Creative Live! Ultra

There are many uses for a webcam. In addition to using it for video-calling people over the internet, it could be put to good use as a security camera, for example.

One householder recently helped the police capture a burglar who stole his computer, because the attached webcam was watching and recording the whole thing. Although the thief took the PC, the camera was saving images on the internet so they were all there for the police to see.

The Live! Ultra webcam includes just such a feature. The software enables you to set up time-delayed capture and specify an FTP server to which to send the pictures.

Of course, you need to have an FTP server set up, but your internet service provider may be able to do that for you. If not, images can simply be saved to the hard disk.

Picture quality is very good, and the camera comes with face-tracking software, which will attempt to zoom in on your face as you move around during a conversation.

It is also supplied with motion-detection software, so it will only record when it sees movement, which is obviously useful for a security camera. Unfortunately, this didn't work very well - it often only picks up on movement when the object in question is half-way across the screen, which isn't a lot of use.

The camera itself is a small and neat device with a built-in stand that will allow it to sit on top of a screen or on a flat surface.