Border Watch Boredom

Texas just launched its Virtual Border Watch Program
by starting a public test of border web cams.

According to MyFoxHouston.com . . .

Live images from eight border surveillance cameras are streaming at the Web site www.texasborderwatch.com.

The test run is a step forward for Governor Rick Perry's"virtual border watch" program, a plan to place cameras along theborder to cut down on drug activity and illegal crossings.

I decided to try it out tonight. First you have to register and then log in. Then you will have to download a small E-watch application. That takes less than five minutes. So I did all of that.

There are about 11 cameras up with small thumbnails. Pick a camera thumbnail and click on it and a wider blank box will appear. Unfortunately that box isn’t large enough for good viewing. Click on the box to activate it.

Out of the 11 cameras, only 4 were visible and that’s because they appeared to be placed in parking lots where there were overhead lights. The rest of the cameras appeared to be either out of service or it was too dark to register anything. Additionally, of those cameras that did appear to be working, they weren’t providing live streaming video – just still shots. Who knows when the shots were actually taken?

So, with all of that, what kind of suspicious activity could anyone possibly see, especially in the dark?

A suggestion box is provided if you want to send Texas an e-mail. Here’s my suggestions:
Infrared cameras for undeveloped areas, actual live streaming video, full screen viewing boxes, and a way to determine if the picture is actually live or just canned.