Posted on 06/01/2003 3:54:11 AM PDT by microgood
I never considered myself a voyeur - until my husband wired our living room with our own network camera hooked to the World Wide Web.
Ever since, I have been watching my dad, dog, driveway, neighbors and mail carrier at all times of day, from work, parties and elsewhere, with an enthusiasm bordering on obsession.
Like most webcams, Panasonic's KX-HCM250 remains primarily geared for wealthy technocrats and small-business owners. Panasonic's camera hit the market in October 2001 with a suggested price of $750.
Prices have dropped since then, and Panasonic earlier this month eliminated the $40 annual fee to view live video from the camera on the Web. Prices for newer models may drop even more, and manufacturers are betting webcams will become as ubiquitous as gaming consoles and hand-held computers.
After one week of testing, I can see how the nifty KX-HCM250 or other webcams could become ubiquitous in living rooms across America. My network camera experiment was highly entertaining and simple to use once I got it working.
That's not to say the 4-pound camera is flawless.
I couldn't watch streaming video on Internet Explorer with its ActiveX feature disabled, a common setting because of security concerns. I had to use Netscape Navigator or find a computer with ActiveX enabled.
When it works, the video is jerky and grainy, but the gadget - which some online dealers are selling for $550 - compresses a huge amount of data and sends it with a delay of just one second. The price-to-quality ratio impressed me.
Installation was another matter. It seems to require an advanced degree in network engineering.
Product manager Mike Timar assured me that it would have been simpler with a Panasonic router, instead of the Linksys version we have. Even so, he acknowledged it wasn't easy, typically requiring up to an hour to figure out.
I gave up after 20 minutes.
An instruction manual translated badly from Japanese sent me screaming for my husband, Stephen. Though he can usually repair anything, the KX-HCM250 humiliated and nearly vanquished him. He got it to work, but it was a slog.
He first had to assemble the hardware, then adjust the settings of the camera, our computer and its networking equipment. He also had to take a crash course in port forwarding, which lets a router transfer Internet data to a device on a local network.
But once Stephen installed the KX-HCM250, it was so easy to use that my 10-year-old cousin monitored us from his home more than 2,000 miles away. A 7-year-old nephew said, "Wow! This would be great for spying!"
Luckily, Panasonic lets you create passwords to limit who can view the Web site, which is generated from the Web server built into the camera. Up to 30 people can watch simultaneously.
You can view videos from as many as 10 cameras from the same Web page. The KX-HCM250 also can send still photos to an e-mail address.
The camera has built-in features for sending video to your computer without wires using a standard WiFi wireless connection. If you attach an optical sensor to the camera, your Web browser will beep when the camera detects motion, sound or light.
The neatest feature is the ability to control the lens over the Internet. Visitors can click on arrows in their Web browser to scan the camera's 120-degree field of vision. The first visitor to use the pan or tilt buttons gets control of the lens, but as soon as that person stops, someone else can take over.
The roving lens, which looks like a plastic eyeball, emits a low whir whenever anyone's controlling the camera. The noise seemed creepy at first, considering we never knew which co-worker, friend or relative might be spying on us.
Eventually I became comfortable with the whirring lens. Now, whenever someone controls it remotely, I smile and ask our dog to perform a trick.
But I prefer voyeurism to exhibitionism.
I learned that our dog, Chalmers, rarely leaves our bedroom. The 9-year-old mutt springs into attack mode only in midafternoon, when a uniformed invader attempts to break in through the mail slot.
I also learned that my retired father - who recently moved in and boasts of his ability to complete crossword puzzles quickly - toils at the task for up to three hours each day. He frequently enlists the help of dictionaries. Like Chalmers, he spends much of the afternoon napping.
I was surprised how often I checked in - every hour or more when I was in front of a computer. Stephen and I even checked it at midnight at a party. The night vision wasn't good, but we could tell dad and dog were snoozing.
I'm sure the novelty will wear off in a few weeks, and I certainly don't need to monitor my sleeping roommates so zealously. But when prices hit $200, I might splurge on my own webcam.
Why would any sane person want this in their home, particularly for others to view?
Dumb.
Well, 'security' for one; and if you cannot BE there; and know if your children, animals. . .an aging parent, is ok; maybe at least a measure of comfort and safety for all.
Also a nice way to 'visit' and share; when miles separate family.
Ever since, I have been watching my dad, dog, driveway, neighbors and mail carrier at all times of day, from work, parties and elsewhere, with an enthusiasm bordering on obsession.
This women and her husband are nothing more than scummy lowdown peeping toms if they are peeping in on her father, neighbors, and mail carrier.
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