How to set up an always-on webcam

photo by mofetos

Before you even read this post, let me make something clear: This is a very geeky project that will not be even remotely interesting to most of you. Save yourself the trouble and skip it.

Still with me? Okay, let's get started. 

This is a project I completed recently as a pure proof of concept. I wanted to see if I could do it and how hard it would be. The answers are "yes" and "surprisingly easy." Here's the idea: set up a dedicated PC somewhere in your house with a webcam that automatically takes snapshots every so many seconds and uploads them directly to an FTP server. There are many reasons why you might want this, from home security to pointless fun.

7 Android apps you've never heard of

If you read any popular tech blogs, you've no doubt seen lots and lots of lists detailing the best Android apps. Usually, though, these lists tend to focus on apps that are already hugely popular like Google Sky Map, Pandora, or Aldiko.

But there are lots of apps that most people have likely never heard of. These are great apps that lots of users would probably benefit from, but if nobody tells them the apps exist, they'll never be able to take advantage of the cool features these apps bring. So, I would like to share 7 very useful apps that most of you reading this are probably quite unaware of.

Each app has a QR code link with it. You can use the Barcode Scanner app to scan the QR code and be taken immediately to the Market.

Portal 2 wallpapers

I was a very late arrival to the Portal party, having just finished the first game a few months ago. But I'm hooked now and am currently redoing the levels trying to beat my own times. As such, I am extremely excited about the upcoming Portal 2.

Valve released an official trailer this week (if you haven't seen it, you're missing out). I took some screengrabs from the trailer to make a few wallpaper-quality images. They turned out better than I expected, so I thought I'd share them with all of my readers. 

You can download the full-resolution versions in the Picasa Web Album. Enjoy!

Android home replacement: LauncherPro

One of the biggest benefits of the Android operating system is customization. From homescreen widgets to wallpapers, it's extremely easy to make the phone look and behave exactly how you prefer. 

A very easy way to do this is by using one of the dozens of homescreen replacements available on the Market. Some, like Helix or Home++ have been around for a while, but a relative newcomer is LauncherPro. 


All Android users should give this one a try. It's free, extremely fast, and brings a wealth of features without drastically changing the look and feel. Even on the dated G1, it's very fast (definitely faster than the stock launcher). It provides a zooming effect on the app drawer, as well as 3D app scrolling, elastic bounce when swiping, etc. 

Post to Wave from Google Reader

The Google Wave team gave us a nice feature update yesterday in the form of a Wave This button. Website creators can now place the button on their site and visitors can immediately share the page with their Wave contacts for discussion.

In another recent post on this topic, I shared instructions for sharing to Buzz and QR Codes straight from Reader's excellent Send to feature. Now, using the new Wave This code, here is how you set up Wave sharing in Reader.

From the main Google Reader page, click Settings in the top right, then Reader settings. Click the Send to tab. At the very bottom, click Create a custom link. In the boxes that appear, enter the following:



Name: Wave
URL: https://wave.google.com/wave/wavethis?u=${url}&t=${title}
Icon URL: http://goo.gl/NpIx

That's it! You can now send links from Reader straight to Wave and immediately start discussions with your friends.

The phone upgrade mindset

The mobile phone has evolved at a breakneck pace over the last several years. Smartphones have, of course, been around for a long time and I've owned and used them since the early 2000s. The notion of a phone that can  do more than make phone calls is far from new. But smartphone popularity has risen sharply over the past few years, and the public's awareness and knowledge of them has increased as well.

This sudden increase in popularity has led to a veritable flood of smartphones on the market. And there are millions upon millions of people using them. From Android, to iPhones, to BlackBerrys, the number of smartphones sold daily is staggeringly high and has led to a whole new mindset surrounding what a "phone" is and should be.