If you want to look like you've got an alarm system, but don't want to pay the monthly service fee, then a device like the Digital Private Eye might be for you. It looks like a traditional passive infrared sensor (PIR) that's common with alarm systems. Instead, the device has a pinhole camera!

The camera only takes 640x480 pictures, but takes them automatically at 30 frames a second when movement is sensed. Not as high quality as I would like, but with the pictures being stored on a 1 gigabyte SD cards, you can store up to 30,000 pictures. That means roughly 1,000 seconds, or a little over 16 minutes.

It won't call the police for you, but at least you'll have evidence. Might make a great nanny-cam. If you can think of some other uses for this, leave your feedback in the comments.

Hat tip to GeekBrief.