The Fulu Foundation, a nonprofit that pays out bounties for removing user-hostile features, is hunting for a way to keep Ring cameras from sending data to Amazon--without breaking the hardware. Usually, when you see a feel-good story about finding a lost dog, you don't immediately react with fear and revulsion. But that was indeed the case in response to a Super Bowl commercial from Amazon-owned security camera company Ring. There's now a group offering to dole out a $10,000 bounty to wrest back control of the user data Ring controls. The ad showed off a new feature from Ring called Search Party.

A second camera adds helpful utility to this doorbell cam, but limited resolution and some wireless hiccups might give you pause. The trouble with doorbell cameras--at least as Wyze sees it--is that you don't get a great view of your surroundings with them, even with a big fish-eye lens. It's a problem that is arguably at its most serious when a delivery driver leaves a package in an unexpected place, perhaps directly beneath your doorbell cam, where its lens can't quite capture it. So, why not just add a second camera? The Wyze Duo Cam Doorbell does exactly that, offering a standard forward-facing camera lens, plus a second lens built into the bottom of the chassis, angled so that it is aimed just shy of facing directly downward.

Current state-of-the-art residential irrigation systems, such as WaterMyYard, rely on rainfall data from nearby weather stations to adjust irrigation amounts. However, the accuracy of rainfall data is compromised by the limited spatial resolution of rain gauges and the significant variability of hyperlocal rainfall, leading to substantial water waste. To improve irrigation efficiency, we developed a cost-effective irrigation system, dubbed ERIC, which employs machine learning models to estimate rainfall from commodity doorbell camera footage and optimizes irrigation schedules without human intervention. Specifically, we: a) designed novel visual and audio features with lightweight neural network models to infer rainfall from the camera at the edge, preserving user privacy; b) built a complete end-to-end irrigation system on Raspberry Pi 4, costing only \$75. We deployed the system across five locations (collecting over 750 hours of video) with varying backgrounds and light conditions. Comprehensive evaluation validates that ERIC achieves state-of-the-art rainfall estimation performance ($\sim$ 5mm/day), saving 9,112 gallons/month of water, translating to \$28.56/month in utility savings. Data and code are available at https://github.com/LENSS/ERIC-BuildSys2024.git

Shortly after I became pregnant with my second child, in the fall of 2022, I decided to try a modest experiment. I wanted to see whether I could hide my pregnancy from my phone. After spending my twenties eagerly surveilling and sharing the details of my life online, I had already begun trying to erect some walls of technological privacy: I'd deleted most apps on my phone and turned off camera, location, and microphone access for nearly all of the ones that I did have; I had disabled Siri--I just found it annoying--and I didn't have any smart devices. For the experiment, I would abide by some additional restrictions. I wouldn't Google anything about pregnancy nor shop for baby stuff either online or using a credit card, and neither would my husband, because our I.P. addresses--and thus the vast, matrixed fatbergs of personal data assembled by unseen corporations to pinpoint our consumer and political identities--were linked.

Google has launched Nest's second-generation wired doorbell for those who don't want to monitor their device's battery levels or to worry about spotty WiFi. The device is around 30 percent smaller than its battery-powered counterpart and could better fit smaller and narrower spaces. Google said it spent a lot of time fine-tuning this model, testing it in various conditions to ensure the images it produces are clear and identifiable and giving it HDR support to capture more details. It was also able eliminate the distorted fish-eye effect that's typical in footage seen from doorbell cameras. Apparently, DXOMark, a website known for assessing smartphone lenses and cameras, consider the device the best doorbell camera it has tested in terms of image quality.

Our home is the only place in the world where we allow ourselves to be vulnerable because of the familial comfort, security and peace that it brings. While some homes have already installed a security kit, others still look for extra measures for additional layers of protection, this includes installing a video doorbell. Abode introduces a new product called Abode Wireless Video Doorbell, which is perfect for those looking to up their security system a notch higher. Like all other video doorbells available in the market today, the camera of the Abode Wireless Video Doorbell supports Abode Smart Detect. This is an advanced video performance specification that sends notifications to users if it detects a person. Additionally, it features a motion-activated LED ring that captures people's attention as they approach.

I have got a new doorbell. It should be; it cost £89. It's a Ring video doorbell; you'll have seen them around. There are others available, made by other companies, with other four-letter names such as Nest and Arlo. When someone rings my doorbell, I'm alerted on my smartphone. I can see who is there, and speak to them. C major first inversion chord, arpeggiated, repeated, for the musically trained – you'll recognise it if you've heard it. Amazon, as it happens; Amazon acquired Ring in 2018, reportedly for more than $1bn.

If you have existing low-voltage wiring, you can take advantage of that power source--and your existing analog or digital chime--and never worry about replacing the Kami Doorbell Camera's batteries. If you don't have wiring in place, you can run this camera on battery power. Add in person detection in a camera that's currently selling on Amazon for $100 and you have a solid smart home value. Just don't buy one in anticipation of Kami delivering on its facial recognition promise, because that feature was highly unreliable in our experience. You'll also need to pay a subscription fee to unlock all of this camera's features.

Who'd have thought that radar would become an increasingly important technology in the smart home? The second-gen Google Nest Hub taps the tech to track your sleep, and now the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 is using it for 3D motion detection. Ring's top-of-the-line doorbell camera offers other advanced features, too, but is it enough to justify its $250 price tag--and the subscription you'll need to access them? If you're not familiar with Ring's video doorbells and other home security cameras, you'll get motion and visitor alerts, but you'll only be able to view a live stream of what's happening in front of the camera unless you sign up for a Ring Protect subscription. You can talk to people in front of the camera--using your smartphone or an Echo Show smart display--but you won't be able to see events that occurred in the past. Ring's subscriptions aren't terribly expensive, starting at $3 per camera per month, but they're the only way to get motion-activated recordings that are stored in the cloud, so you can watch them later (you get up to 60 days of history).

The new Wyze Video Doorbell is the latest addition to the company's range of low-cost but relatively high-quality security and home monitoring products. We're talking very low cost: The company is currently accepting pre-orders for this product at $29.99 each. If you can wait for Wyze to deliver it, this doorbell's feature set impressed us for the price. But it will really come alive with an optional monthly subscription. The doorbell camera surprised me with its compact size.