Movino: DIY Home Surveillance System?

There is a topic at PhilMUG that discusses the Nokia E61/E61i and that particular thread has been a treasure trove for download junkies like me. One of the recent applications that was mentioned in PhilMUG's E61 thread is Movino.

Movino is a free and open source software that allows iSight-less Macs to use a cellphone's built-in camera as a "mobile" webcam. It is compatible with Skype and other chat clients. This is accomplished by installing the main Movino program to the Mac. Then install the Movino application to a compatible cellphone. Once both programs are running, the movie clip is transmitted to the Mac via BlueTooth. Movino also supports wi-fi but I haven't tried it yet.

Initially, I tried the set up with my Nokia E61i and it worked like a charm! The movie clip that was recorded using Movino even had sound! Then I tried to download and install the Movino Java program to my Moto RAZR V3X and it also worked. The picture from the RAZR was smaller and a bit jerky but it was still viewable.

The movie clip can be routed to a web server on the Mac, allowing it to be viewed from virtually anywhere in cyberspace.

My MacBook already has a built-in iSight so I plan to repurpose my Movino set up as some sort of a security webcam. I rarely use my Moto RAZR V3X and I think I can rig it so I can record whatever's happening in my backyard.

technorati tags:cellphone, apple, macbook, movino, surveillance

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