tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17459593684357036322009-03-02T02:31:26.133-05:00This blog, by L. Samuel Pfeifle, the editor of Security Systems News, offers thoughts and news that should be of interest to someone integrating and installing security systems in North America. And smart people in general who care and think about physical security.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06253283912625352263noreply@blogger.comBlogger351125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1745959368435703632.post-46334818146250190592009-01-13T14:17:00.003-05:002009-01-13T14:34:58.646-05:00

While there has been some gnashing of teeth over AT&T's return to the security marketplace, with residential installers, particularly, worried about competition from cable and phone companies who can seemingly just add security on to the bill their customers are already receiving, at least one industry publication is chiding these same telcos for trying to do too much.This article makes a lot of

Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06253283912625352263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1745959368435703632.post-20955016453676504642009-01-07T09:33:00.002-05:002009-01-07T09:38:55.536-05:00

I know that sounds like a come on, but there appears to be about a half billion dollars worth of business out there for securing the bridges that connect Manhattan with the mainland. But you better hurry if you want in on the deal: Contractors have until 2 p.m. on Jan. 9 to express interest in carrying out the work. So far, 23 firms have done so, including Kane Security Screens of Braintree, Mass

Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06253283912625352263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1745959368435703632.post-34241899987132282592009-01-06T12:04:00.002-05:002009-01-06T12:08:45.634-05:00

Just a little update on S2, one of the first companies to really embrace the IP-technology movement into security. They've just scored a patent for the entire architecture of their product line, which is pretty interesting. Not sure if this closes anyone else out, or is just an indication of how unique their appliance-based access control and video management is, but S2 seems to be quietly

Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06253283912625352263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1745959368435703632.post-67200209165535232482009-01-05T16:31:00.003-05:002009-01-05T16:47:53.617-05:00

Hey, everyone, I'm back. I know how sorely you've missed me over these holiday weeks (as if any of you have been at your desks either - jeez, the industry's been a ghost town while I've been gone).Anyway, I've been pounding the WWW looking for news and ran across this blog run by Data Systems Worldwide, a California company that's a Cisco silver-certified outfit doing everything from IT

Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06253283912625352263noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1745959368435703632.post-16515532926160072342008-12-24T13:53:00.002-05:002008-12-24T13:56:14.475-05:00

Hopefully, no one's wasting time today reading this blog, but I'm just posting a quick message to say I'll be on vacation through Jan. 5, and you shouldn't expect a post before then unless something truly monumental happens (or I get really bored with the family - not impossible). Enjoy some time off and your families, and I'll talk to you again in the new year.

Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06253283912625352263noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1745959368435703632.post-66622518504985759922008-12-22T10:45:00.002-05:002008-12-22T10:52:37.966-05:00

I'm not sure how many people are aware of Techwell, a chip-maker who's got product in (according to them) 70 percent of DVRs. They drive the playback engine, essentially. You can read about their HD play here. Anyway, they announced last week new revenue projections that speak to a significant slowdown in security surveillance sales. The numbers are somewhat irrelevant. Here's the nut graph:"

Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06253283912625352263noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1745959368435703632.post-42251488018594187152008-12-19T10:20:00.002-05:002008-12-19T10:29:04.173-05:00

Well, it looks like the rumors and speculation had merit: Panasonic has made a formal offer to purchase Sanyo. Not surprisingly, the WSJ doesn't mention either company's security divisions, as they are small pieces of a very large puzzle, but I found this paragraph particularly interesting:For Panasonic, the deal comes down to Sanyo's green technology products. Sanyo, the world's largest producer

Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06253283912625352263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1745959368435703632.post-50381462948057177752008-12-18T09:15:00.003-05:002008-12-18T09:28:39.975-05:00

I know I'm a little late to the party on this, but if you haven't seen the video that Hitachi is using to promote its "Dawn of the Tera Era" you need to check it out right now. It's the trippy-est thing I've seen since we threw on the original animated Lord of the Rings back in college.Especially if you grew up on Schoolhouse Rock, as I did, this is just about the perfect mix of nostalgic schlock

Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06253283912625352263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1745959368435703632.post-2926415464498348472008-12-17T16:40:00.003-05:002008-12-17T16:42:10.982-05:00

IFSEC losing Norbain and Pelco is a bummer. Macworld losing Apple? I'd say that's a crushing blow. Wouldn't want to be in the trade show biz right now. Oh, wait...

Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06253283912625352263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1745959368435703632.post-65569132898926732732008-12-16T13:49:00.003-05:002008-12-16T14:09:57.382-05:00

I'm not trying to shame anyone, so I won't say where I found this, but here's a recent employment wanted ad posted by a security integrator:Job opportunity for Electronics TechnicianExperience:1. Three years of field experience installing and designing security, fire, access control, computer network wiring, or similar low voltage systems. 2. Knowledge of 120 volt wiring and conduit installation.

Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06253283912625352263noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1745959368435703632.post-72980074566385991172008-12-16T10:19:00.004-05:002008-12-16T10:50:54.309-05:00

As I wrote in my preview of the finance special report last week, most lenders are of the opinion that now is a great time for strong companies to take advantage of the down market and roll up some smaller firms with an eye toward expansion. They're looking to lend to companies with a strong balance sheet, so you can find some financing if you need it, but they also say it's a good time to take

Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06253283912625352263noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1745959368435703632.post-11919566517631268672008-12-15T16:10:00.003-05:002008-12-15T16:13:55.671-05:00

Hey, I like the Siemens security guys, and there's no mention of security at all in this article, but it can't be the best PR when your parent company gets whacked with $1.3 billion in corruption fines. Yikes. On a side note, let me assure you, gentle readers, that none of those suitcases full of cash were used to bribe certain editors for favorable coverage.

Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06253283912625352263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1745959368435703632.post-48465986560457597562008-12-15T10:03:00.002-05:002008-12-15T10:05:45.587-05:00

Still kind of digging out from that ridiculous weekend storm up here (to top it off, I got a flat on Sunday morning on the way to the dump and had to change the tire on the side of the road in 15-degree weather - yes, I'm bitter), but wanted to let you know:That tracking Jesus story has legs. Check the Good Morning America bit. It's amazing what people will latch on to. Feel free to ride the

Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06253283912625352263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1745959368435703632.post-45270781953972030912008-12-12T13:46:00.003-05:002008-12-12T13:53:48.861-05:00

Well, I'm hoping nothing important happens today, as we only recently got power back here in our Yarmouth, Maine, offices, and we're still without a reliable Internet connection (I'm using one of those Sprint wireless cards, but we have to share it among about 10 of us) or email server (that's totally kaput). Such is life in Maine, where we get blasted fairly regularly with ice storms (in this

Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06253283912625352263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1745959368435703632.post-26925250000346917922008-12-11T10:05:00.003-05:002008-12-11T10:13:39.203-05:00

There's news out on the wire that SCM Microsystems, a logical access manufacturer, and Hirsch Electronics, a physical access manufacturer, are merging. They kept the numbers out of the press release, but the SEC filing makes it look like a $30 million acquisition of Hirsch by SCM, with Hirsch shareholders acquiring another $14.1 million worth of warrants to buy more SCM stock at $3 a share, which

Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06253283912625352263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1745959368435703632.post-9236315946243141802008-12-10T09:33:00.004-05:002008-12-10T09:54:39.503-05:00

Ah, a fine Christmas fable. I'm a sucker for this kind of thing. While the TV news version of the story might be worthless (another mystery "security company") the full version put out by the AP is quite sweet and well reported. Just goes to show that there is, indeed, value in original reporting. Just look at this lede (that's a journalism term):When Baby Jesus disappeared last year from a

Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06253283912625352263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1745959368435703632.post-68250507559142654932008-12-09T10:26:00.002-05:002008-12-09T10:28:55.105-05:00

There's no mention of security operations in this article, but it does say that all of the job cuts will come from the electronics division, where the CCTV section resides. It does mention the outsourcing of image sensors, but says those were intended for mobile phones. Not sure if the same chips go to surveillance cameras.

Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06253283912625352263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1745959368435703632.post-26738623014140395082008-12-09T09:28:00.002-05:002008-12-09T10:21:48.064-05:00

As loyal readers know well, each January we publish in the paper our special report on the financial state of the industry. Lately, it's been targeted most at the availability of capital - while there are many ways to judge an industry's health, many of them don't apply well to the security market, since there are so few public companies with open books operating here. Especially on the

Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06253283912625352263noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1745959368435703632.post-79178521351230434902008-12-08T13:27:00.002-05:002008-12-08T14:03:12.931-05:00

Though it's a little more interesting to the folks on the armed-guard/cash-handling side of the business, take note of this Bloomberg article saying G4S considers Brink's and Garda World possible acquisitions. If nothing else, it shows G4S, the second biggest security company in the world, is thinking aggressively in the current down market, and it wouldn't be crazy for them to also think about

Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06253283912625352263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1745959368435703632.post-71295662362205791122008-12-04T14:16:00.003-05:002008-12-04T14:53:24.529-05:00

Any major manufacturer knows how expensive it is to have a large presence at a big show like ISC West, ASIS, or IFSEC. Not only is there the outlay for the space, but there's the expense of the booth, the set up of the booth, and the travel for all the people to man the booth. It's huge money, and in a bum economy, where people are increasingly getting their information from the web and not

Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06253283912625352263noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1745959368435703632.post-61747037534105468642008-12-03T10:52:00.003-05:002008-12-03T11:11:27.880-05:00

An interesting story from the Continent today, showing that Nokia may soon be a player in the security marketplace. It's starting out with a collaboration with an energy company to help people control their heating (it's a Finnish company - heat's a big deal there) through the Nokia Home Control Center, essentially a wireless router on steroids, but the article goes on to say that Nokia feels

Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06253283912625352263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1745959368435703632.post-3720159582060105162008-12-02T15:46:00.003-05:002008-12-02T15:52:47.818-05:00

Just heard that George West, vice president and head of Siemens Building Technologies Security Solutions business unit, is leaving the industry to head up an energy company in Boston. There hasn't been an official press release, but Siemens called our offices to let us know, which was cool of them. His last day is Friday, if you want to drop him a line. In my opinion, it's the industry's loss.

Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06253283912625352263noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1745959368435703632.post-75761381223438716532008-12-01T16:04:00.005-05:002008-12-02T16:46:48.642-05:00

Sad news came over the wire just now: Intelli-Tec owner Marty McMillan was killed in a boating accident on Sunday. Marty L. McMillan, 51, of Westbury, founder and president of Intelli-Tec Security Services, was fishing on his 30-foot boat Xiao Mu Ji 11 miles southeast of Montauk and 5 miles southwest of Block Island when the accident occurred about 9:30 a.m., said Coast Guard Petty Officer Annie

Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06253283912625352263noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1745959368435703632.post-28378201793812700962008-12-01T10:39:00.003-05:002008-12-01T10:45:18.869-05:00

Some of you may know Frank Baitman, who ran Petards' North American operations until the company sold off its secret sauce and things went south. Well, Frank took the time off and went to work for Obama's campaign (insert joke about why Petards didn't succeed here...). If you're interested, he's posted some stories about his experiences on his blog. It's a good read and pretty interesting,

Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06253283912625352263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1745959368435703632.post-30662235847855813772008-11-26T09:02:00.003-05:002008-11-26T09:18:34.762-05:00

People looking for a way to get on ssnTVnews need only search their recordings (or the recordings of their customers) for footage of that 10-ton meteorite that hit last Thursday night. I would love to check out some of that. Thousands of people in a 400-mile radius saw the fireball created as the object entered the atmosphere and exploded with the force of 300 tons of dynamite.That's how you know

Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06253283912625352263noreply@blogger.com0