Archive: April 2008
This Blog's on Fire (And Other Stuff)
Brink's earnings up
April 30, 2008Tess Nacelewicz
Shares of Brink's Company stock were trading high today—the highest since 2003 when it changed its name from Pittston Co to Brink's, according to a Rueters report—after the company posted higher-than-expected first-quarter earnings. Here's the
official press release.
First quarter income was up $48 million, or $1.02 per share, up from $31.1 or 66 cents per share for the same quarter last year. Revenue was up 24 percent from $920.6 million from $740.5 million last year. Operating profit...
This Blog's on Fire (And Other Stuff)
You, sitting here in 2010
April 29, 2008Tess Nacelewicz
So I got a call back from Andy McDill at Delta Corporate Communications and yes, it's true. They'll be installing these seats in their fleet of 777 and 767 aircraft. They're called Cozy Suite seats and they're made by Thomson Solutions, a company based in Northern Ireland. You won't be able to sit in them until 2010, as they're actually just being manufactured now. The bad news for me and the many of you who regularly fly into the Portland Maine Jet Port, we won't be able to ride in the Cozy Suite...
ROTC cadet robbed - wireless surveillance solves the crime
April 29, 2008Martha Entwistle
Here's some great press for municipal surveillance systems, wrapped in the filth that is the worst of human nature. In Dallas, some scumbag robbed an 18-year-old ROTC cadet while he was suffering a seizure on the sidewalk. Luckily, a wireless surveillance system not only recorded the crime, but helped police pick-up up the perp returning to the scene of the crime the next day.
Check out the video:
Security systems catch bad guys. Really. It's not just cool technology, but serves a purpose, and...
Not your everyday gym shirt
April 28, 2008Daniel Gelinas
So, apparently the concept of "intelligent textiles" is more prevalent than I first thought. Here's a blurb about a t-shirt that monitors vital signs such as heart rate and body temperature. It's a good old cotton t-shirt embedded with conductive fibers that's supposedly washable, too. (Good thing, otherwise wearers of this t-shirt may not be welcomed in many enclosed spaces.)
Here's how it works: "A micro controller embedded in the t-shirt digitizes the signals and transmits them via a wireless...
This Blog's on Fire (And Other Stuff)
Happy news from Delta
April 28, 2008Tess Nacelewicz
I'm back after a glorious school vacation week of outdoorsy fun and sun with the family. No, we did not go on an excellent, educational, exotic vacation, it was warm and beautiful right here in New England.
So, after that great week, I'm expecting some work re-entry pain, but it's kind of nice being back at my desk with my Mac. Maybe it's the fact that it's nearly returned to winter temps here in Maine, or maybe I'm peppy because one of the first things I came across this morning was some potentially...
Alarm company robbed!
April 27, 2008Martha Entwistle
This is pretty classic: Alarm company robbed in Ohio.
Now, most people wouldn't figure an alarm company for a place with a lot of cash on hand, but maybe, I'm thinking, people who rob alarm companies probably aren't that bright.
Of course, it turns out they weren't looking for cash:
Officers said the two unknown subjects smashed out the glass of the front door, tripping the sensors.
They proceeded to steal cartons of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco.
An alarm company having a bunch of smokes...
Roger Rogo
April 25, 2008Daniel Gelinas
So there's yet another player in the plug-n-go security market: Rogo. For $10.95 a month, customers can remotely access cameras from their PC or cell phone using this system. The model is similar to other vendors in this arena: making remote video monitoring a mass market product by making it as cheap and easy as possible. But $10.95/month? That's pretty darn cheap.
Rogo is pushing the use of USB cameras, which are so inexpensive they can give them away for free, or so they say at least twice in...
Mainers go nationwide
April 25, 2008Martha Entwistle
I was determined to find a good YouTube video for today, since it's Friday and everyone likes a little mid-afternoon video on Friday, and I just couldn't resist showing a little love to a Maine company, Guardcom, that's trying to go national with a wireless alarm system that's self-installed.
Here's the video pitch:
More than a few things strike me here. First, I've got to think false alarms are a nightmare with this service, as not only are they just using simple motion detectors, but it sounds...
ObjectVideo now OnBoard Intel Architecture
April 24, 2008L. Samuel Pfeifle
RESTON, Va.--ObjectVideo took a big step toward making its video analytics more ubiquitous this week with an announcement that its OnBoard suite of analytics is now available on Intel Architecture.
What this means, said Ed Troha, director of global marketing at ObjectVideo, is that "a manufacturer with a zillion Intel-based DVRs installed can now offer OV as a customer upgrade. Previously, the OEM would have had to sell an additional hardware overlay--a board or a blade--now it can be a software...
Argyle secures $15 million in financing
April 24, 2008SSN Staff
SAN ANTONIOâ€â€Systems integrator Argyle Security announced April 24 it has received a $15 million stock investment from Mezzanine Management, an independent investment firm. Argyle will issue roughly 18,750 shares of preferred stock, with each share convertible to 100 shares of common stock at $8 a share.
Argyle has been an active acquirer since beginning operations in July 2007, having most recently bought Peterson Detention, FireQuest, and Com-Tec Security for a total of roughly...