Software Recommendation of the Week

This week, I have been using ZoneMinder. ZoneMinder is a Linux video camera security and surveillance solution. The installation was a breeze on an Ubuntu 12.04 system, and I installed a couple of cameras and had the system recording within about 20 minutes. I have a camera set up in my garage, so I can check to make sure I remembered to close it when I left the house, and another camera at the front door so I can tell who rang the doorbell. One of my favorite features is the Timeline, as shown in the screen shot. When you mouse over one of the timelines, it shows an image of what was recorded during that block of time. If you click on that spot, it opens the recording in a new window for you to review. I am sure that I have only scratched the surface of the capabilities of this software, but if you want your own surveillance system, this is significantly better than any of the budget friendly ones I have seen yet. I even found a free app called IP Cam Viewer Basic to view live feeds on my android phone.