Oct 22 2003
SubRosasoft HomeGuardian
Version 2 of HomeGuardian introduces multi-camera support and audio detection along with general improvement.
If you are new to HomeGuardian, you’ll be impressed by its flexibility. Motion and sound detection trigger alerts that can email, FTP, activate a siren or load the images, sound files or movies onto your Mac’s own web server.
The key to any webcam security software is the ability to adjust to different conditions. With HomeGuardian, you not only have the ability to change reporting options, you also have accurate control over the sensitivity levels of the monitoring element. This is key as every application of HomeGuardian is different.
In my testing experience, I shot through a glass window at a doorway 30 feet away. With several rounds of refining, I was able to set the sensitivity appropriately and monitor the scene from afar.
My one warning: you will need to give yourself time to set up and test the software. Though HomeGuardian has an automatic noise tolerance feature, you may want to go manual on special applications like shooting through glass. If you go the manual route, adjust the slider until you are getting activity on both meters.
Also, if you are protecting, say your Xserve cluster you will want to use HomeGuardian as a supplemental security system. HomeGuardian is good, but it will not replace an ADT system.
HomeGuardian is an excellent way to put your USB webcam to work. It is simple to administer and effective. Its uses are endless. Use it to watch over your kids at home or add an aquarium webcam to your website. HomeGuardian is a perfect choice for OS X users that have USB webcams with no OS X software.
What could improve HomeGuardian? Refining of the motion detection settings is really the only thing I can complain about. I’m sure the folks at SubRosasoft have some other interesting things up their sleeves.
HomeGuardian is $35 and includes a complementary copy of ComputerGuardian (a stolen Mac tracker).
