I want to spy on my puppy while I'm at work.

November 17, 2008 12:19 PM

Can you please recommend an affordable and good USB webcam as well as easy-to-use monitoring software that can broadcast a streaming image or snapshots of my pup to a Web address?

Also, I would prefer the program not to clog my computer memory, obviously. I have a Dell notebook and run Windows Vista.

posted by bondgirl53001 to Technology (3 answers total)

Pretty much all of them will come with the software to do this. If by some chance they don't, a motion-detecting, FTP and HTTP uploading, automatically light-sensitive webcam monitoring app should cost you almost nothing.
posted by rhizome at 12:52 PM on November 17, 2008

If you have an always-on cable or DSL connection, you can use UStream.tv with just about any webcam to stream video all day for free. You can also password-protect the "show" if you wish. If your webcam has a microphone, you can hear your puppy, too. This is the setup we have, and it's worked very well for the last eight months or so to allow us to spy on our lazy dog all day. It's come in very handy on when she's been a little sick and we want to make sure she's okay.

For the webcam, I bought a $50 Microsoft Lifecam that had a rebate at the time. You may want to check some of the reviews over at CNet.
posted by arco at 1:07 PM on November 17, 2008

I almost forgot: One other advantage of UStream is that you don't need to install any special software to run it. Just make sure your webcam is plugged in when you click "Broadcast Now," and it will automatically detect it.
posted by arco at 1:10 PM on November 17, 2008