By Cheryl Currid

I have just reviewed my first Wi-Fi wireless camera. (Actually it's not my first wireless camera, but the first one that worked.)

It looks like a camera -- but it's really a contraption that combines a camera, a built-in Web server and a wireless transmitter. It runs on the Wi-Fi protocol, costs about $400 and installs in minutes.

Unlike poor-quality Web cams, the D-LinkAir DCS-1000W produces a clear picture and comes with a plethora of add-on devices that take it a few marks above a professional video surveillance camera.

The camera comes with software that lets you stream video that can be seen by any Internet-connected computer around the world. You can use it as an extra set of eyeballs for rooms or doors, for surveillance or to broadcast a meeting. It can even be used outdoors if enclosed in a standard housing.

Who knows? Some homeowners might set it up as a neighborhood cam to monitor streets, public swimming pools or tennis courts.

The software lets you send an e-mail if it detects an "event." For this, you need only to add an infrared, motion or magnetic sensor and configure the software.

With this and a little finagling with lighting, it could see who just rang the door bell, or snap an image of the license plate of the car that just drove into the driveway.

It can also send e-mail with snapshots at predetermined times. This would be great for a shop or restaurant owner who wanted to watch for rush-hour lines, but do it from the comfort of home.

To ensure that your files are safe, you can even set it up to upload images at preset intervals, or when events occur, to an offsite Web server. That way, there is no way to destroy the video event by stealing a video tape or the PC. Instead, the "facts" are saved safely in cyberspace.

The D-Link Air DCS-1000W is extremely easy to configure. In fact, you don't even have to install software to get it up and running. Just plug it into the power -- it requires a standard power outlet -- and configure it with a Web browser.

D-Link is on to something here -- it offers a breakthrough 3-in-1 model and beckons for people to use it in inventive ways. Put your thinking cap on.