A homeless woman in Japan was recently busted by the police for trespassing after the man who had been unknowingly harboring her began to notice that food was disappearing from his kitchen. To discover the source of the problem, he had security cameras installed that transmitted images to his mobile phone. It wasn't long before the cameras captured someone moving in his home, so he called the police who proceeded to thoroughly search the premises. They eventually found a woman cowering in the closet who later revealed that she had been living there for a year.

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The Asus R50 UMPC is already being updated—even though Mark 1 has yet to be released. Digitimes reports that the handheld with GPS and 3.5G connectivity, due out in June, will be sporting a keyboard come November of this year. As well as running Linux and Vista, the R50 has a webcam and TV tuner and is expected to sell for US$500-plus. [DigiTimes via JKK Mobile]

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As a guy with pretty horrible teeth, I can only wish that this computerised toothbrush was invented decades ago when I was a kid. When children brush using the system, the toothbrush's LEDs get mapped via webcam onto a representation of a mouth, which then shows kids which teeth have already been brushed and which teeth need more cleaning. The kids using the system were "twice as effective at cleaning their teeth following the trial." If only they could turn flossing into a game as well, I wouldn't have to go get a root canal in about a month. [New Scientist]

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USB Missile Launchers have been around for years and years and years, but why did it take this long for someone to stick a webcam on it? Seriously, what could be better for aiming a foam dart at that punk Bob from accounting than being able to see where you're aiming in first person view? If I had one of these instead of a standard Missile Launcher, I could have nailed Dvorak through the heart and recorded the thing at the same time. Oh technology, why are you never here when we need you? [IWOOT via Shiny Shiny]

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Oh Brando, not only do you not heed my pleas for a USB trouser press, but you also continue putting products that are, quite frankly, strange and reprehensible. Who in their right mind would be interested in buying a webcam that looks like a ping-pong bat? Don't you know that we computer-fixed weirdies have no interest whatsoever in exercise? Some of us, however, do appreciate the box of tissues in one of the press shots. Ping-Pong and webcam aficionados may want to jump for the full specs, anyone with a dirty mind just head straight to the gallery.

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You already know why you need this iPatch to cover up your iMac's iSight—because you do dirty, dirty things in front of your computer—but now the small, molded piece of plastic is form-fitted for your MacBook and MacBook Pro. It works exactly the same as the old version. Just slide it over your iSight when you're about to get naughty, then slide it off when done. They even have a MacBook Air version coming later this week. On the other hand, the light comes on when the iSight is active, but unless you really stare at the thing you won't notice the light. [The iPatch]

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Brando's new ANEO GX-10 USB webcam comes bundled with three PC video games that put your moves on screen. Play "Kung fu," "Super Knight" or "Funny Stair" and you appear interactively in the action, which might brighten up a glum afternoon at the PC. The webcam is pretty standard, with 1280 x 1024 pixels at 30 frames per second, but it does have that combined clip/stand with adjustable neck for easy attachment. Available now for US$33.[Brando]

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The ZCam is the first low-cost, consumer videocamera that can capture video with depth information and probably the first real challenger to Nintendo's Wiimote: with its 3D capture abilities it will allow you to play Wii-style without using any controls whatsoever. In fact, it is so precise that it will even recognise your finger gestures to fire a weapon or manipulate your computer like in Minority Report, but without gloves or any other external device:The camera has sensors that are able to measure the depth for each of the captured pixels using a principle called Time-Of-Flight. It gets 3D information "by emitting pulses of infra-red light to all objects in the scene and sensing the reflected light from the surface of each object." The objects in the scene are then ordered in layers in the Z axis, which gives you a grayscale depth map that a game or any software application can use.

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Four engineering students from Georgia Tech have built an Autonomous Foosball Table, quite possibly the key to my never-ending quest to replace the humans in my life with robots. The funny thing is, this thing isn't just a gimmick; it may soon become a decent foosball opponent. The table system cost about $500 to build, and combines a webcam, an 800MHz Pentium PC and servo-controlled paddles to move, twist, and kick. Here's how it works:

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Set up this retro webcam on its included tripod, and it looks like you have an old-timey Kodak Brownie camera set up and ready to take some snapshots. Other than its musty old faux leather-wrapped retro looks, it has standard webcam specs, such as 640x480 resolution, USB connectivity and a built-in microphone. Giving away its modernity is its blue LED tally light situated just under the lens, lighting up when you're saying "cheese" to the world. Now 23 skidoo, you mugs. [Boys Stuff, via Technabob]