Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
For each user, you will be asked for the following:
New SMB password:
Retype new SMB password:
at which point you can either ask the family member for a password or assign them one—knowing that it can be
changed only by root on this same machine. Once the user has logged in from a particular machine, however, the
operating system will usually remember the credentials, so no one will be continually prompted for this information.
You should then restart the Samba service to make these changes visible to the world.
/etc/init.d/samba restart
This is all that's necessary to make the files available across your network. This allows you to use the various
media-streaming devices, or head units, currently available.
CCTV Cameras
Although the perception of CCTV is grainy black-and-white footage attached to small TV screens, the reality is much
removed, particularly as color CCTV is now very cheap and the images are often transmitted via Ethernet. And
although the technology behind webcams and CCTV cameras are similar, it is not particularly easy to use cheap
webcams as a suitable replacement for the more expensive CCTV cameras:
u
Webcams use USB to transmit their data, which imposes a limit on the cable length to around
5 meters, without special extension cables
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Webcams don't work particularly well in low-light environments
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Webcams are not physically rugged, or waterproof, enough to live outside
So, although you might be able to get away with a webcam peering out of the window beside the PC during
the daytime, you won't get much further than that. Instead, you'll need a specially designed camera, generally
transmitting its images through a wireless network, so you can position the camera where it's needed—rather than
whether you can run a cable to it.
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Several versions of CCTV camera are available that are wired for indoors only. The primary benefit that these
have over traditional webcams is that they transmit their data across an IP network, meaning that they don't need to be
directly attached to a PC.
Note
Virtually every CCTV camera on the market requires a power cable (although a Power-over-Ethernet connection
can often suffice), so regardless of whether you choose wired or wireless networking, you will have to run at least one
cable to the camera's location. Apart from that, the main choice is for an indoors or outdoors mounting, the latter
being more resilient to the weather. If you buy for indoors (such as a Y-cam) and later change your mind, you can
usually place it in a wall mount unit (the Y-cam shell) and attach it underneath a soffit.
For indoor CCTV, used maybe as a baby monitor, there are cameras like the Panasonic Wireless IP camera
(BLC-20), which has motion detection and a built-in web server so it doesn't need a PC to operate and can be viewed
remotely provided the appropriate network ports are opened on the router. Its elder brother (BLC-131) also provides
remote control of the camera with pan and tilt functionality.
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