My girlfriend has a lovely view from her apartment. Eleven stories up in the Central West End I can see the St Louis Art Museum and Washington University's Hilltop campus. A few months ago I tried to rig up an elaborate webcam system so we could share the view from her windows with the world, but I failed miserably. Most webcams just don't have the optics needed for long range viewing, but I think that we may have finally found a solution.

Sometimes the best computer products are those sold with no manufacturer's name attached. This morning Brando announced a white boxed USB webcam with tripod, but the kicker is that it comes with a separate 7x18 optical telescope! The auxiliary optics snap onto the front of the camera for a little assistance with those long range stakeouts. The SVGA 800 by 600 resolution won't be winning any awards for breakthrough technical achievements, but if you're in need of a long range USB surveillance then this $26 one trick pony is worth picking up.