This is not a rant about the usual newbie networking problem trying to get a wireless camera on their network.
This is about Linksys tech service, the firmware of this specific camera, and its inability to perform major features advertised on the box.
After 1.5 hours on chat with Linksys tech support, 1.5 hours on the phone with them, and 4 days exchanging emails, here are the facts:
The camera requires MSIE to view video, based on its requirement of ActiveX. The OCX that entails is invoked from the firmware. That OCX contains a certificate that expired on 6.26.06 (it was a one week certificate, for unknown reasons). So you have to open MSIE to run an ActiveX with failed cert of publisher (security exposure).
On 7.13.06, Linksys put a firmware patch up to fix this cert. So if you want to buy the camera and use it without opening a security hole, add some time for finding that patch and reflashing firmware.
Tech support advised also reflashing the firmware and pointed to the file on the download site. The only "bin" file available in that download fails with the message "format error". So you can't even reflash it.
Next, the WVC54GC will not, and I mean WILL NOT, send an email on motion detection when properly set up per the doc. And I read ALL the doc.
Now to tech service, the happy experience you will have if you buy this POS. One nice Indian suggested I change the port from 80 to 1024. When asked how this affects the camera executing a port 25 smtp session, he fell silent. Another suggested I turn on UPNP. When I asked how setting up direct discovery from XP was relevant to the WVC54GC doing SMTP when no computer was activated on the network (after all, it IS an "internet" camera, not one processed through a computer, this camera is on your net, not on a computer), he also fell silent.
Then of course, one takes me through the email motion setup, as if I didn't read the doc five times and verify the setup before I embarked on wasting hours with tech service.
In other words, this prox $100 WVC54GC internet camera comes bollicked out of the box, the tech support is what you would expect from a gas station being asked to defuse a nuclear weapon, and you need to expect a few days of frustration before you take the WVC54GC POS back to the store and stand in line to return it. Linksys and Cisco have really screwed this up from start to finish.