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Thank you; had not heard of this brand before.
The TV-IP562WI may do the trick.

I've got a couple TrendNet TV-IP862IC. They support 720p H.264 video, and speak FTP and (crucially for my application) Samba.

Caught me a burglar with 'em: he came in, poked around, noticed the camera and ripped it out of the wall, but not before the camera sent his picture to the SMB fileserver hidden in a closet. Police recognized him, picked him up, and he confessed to a string of burglaries to support his heroin habit.

Homeplug AV2 offers a 1200mbps symbol rate. Real speed will be lower, of course, but it'll get you closer. Here's a product that should be out soonish: http://www.trendnet.com/press/...

IP cameras have become quite cheap, depending on your needs. If you get PoE models they are also far easier to run than traditional cameras, as a single CatE cable can get the job done. I've set up small systems a number of places including my house, and it all works quite well and easily. While you can go the open source route, I found the easiest way is with some Mac software. You can even do it without network DVR software and use cameras that capture to onboard SD cards. I find that inconvenient, but it can be a good backup if your cameras are mounted out of reach but your server isn't.

Checkout, in no particular order:

• Vivotek
• Axis
• Panasonic
• Y-Cam

There's a product for every need. Cheap, $50 indoor lit-room only solutions to $2000 pan/tilt/zoom IR illuminated outdoor vandal proof units.

TrendNet makes affordable PoE switches. 10/100 is fine, an individual camera stream is maybe 2Mbps for a high res stream.

I use SecuritySpy on a Mac. Even watching 8 cameras it uses

Place cameras where you can get good shots of faces as they come through doors. Maybe one of your driveway or street in front to get a car. They won't stop the break in, although visible cameras outside may be a deterrent, but they will give you a fighting chance of catching the person who did it.

Oh, and get a dog with a loud bark. Most robbers don't want to find out if it is a small dog or big dog!

http://www.trendnet.com/products/proddetail.asp?prod=185_TEW-652BRP&cat=41
Usually goes for $35
Nearly Identical to the more expensive Dlink DIR-615
Runs incredibly well on DD-WRT firmware

--or--

Compile your own firmware from Trendnet's source code.
http://www.trendnet.com/downloads/list_gpl.asp

http://www.trendnet.com/products/proddetail.asp?prod=185_TEW-652BRP&cat=41
Usually goes for $35
Nearly Identical to the more expensive Dlink DIR-615
Runs incredibly well on DD-WRT firmware

--or--

Compile your own firmware from Trendnet's source code.
http://www.trendnet.com/downloads/list_gpl.asp

Trendnet makes one too. At ~$200, the price is good and it would probably use less electricity than an old computer running linux. I can't really vouch for Trendnet though.

I picked them up from an InkStop store, they usually have some in stock, at least here in Michigan.

It's not as easy to answer your question as it should be, because manufacturers sometimes change chipsets but don't change model numbers. For example, I have a desktop card, a DLink DWL-G520 (rev B), works fine with Linux. But the (rev B) is important - the (rev A) version has a totally different chipset.

I bought the TrendNet TV-IP312W (day/night with ifrared light, wireless network). It works fairly well. Requires IE for setup, but supports RTSP, save to Samba, FTP, motion detection with auto-email.

http://trendnet.com/langen/products/proddetail.asp?prod=105_TV-IP312W&cat=48

My favorite old keyboard was made back in the mid-1990's and has an old "AT" style connector. To connect it to a slightly more modern PS/2 style connector, I had to use a adapter. I use yet another adapter to connect that adapter to a USB port on a computer which lacks a PS/2 connector. I also have a KVM switch in the middle too, so that I can control both computers with just the one keyboard, monitor and mouse. Only one of the two computers lacks the PS/2 connector and needs the second adapter.

The old keyboard with the "AT" style connector requires only a very light touch, clicks nicely, and feels just right when typing. It also uses a split spacebar to place an extra backspace key at a more convenient, but non-standard location. I like it so well, that I bought several spare keyboards, just before they stopped making them, so that I could keep using them for the rest of my life at both home and work. With adapters connected to other adapters, I should be able to keep using the old NMB model RTB255CW+ keyboards for decades.

Recently, a couple of the keys stopped working as reliably on one of the keyboards. To solve the emergency, I snapped off the plastic cover on each key and used a brush to remove the years of accumulated hair, lint and small bits of shredded wheat from under each key. I then washed years of grime off of each plastic cover and then snapped them back on. Free of the hair and lint, the keyboard is now working perfectly and looks like new. I heard about doing that from a woman who's job is to clean keyboards, computer screens and printers at a local VA hospital. I bet we all have millions of dust mites living our keyboards.

• AT to PS/2 keyboard adapter
• USB to PS/2 Converter

You can find handsets and phones which support Skype, however you are locked into the Skype system, the devices have limited support for other telephony applications.
See http://trendnet.com/en/products/TVP-SP1BK.htm

Yes you can, there are hundreds of companies doing skype certified gear.

One is;

http://trendnet.com/skype/

If I had $500 to blow

For Your Connection
Cable Modem (shared)
to
Router (shared)
to
Hardware Firewall (not shared)
to
Wireless Router (not shared)
to
Your Software Firewall on your computer (not shared)

For your parents
Cable Modem (shared)
to
Router (shared)
to
Hardware Firewall (not shared)
to
Their Software Firewall on their computer (not shared)

For the hardware firewall I've used these and liked them: http://www.trendnet.com/products/TW100-BRV304.htm

For the software firewall (on windows) I'm a big fan of an old version of Kerio Personal Firewall (version 2.15)
http://www.dachboden-wg.de/dlm/download.php?id=2

Under $300, no problem.