Nest Cam
nest.comThis looks exactly like a Dropcam. Given that Google owns both, it probably is just a Dropcam sold under the Nest brand. I wonder why.
To those that are curious about them, I have installed them for my parents. They do work quite well. The video and audio are quite clear (even at night). Setting them up is simple, and the web UI is simple enough that my parents do actually look at it.
Yes, dropcam.com now points to a Nest login page with the title "dropcam by Nest".
Don't understand why I'm paying $200 for a (admittedly decent quality) static, USB webcam.
So you can send live video to Google of your home, family and regular daily activities for them to keep. ;-)
You can build a better camera with a Raspberry Pi 2 for less that does not "phone home" to it's manufacturer.
Curious if there are rasberry pi (2) solutions that provide the saving of recordings and easy parsing. Also remote viewing and notifications of activity. Not sure the real utility of the latter two but I'm just looking at this option as a Dropcam owner and a new owner of a rasberry pi who also might want another cam set up.
What would be the best "out-of-the-box" alternative to this one, though?
The Dericam H5xxW series are 720p cameras with built-in ftp and web servers. They cost about $75. You can also hack them. There is no cloud service. And you can turn off the PnP access.
However, if all you want is an excellent "out-of-box" experience, you really won't "own" any IoT device you can currently purchase. They are all remotely managed.
If you know what a Raspberry Pi is, you are not the target customer.
It is easy and reliable.(A usb webcam requires a computer, which complicates things.) You don't need this camera, but it can be useful if you get creative.
I don't leave it on all the time, but I use it occasionally on a whim:
1. Started a 3d print, then went out to dinner, checking on the progress from my phone. Not required, but I was curious.
2. Put it in the corner of the game room and recorded an epic foosball match. I then grabbed the footage using the online timeline view and uploaded the clip to YouTube. Frivolous, but fun.
3. Checked in on my cats during my vacation. I know...
4. Timelapse of moving into a new office.
my understanding was that it _was_ USB. I'm guessing that it's actually usb-esq power and wifi?