Out with the old...

Well, it's been two years on the job, now. I guess it's time I changed a few things around here. Unless you're not particularly observant, you'll notice that we've changed the look of the paper significantly this month (all in order to make a big impression at the ASIS show, dontcha know). There's nothing particularly different about the content--other than the fact it's better than ever, of course--but we've tried to streamline the way you access information in the paper and make it easier for you to find the information in which you're most interested. Notice the pretty color-coding. As always, if there is news happening in the industry you feel we're not covering, or undercovering, please be in touch (my email address is right over there in masthead). The goal of the paper is to give information to you, the readers, the people out there designing and installing security systems (and doing other low-voltage work along the way), that you can then use to make better decisions about your business practices. We write about integrators and installers so that you can keep up with the Joneses. We write about new codes and regulations so you can better understand the marketplace. We write about new technology entering the market so you can train and prepare your staff to design better solutions and accommodate new demands that will be made by end users. We write about manufacturers so you can make better decisions about which companies you want to represent as you go into the marketplace. Please do let us know if there's information you're lacking as you try to plan for the next five years and beyond. Another place we give you news and information is on the Internet at our Web site, www.securitysystemsnews.com. Frequent visitors to the site will see that there's been a dramatic transformation there, as well. First and foremost, there are simply more stories, posted more often. No longer does the site only change once a week. Now, new stories are added as we write them and you will also see a list of the most popular stories, so you can see what everybody else is reading (and what's more fun than that?). Maybe you can answer a question for me there, actually. Why does everyone so like to read about other people being sued? Also new to the site is my own personal blog, where I'll be posting articles and thoughts about news as it happens. For those of you unfamiliar with blogs, let me explain that the writing there is decidedly different, as it's geared toward pointing out reference points on the Web. Look for the underlined words and follow the links wherever they may take you (as long as you come back to www.securitysystemsnews.com). Again, the changes are geared to help you find what you want. Each market segment, integration, monitoring, fire, residential, and suppliers, now has its own home page, which you are free to bookmark as you will. And don't worry that you're visiting those pages way too often. We can handle all the traffic you can create, I'm sure, and if you're on our site you're working, right? Thanks for reading.