Before I say anything else, I want to make it known that yes, this post is sponsored by HomeCamera and they asked that I be “fair and impartial” to their product. Ok, now that thats out of the way, I want to say that this might just be the thing that would cause me to buy a web camera. I could mount a wireless one outside and keep an eye on the dogs (and I could see just how many times Lumiere runs in a circle in a day!).

Currently in beta, home camera offers people with web cams a way to check in from anywhere. ANYWHERE. Cell phone, pda, laptop, computer lab, cyber cafe, where ever you are, you just log in to the site and wham. You can view your cam. Need to check on the baby while you’re out? Pull up the mobile client and take a peek. Want to see how your distressed doggie is doing? Pull it up at work and log in. Couldn’t get any better could it?

Well, it could, because the system is free. FREE (as in BEER)! You do have to purchase “mobile” credits to use with your cell phone/pda (you get 25 right off the bat free) but otherwise the system is free itself (there are some small ads on the control panel…). You down load their software, add your camera and off you go. Its actually pretty cool and it was pretty easy as well. I’ll be the first to admit, I haven’t take a look at all the offerings out there, but this one seems to be pretty good.

For parents of teens, tots or four legged creatures, homecamera.com might just be a good thing.