Archive: September 2010
Leesburg, Va. adopting new false alarm ordinance
September 30, 2010SSN Staff
LEESBURG, Va.—A Sept. 29 story from Leesburg Today reports Leesburg will begin charging for law enforcement response to repeat false alarms at homes and businesses.
The Loudoun County (in which Leesburg is located) Board of Supervisors instituted a false alarm ordinance in 2005 to levy fines on businesses and residents who trigger more than two false alarms in a year. Following the third false alarm, a $100 fine is levied and fines increase on subsequent calls to a maximum of $1,000 per false...
United Central Control debuts UCC iConnect
September 30, 2010Daniel Gelinas
SAN ANTONIO—United Central Control is ready to roll out advanced RMR generators to dealers, beginning with video monitoring services from SureView and OzVision in mid-October. The video offerings will allow dealers to provide more services, and by extension more value to their accounts. Furthermore, UCC SVP Mark Matlock said video is just the first step in creating a new suite of advanced, a la carte offerings under the brand UCC iConnect.
“This initiative will include a lot of interactive...
Richmond Alarm consolidates operations
September 30, 2010Daniel Gelinas
MIDLOTHIAN, Va.—Wayne Boggs says his company, Richmond Alarm Company, is ready for future growth with an almost completed move from four different offices in three different locations in downtown Richmond into a much larger, single building on a 4.5-acre lot, based here.
“The last two years we've seen a decline in sales. We've seen that improve a little bit in the last few months. It's a slow recovery so far, but we have a huge customer base and a huge monitoring base,” Boggs said....
Speco Technologies beefs up product engineering team
September 30, 2010Martha Entwistle
AMITYVILLE, N.Y.—Video security surveillance manufacturer Speco has beefed up its product engineering team with an eye toward “creating something that's a bit different with our products,” according to Peter Botelho, executive vice president, in an email interview with Security Systems News.
Speco this week announced it had hired three new staff members including software engineer Eduardo Fajardo, and two product engineers, Nicholas Irons and Zin Thu.
“Speco is known in the...
Will Apple patent move biometrics away from security?
September 30, 2010Daniel Gelinas
I was going through my Google Alerts today and came across an intersting article from WIRED about a new patent recently granted to Apple. The patent is for what WIRED argues is THE new use for biometrics: Personalization. WIRED says biometrics has been oversold and doesn't work all that well for security, but may be a perfect fit for personalization.
We've written about Apple and security before.
From the WIRED article:
"The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last week granted Apple a patent...
Mace delists from NASDAQ, gets new board member
September 30, 2010Martha Entwistle
As of today, Mace Security International's common stock will no longer be traded on the NASDAQ, and instead will be traded on OTCQB system.
This move is the culmination of events that started last spring with a March 22 letter NASDAQ sent Mace saying the bid price of the company's common stock had closed at less than $1 per share over the previous 30 consecutive trading days, which didn't comply with NASDAQ Listing Qualifications. Mace was then given 180 calendar days to regain compliance. To do...
Talking IP-standards at ASIS
September 30, 2010SSN Staff
DALLAS—If you're interested in IP standards, the October 12-15 ASIS International 56th Annual Seminar & Exhibits has a couple of events you may want to add to your schedule.
ONVIF, a standardization initiative for IP-based physical security products, announced Sept. 30 that it will host an open networking breakfast on October 14. The event is billed as an opportunity to hear the latest news from ONVIF and get an update on the ONVIF interoperability event that will take place at the ESSEN...
This Blog's on Fire (And Other Stuff)
New report: Retrofit market sunny spot for fire installers
September 30, 2010Tess Nacelewicz
The worldwide economic recession has impacted the fire alarm equipment market because of a decline in new construction, says a new report by Global Industry Analyst, but the news isn't all bad: The report says building renovation activity is creating significant demand for fire alarm systems, and is an area of great growth potential.
Demand for fire alarm products dropped noticeably during 2008 and 2009 because of a steep fall in new construction activity during the recession, according to this...
Schneider Electric integrators gain IT credibility with Cisco certification
September 30, 2010Leischen Stelter
CHICAGO—The increasing demand for integrators to be able to talk the talk with IT professionals prompted Schneider Electric to pursue Cisco Video Surveillance Authorized Technology Provider status for its integrators, the company announced on Sept. 29.
Increasingly, integrators are working directly with IT departments, rather than just security, to design solutions. Having Cisco training and certification not only improves the systems being designed, but also gives Schneider Electric's integrators...
NFPA wants new December conference to be annual event
September 30, 2010Tess Nacelewicz
QUINCY, Mass.—A special NFPA conference in December will feature the most up-to-date fire and safety code information taught by experts who work directly with those codes.
The NFPA Fire and Life Safety Conference, to be held from Dec. 13 to Dec. 17 in Orlando, “is a new and exciting concept for NFPA,” said Kim Fontes, NFPA's division director, product development. She said NFPA hopes the conference will become an annual event.
The three-day conference, led by NFPA experts, differs...