Remote storage
Couldn't it be possible to create a kind of remote-storage system? Through FTP or just Samba-shares? So that you can install the USBcam on a slim system 166Mhz,32RAM,1GB HD and you can save the 'alarm' on another system in Xvid/Divx/MPEG/SVCD format... (a system with 200 GB HD)
Client/server-system
Something like above. You can install a small program that broadcasts the video-stream(client), so you can save it and look at it from another location(client).
Would be great if all this could work and work on Linux and Windows both! Example: Linux-server(s), that are old, somewhere remote (with cams) like in the back-yard. Working together with Windows-desktop-systems in the same LAN, inside, with new PC's and also USB-cams..... Imagine the possibilities.