"I See You" Ridgefield

ConnTech (sufflib@tiac.net)
Sun, 22 Jun 1997 08:36:43 -0400 

Date: Sun, 22 Jun 1997 08:36:43 -0400
Message-Id: <3.0.32.19970622083804.007b55d0@tiac.net>
From: ConnTech <sufflib@tiac.net>
To: Multiple recipients of list <conntech>
Subject: "I See You" Ridgefield

RIDGEFIELD, Conn. (AP) - Robert Messinger hops on the Internet from his
office to check on his two kids after dropping them off at day care.

Shari Hoyt's in-laws, nearly 1,000 miles away in Florida, log on to sneak a
peek at the grandchildren during the work week.

They are among the families who can now keep a high-tech tab on children
via the Internet and a few well-placed, palm-sized cameras at a day care
center in this wealthy New England suburb.

The Children's Corner is testing a program called "I See You" that captures
photographic images and displays them on a World Wide Web site. It can mean
peace of mind to the many parents who leave Ridgefield's leafy refuge daily
to commute an hour by train to high-stress, high-visibility jobs in Manhattan.

The software that brings together children and parents was the brainchild
of Jack Martin and his wife, Patricia, who own Simplex Knowledge Co. in
White Plains, N.Y. The couple has teamed up with IBM to market the system
nationwide, beginning with a seminar Saturday for day care operators in New
York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

"I See You" is so easy that even the least Internet-savvy parents can check
on their children during their lunch break.

Parents get the Internet address, a user name and password to access the
site. A variety of security features prevent just anyone from getting in.

With the click of a button, parents can switch from one camera to another
for still photos that are updated every 30 seconds.

"It's a succession of Kodak moments," Martin said.

The Children's Corner has cameras in six rooms. Four more cameras are on
the way, including one for the outside playground, said owner Nan Howkins.

Day care centers pay $50 a week for one camera and $4 more for each
additional camera. The price includes installation, maintenance and lease
of the camera as well as the software needed to link parents and the
cameras. The day care center must also pay for Internet access.

Parents seem to love the Internet link to their children.

Messinger, 40, works out of his home but occasionally has to go on the road
for business. He uses his laptop computer to see his 6-year-old son and
4-year-old daughter, who don't know about their father's game of peek-a-boo.

"I decided not to tell them," Messinger said. "I don't want them dancing in
front of the camera."

But some parents do just that. They set up times for their children to wave
or hold up drawings.

Hoyt, whose two daughters are in day care, logs in a couple times a day
from her Ridgefield office.

"It shows that they have a lot of confidence in the people that work here if
they're willing to have you log on and see what's going on," Hoyt said.

The cameras blend into the children's artwork covering the walls. They are
stationary and do not record sound. One camera is only two inches by four
inches.

The Simplex web page is at http://www.skc.com

The IBM solutions web page is at http://www.ibm.com/solutions/smbus

Associated Press, 06/21/97
Above article from the Boston Globe Online at:
http://www.globe.com/dailynews/wirehtml/172/Peek_a_Boo__Parents_monitor_kids
_in.htm

Edited for ConnTech.