HomeCamera

I have been asked by HomeCamera to give a fair and impartial review of their product. Do you worry about security? Want to be sure that the babysitter is actually taking care of the kids?

Obviously, a home camera would help. But there are a lot of security systems on the market. Some of them are inexpensive and don't really work well. Others require an IT degree and cost a small fortune. In the middle is HomeCamera.com. an Internet home surveillance service; an easy-to-use (yet full-featured) home monitoring solution, that doesn't cost thousands of dollars or need a tech genius.

For me, there are several reasons to consider what HomeCamera offers.

First, I would say - ease of setup, use, and access. Sign up for free. Download the Windows-compatible web security software, enter your ID and password, pick a name for the camera (home, livingroom, etc.) and hit Connect. That's it! You're set. Now you can log in and view that camera's information from any computer, PDA, or mobile phone - any day, any time, from anywhere in the world.

Because of the WAP technology that HomeCamera uses to send pictures, you don't have to have an expensive mobile set-up. If you can receive pictures and video on your cell phone, you can access your security account. We have unlimited pictures on our phone, for a very minimal charge, so we're good to go on all of our phones. (God bless, T-Mobile! But that's another blog, altogether.)

Second, I would say - loads of features. This is not a watered down, limited function system. HomeCamera supports motion detection (pictures and videos can be sent to your email or your mobile phone), webcam sharing (so you can share access to your cameras with family members), time lapse recording (you can setup HomeCamera to automatically record pictures and videos from your webcams onto our server, and access your recordings at any time), and more!

You don't need a specific, expensive webcam. We just bought two really terrific little webcams for $3.00 each and HomeCamera works with them. Now, I don't know about you, but that is a serious plus to me, because I am very unlikely to use a service that forces me to purchase more hardware. Although - if you don't have a webcam - HomeCamera can help you choose one that will fit your budget. Just another major plus, in my book.

Lastly, you just can't beat the price - it's FREE! Yup, that's right! The system is in public beta right now, so HomeCamera isn't charging anyone to use their software and service. Obviously, one day, they will take the product commercial and charge users. But, for today, it's free and they've promised that [y]ou have our word that when we do go commercial, your service will NOT be terminated even if you do not subscribe to a paid account. All beta trialists will automatically receive a free "HomeCamera Lite" service, from which you can then optionally upgrade. We also commit that all our beta trialists will receive special offers on subscription and mobile access and that these prices will NOT be available to other users.

Frankly, I couldn't have found this website at a better time. Mark, as you know, is going in for surgery on the 12th and will be in ICU for at least 10 days. During that time, I will be spending most of my day at the hospital with him, leaving Michael to fend for himself - a fact that scares me almost as much as Mark's surgery. Imagine my relief, knowing that I can download this system and see, any given time of the day, exactly what's going on at home. And, I just realized, Mark can tune in from the hospital after I have to come home at night, and see what we're doing. Now that's peace of mind all the way around.

Not to mention, this will put my mind at ease, if we decide to take a vacation or need to all be away at the same time. Because we live in an iffy neighborhood, we tend to have someone at home at all times. Now, that worry is lifted.

Give them a look - HomeCamera - I think that you'll be impressed with what you find. I certainly was.

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We look forward to seeing you online.

God Bless!

Jules