewed iCam before. I use it to keep an eye on the house and pets when I'm away, and for the cost of US $4.99 (plus the money for a couple of webcams), it really is a great low-cost security system. The software can be set to take a rapid series of still photos when motion is detected, so the police should get some shots of the burglars, which will help make a case when and if they nab them. [via the Dallas Morning News]
Two days without an iPhone
Last week I went and did it. I reserved the new iPhone. I'll pick it up Thursday morning. To keep the purchase price cheap, I sold my old one to Nextworth, one of a few firms that gives good deals on used electronics. I sent it in yesterday to make sure it got there in time, because they want it postmarked within a week of the price quote. Two days, I thought. I can get along without my iPhone for 2 days, right? Silly me. I hadn't realized how dependent I'd become on that little fella. I grabbed a bite out for lunch and realized that I had no New York Times to read while I dined. No emails. No using iCam to check the household parrot. I felt utterly and absolutely naked. Worse, I kept reaching up to my pocket to grab my non-existent phone. Yikes!
iCam updated, now records video when motion is detected
I have always really liked iCam [iTunes link]. It will certainly be on my 'best iPhone apps of the year' list. Now it's been updated to automatically record video when it detects motion, and it allows you to play it back on your iPhone. This was a much requested feature, and in my testing it worked like a champ. iCam can use almost any webcam to monitor a location. I use my built-in camera on my MacBook Pro, and a Linksys wireless webcam to monitor my pet bird. I can set either camera to send an alert if they detect motion, and now, with the new feature, the software takes a very quick succession of stills (several images per second) that I can view right from my iPhone wherever I may be. You just hit the play button and you can see what or who set off the recording. You can remotely turn on the image recording, and even the motion detection notifications. All this in a U.S. $4.99 app. To make it all work you'll need some software running on your PC or Mac, and that software is free for the downloading. If you have the cameras, iCam makes for a complete and low cost home security system. Setup does not require any firewall tinkering. It just works. You can monitor up to 4 webcams, and see them all simultaneously on your iPhone. To get everything up and running you'll need an iPhone or iPod touch with OS 3.0 or above, the iCam app, and iCam Source for your home computer. The software runs on Windows XP/Vista/7 or OS X 10.4 or later. Here's a link to a video so you can see how it works. Just the thing to keep track of the house/kids/pets over the holidays, or any time.
iCam brings video from home to the iPhone
I was intrigued by Lauren's post the other day where she briefly talked about using the iCam phone app [App Store] to do some baby monitoring. I wondered what else I could do with this US$4.99 app, so I gave it a try with great results.One nice thing about iCam is it can integrate up to 4 live video streams on your iPhone, even if the cameras are stand alone webcams or cams attached to different computers. In my case, I had a D-link webcam, a desktop mac with a Logitech webcam, and my MacBook Pro with a built in iSight camera. I was able to bring all 3 onto a single screen on my iPhone and keep an eye on my house and parrot while I was out for dinner. Here is the setup. You have to download an app called iCamSource to run on each computer that hosts a camera. It's free. If your computer is hosting 2 cameras, you make a duplicate of the app and run it in a second instance. In my case, my desktop machine had the attached USB webcam, and I was also linking to the D-Link camera that has a built in web-server and a device specific IP address.With the USB webcam, it was easy to find in the software by name. You enter a unique user name and password. For the second webcam, the D-link, I had to specify an IP address, followed by the required code to bring that camera up. Each webcam does it a bit differently. I asked the iCam support people, and after a few tries we found the right combo for that particular camera. Support responses were very quick, by the way.
The mighty mini, take two: DIY video baby monitor
What do you get when you combine a new parent on maternity leave with a love of gadgets and Apple products? Why, you get "baby monitor overkill!" In response to Dave Caolo's recent ode to the Mac mini, I figured it was time to step up. I had two things gathering dust: my old standalone iSight, a gorgeous example of Apple design sadly idle since the advent of built-in iSights, and a lovely new Intel Mac Mini that was recently scored on sale at MicroCenter with plans to set it up for my older two kids once I could get my hands on a small LCD monitor. I figured in the meantime it would serve nicely as a baby monitor, since I couldn't find a matching transmitter/receiver pair among the various baby monitors I had accumulated over the years. My idea was that it would live discreetly, headless and tailless (monitor, keyboard, and mouse-free) in the baby's room, and broadcast both locally on my network and also wide-area so grandparents could tune in remotely. For the initial setup, I needed a monitor, but fortunately my TV has a PC (VGA) port, which I used to configure the mini. I set it to login automatically to the main account and join my Airport network. In System Preferences, I enabled screen sharing and added iChat as a login item. In iChat, I enabled Bonjour and instant messaging, added myself as a buddy, and restricted chats to preapproved users under security preferences. Because I didn't want to connect via screen sharing every time I wanted to initiate a chat, I typed the following into Terminal so that it would auto-accept any incoming video chats: defaults write com.apple.ichat AutoAcceptVCInvitations 1 After that, I set it adrift on the network. From my main computer, I watched the mini pop up on Bonjour after reboot, and we were off and running. While this worked great for my own local use, it had some inherent restrictions: remote users (aka "grandparents who love to watch sleeping grandsons") couldn't join the chat easily. Spouses at work had issues with company restrictions on AIM. Plus, it was iPhone-unfriendly; the holy grail for me was turning the iPhone into a video terminal that followed me around. I went through a few different ideas: private channel on Justin.tv (great for multiple viewers, but awash in advertising, restricted at work, and unavailable on iPhone), Skype (great video, automatic call acceptance and limited iPhone capabilities, but terrible for multiple viewers), and complicated setups involving QuickTime Broadcaster. Not wanting to reinvent the wheel (well, no more than I already was doing), I hit upon SJKM's iCam software, which is an iPhone application & accompanying cross-platform video streaming tool specifically designed for video monitoring, available in the iTunes store for $4.99. Initially dismissed for lack of audio, it has since enabled audio monitoring and non-iPhone web access, making it an almost perfect setup. Why "almost?" Well, for reasons I cannot quite figure out, the video is much choppier than AIM, Bonjour, Justin.tv, or Skype. But it works over 3G and Wi-Fi, and it connects multiple viewers without requiring conference setup. And now, with SJKM's latest update, iCam can run in the background and push notification will alert me to sound or video motion. I have not yet enabled that feature, as it is a $.99 add-on and still pending Apple approval in the store. Ultimately, I ended up using a variety of different applications, but I can report a lot of very satisfied relatives dreamily cooing at the computer screens from Portland, OR, to Philadelphia, PA. All thanks to the mac mini and the standalone iSight. And one very cute baby (if I do say so myself.)Upcoming: that's great, but can you make it work in the dark? Adventures in IR.....
