 Webcams are pretty much everywhere now. You just don't buy them anymore. They come built into your laptop lid and the front of your phone. But cameras designed solely to stream video are still here and they're adding features you normally find in home security systems. For about $200, you can get one that can record a day or even a week of footage. It doesn't do everything a home security system can, but it's getting close. The best one out there right now is the Dropcam Pro. It's a small camera with a built-in stand that connects over Wi-Fi. For $200, plus about $100 a year, it will record and store a full week of footage in the cloud. You can watch it on your phone or computer and even turn it into a live webcam if you want to transform your living room or just your fish tank into a reality show. But more importantly, Dropcam does the best job of telling you what it's seeing and the most ways to customize your alerts. You can set up zones around your house for it to keep an eye on things like your front door or windows. You can set up alerts to go off only when it sees something in those zones, while ignoring everything else. Dropcam can also use your location, so it only starts recording when you leave your house. If there are any drawbacks, it's that Dropcam's 720p video stream takes its toll on your monthly internet use. Another thing to consider is the price of the service. Using one of these cameras is about half the price of the hardware every year. Now, if you want to save $50 up front and potentially more on the price of storing recordings in the cloud, you should check out ARKSOFT's $150 Simplicam. It does close to everything that Dropcam does, plus facial detection. So beyond telling you if something moved, it can look for eyes, nose, and a mouth. What I like best about the Simplicam is that you can do everything on the app that you can do on the website. There's no difference. That means creating, saving, and sharing clips. The other great thing is that there's a one-day plan that costs $49 a year. Unless you're going on vacation and end up having your house broken into, that's a great amount of space. It isn't as sharp as the Dropcam Pro, and it's not as wide. You're missing out on programmable zones to track and monitor activity, and things like Bluetooth, which Dropcam uses to make setting up easier on your smartphone, isn't there. If these things matter to you, you should spend a little extra on the Dropcam. Now if you don't want to spend anything on the service, there's Belkin's $130 Netcam HD+. Like the Dropcam Pro, it's got an all-glass lens that captures sharp video. The big difference is that you're not going to pay for the recording service, at least for now. The downside? The interface is a little crummy, and the notifications aren't as useful as what you get on these other cameras. One last thing. If you're looking for something a little closer to an actual security system, there's Piper. For $199, you get a 180-degree fisheye lens, an actual motion detector, and a siren for scaring thieves away. It can also control the lights in your house, run for two to three hours on batteries, and will even keep an eye on the temperature. This all sounds great, but I found the mobile software fussy, and right now the only way to check things out is on the app and not on a website. None of these things are as good as keeping an eye on your home as a human or a robot someday, but until then, this is about as good as you're gonna get without buying a full-fledged alarm system. Dropcam does a lot of the same stuff, but cheaper. Right now, there are a million options out there, but Dropcam's the best. can't
 Webcams are pretty much everywhere now.
 You just don't buy them anymore.
 They come built into your laptop lid
 and the front of your phone.
 But cameras designed solely to stream video are still here
 and they're adding features you normally find
 in home security systems.
 For about $200, you can get one that can record a day
 or even a week of footage.
 It doesn't do everything a home security system can,
 but it's getting close.
 The best one out there right now is the Dropcam Pro.
 It's a small camera with a built-in stand
 that connects over Wi-Fi.
 For $200, plus about $100 a year,
 it will record and store a full week of footage in the cloud.
 You can watch it on your phone or computer
 and even turn it into a live webcam
 if you want to transform your living room
 or just your fish tank into a reality show.
 But more importantly, Dropcam does the best job
 of telling you what it's seeing
 and the most ways to customize your alerts.
 You can set up zones around your house
 for it to keep an eye on things like your front door or windows.
 You can set up alerts to go off only when it sees something
 in those zones, while ignoring everything else.
 Dropcam can also use your location,
 so it only starts recording when you leave your house.
 If there are any drawbacks,
 it's that Dropcam's 720p video stream
 takes its toll on your monthly internet use.
 Another thing to consider is the price of the service.
 Using one of these cameras is about half the price
 of the hardware every year.
 Now, if you want to save $50 up front
 and potentially more on the price of storing recordings
 in the cloud, you should check out
 ARKSOFT's $150 Simplicam.
 It does close to everything that Dropcam does,
 plus facial detection.
 So beyond telling you if something moved,
 it can look for eyes, nose, and a mouth.
 What I like best about the Simplicam
 is that you can do everything on the app
 that you can do on the website.
 There's no difference.
 That means creating, saving, and sharing clips.
 The other great thing is that there's a one-day plan
 that costs $49 a year.
 Unless you're going on vacation
 and end up having your house broken into,
 that's a great amount of space.
 It isn't as sharp as the Dropcam Pro,
 and it's not as wide.
 You're missing out on programmable zones
 to track and monitor activity,
 and things like Bluetooth,
 which Dropcam uses to make setting up
 easier on your smartphone, isn't there.
 If these things matter to you,
 you should spend a little extra on the Dropcam.
 Now if you don't want to spend anything on the service,
 there's Belkin's $130 Netcam HD+.
 Like the Dropcam Pro, it's got an all-glass lens
 that captures sharp video.
 The big difference is that you're not going to pay
 for the recording service, at least for now.
 The downside?
 The interface is a little crummy,
 and the notifications aren't as useful
 as what you get on these other cameras.
 One last thing.
 If you're looking for something a little closer
 to an actual security system, there's Piper.
 For $199, you get a 180-degree fisheye lens,
 an actual motion detector,
 and a siren for scaring thieves away.
 It can also control the lights in your house,
 run for two to three hours on batteries,
 and will even keep an eye on the temperature.
 This all sounds great,
 but I found the mobile software fussy,
 and right now the only way to check things out
 is on the app and not on a website.
 None of these things are as good
 as keeping an eye on your home as a human
 or a robot someday,
 but until then, this is about as good
 as you're gonna get without buying
 a full-fledged alarm system.
 Dropcam does a lot of the same stuff, but cheaper.
 Right now, there are a million options out there,
 but Dropcam's the best.
 can't