[CentOS] OT hardware question

[m.roth at 5-cent.us]

Les Mikesell wrote:
> On Fri, Jan 31, 2014 at 11:00 AM,  <m.roth at 5-cent.us> wrote:
>> >
>> I think you misunderstood me. I'm not looking for IP cameras - we'll be
>> getting cameras that plug into a surveillance DVR appliance. It's the
>> ->DVR's<- firmware software will do the recording and picture taking.
>> What
>> we need is to be able to d/l *from* the DVR to a server, where we can
>> store it. We don't even need fancy cameras - we're currently using 10 or
>> so yr old, USB 1 or 1.1 webcams, and the standard package named motion,
>> which works fine... when it works. When the drivers have bugs creep in,
>> that's what's pushed my manager to ask me to look this up.
>
> Seems out of character for you to replace hardware to fix a software
> bug.   If you are going to spend money, why not drop in a Windows VM
> so you can run IE?

a) We'd have to buy Windows to run in that VM.
b) *None* of us really wants to run Windows, esp. to manage a linux box.
c) The software bugs keep coming: I had trouble last year, when we went to
6.x, I've had other weirdnesses, like a picture looping for no reason I
know, when it doesn't happen on another server (I really didn't walk in,
walk in, walk in, walk in....), and so on. Now, if it were just me, I'd
probably try just buying a newer webcam that cost more than, um, what did
I hear a couple years ago, $10? $19.99?, but my manage says he'd like to
get out of the business of making video surveillance work, when there's
off-the-shelf stuff out there.

And we do have some budget for things that need to be done, and security
is required (and if we do it, it's a lot less than other options...).

       mark