SecuritySpy

I have been looking at some webcam software for Mac OS X.  There are a few features that I was looking for:

• Capture video when motion is detected.


• Be able to email pictures when motion is detected


• Ability to log in to see current video from remote location.

I tried several other programs, but none of them worked well.  Then I tried the free trial of SecuritySpy, and really liked it.  It can be configured for simultaneous webcams and network cameras.  It also has a built in web server to server the current video, and see the video and pictures that had been captured in the past.

Linksys firmware upgrades with tftp

I have been having problems upgrading our Linksys BEFSX41 to the latest version of the firmware.  While in the process of flashing the new version of the software, the web page refreshes to a missing page.  Once that happens, the web interface of the router doesn't respond.  This happens with Firefox and Safari on the Mac, and with Firefox and Internet Explorer on Windows

The instructions on this page worked perfectly.  The command line tftp tool on Mac OS X upgraded the router seamlessly.  I used the instructions were the password is specified on the command line.  (There is a space between the end of the file name and "octet".)

FON

FON was having a special promotion for their one year anniversary, where they were giving away free Fonera routers, so I decided to sign up for one.  I have been intrigued with the the Fon "movement", where you create an open WiFi network to share your broadband connection.  Those who share their broadband, can get free wireless access any any other Fon wireless network.  I see the sharing of your broadband connection as similar to leaving your bittorrent client running after a download finishes.  These types of sharing  create a sense of community

I am not sure how sustainable their business model is.  Fon is relying on people putting these routers on their broadband connection.  Some ISPs are OK with sharing broadband connections, like SpeakEasy.  And other ISPs are partnering with Fon, like British Telecom.  Most other ISPs do not allow this type of sharing.  This could potentially cause your broadband connection to be terminated, if the ISP finds out.

opendiff/FileMerge for svn

The Mac OS X developer tools includes FileMerge, which is a pretty nice file comparison tool.  When I wrote the subversion diff wrapper script, I wanted to be able to use FileMerge as the diff tool, but I wasn't able to get it to work.

I didn't realize that opendiff was a provided command line tool that allow this to work.  Out of the box, when I configure the wrapper script to use opendiff, one instance of FileMerge is opened for every file that has been modified.

This hint on macosxhints, describes a way to have opendiff wait for a diff to be closed before the next file comparision is started.

Half price .Mac Family Pack

I got an email from MegaMacs.com stating that they are selling a .Mac family pack for half the price that Apple does, until Feburary 26th.

smcFanControl 2.0

A new version of smcFanControl has been released.  The 2.0 version includes:

1. Minimal UI - doesn't appear in the dock, but shows up as a menu item (displaying temperature and fan rpm)


2. Automatic adjustment for being powered or using battery


3. Multiple setting that can be selected on the fly.

I have updated the version running on the Mac mini, and have now installed it on my Mac Book Pro.  The concerns that I had previously, where the fan was always too loud, are now not a problem, as I can have different settings for different situations.

iMage Webcam

I wanted to get a web cam that would work with Mac OS X, without any additional drivers.  Apple recommends using the iSight or other DV cameras for use with their video tools.  I didn't want to buy a iSight, as I don't think it is worth the money.

The iMage webcam is  USB web cam that works with Mac OS X, without any additional drivers.  The quality is very good, and it works seamlessly with iChatAV, Skype and other web cam software.