Michael When we're on vacation, I can't help but worry what's happening at home. Is the house on fire? Are burglars breaking in? Luckily, one glance at my cell phone shows footage from several strategically positions surveillance cameras, and I can relax because everything is fine and dandy at its place.

I'm sure you know already that typical surveillance cameras are transmitting video footage over a wireless Wifi link to the hub, but unfortunately still draw power through conventional cables from the power outlet. This often complicates installing a camera in places where no power is readily available, like in the hallway or on the balcony, not to mention that lining your walls with power cables is hardly contributing to stunning interior design.

Arlo has solved the problem by using four long lasting lithium batteries in every camera, which is about the size of a child's fist. Thanks to a motion sensor, the camera is starting up as soon as an object is moving in front of it, and is recording between 10 and 30 seconds of video, depending on the user's settings. The movie data goes wirelessly to the base station which can be up to 300 feet away, and from there to a server operated by Arlo on the Internet. Archived videos can be watched by smartphone app or web browser, from wherever you might be located at the time. Arlo keeps archived videos for a month, and offers a download link on every recording, to allow the user to store the most interesting ones at home.

The Automatic phone app isn't exactly designer prize material, but works reasonably well. It's hardly surprising if you know that Arlo is now owned by router maker Netgear. Theyr'e known for good hardware, but seem to employ subpar software engineers to cobble together their user interfaces. I've configured the app to send a notification to my phone every time there's movement in front of any of the cameras. That way, I'm always up to date on what's going on.

Batteries last about a month, but durability heavily depends on how often the camera activates because of movement. Since I don't like using throwaway batteries, I invested in rechargables at a whopping price of 8 Dollars per battery (!), straight out of China, including a special charger. The lithium format isn't as common for rechargeables yet, so there's definitely a premium to pay.

One of our neighbors bought and Arlo camera as well and set it up in the crawlspace under his house. He was quite surprised to see what's going on down there at night: The footage shows a skunk sniffing and a raccoon romping around. Another videos pictures a cat returning to the home with a mouse in its mouth. And the camera at the front gate caught a butt naked party goer passing by. You can check it out yourself on Youtube, where our neighbor has put his Arlo security video collection for everyone to enjoy.

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• More topics you might be interested in:

  	San Francisco Shantytown
  	Perly Perlman's last resting place
  	Sedona/Arizona
  	Controversial Urinal in Dolores Park
  	Monster Waves at Mavericks