Yawcam

Thanks to webcams, two persons can see each other, in real time, even if they are in opposite corners of the world. With the right software, there is much more you can do with a simple webcam. Yawcam allows you to stream your webcam feed, take snapshots and save them automatically on FTP servers and much more. You can also use it as an improvised security system, due to its motion detection capabilities. The application is free and there are no hidden restrictions or fees.

The setup file is almost 4 and a half Mb large and it will install the application's components in less than a minute. Although it will not take long to set it up on your computer, you should take into account the fact that Yawcam is a Java based application. This means that you will have to install the Java runtime environment before anything else.

If you want a list of Yawcam's core functions, you only need to look on its interface. The application lets you enable various output types for your webcam's feed. You can select a FTP or HTTP output, you can choose to save snapshots as files on your hard drive, stream the camera's feed and activate a motion detection feature as well. All these features can be used at the same time and you can enable or disable them with the options on the software's interface.

Activating a feature requires a single click, but you must configure them on the application's settings panel. The options are categorized in a tree menu, making it easy to find what you are looking for. The output settings are grouped in a folder and they require specifying hosts, ports, output formats and making certain adjustments, depending on the output type.

The general settings panel includes other options as well. You can select an image to be displayed when you are offline, send announcements, configure your connection and overlay up to four images and four text messages on your feed. The application can be scheduled as well. The Scheduler section, on the settings menu, displays a grid, which you can use to set Yawcam to activate any output feature or the motion capture, at certain hours of each day. The motion detector is configured on a separate window. You can set the program to detect motion in a certain area of the feed and select a series of automatic actions. If the software detects motion, it will take one or more snapshots, upload them to a FTP server, send an email, play a sound or run a program.