Blog Archives
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Profiteers versus public safety
By Deborah L. O'Mara - Monday May 5, 2008Shame on you Wal-Mart and big box retailers as well as other stores who focus solely on profits and forsake the safety of their customers. Recently on a local Chicago news station customers of the no. 1 Fortune 500 company (Wal-Mart) had a rash of theft in their parking lots, and when the victims tried to get evidence from the video cameras, many were said to not be working, or never working at all. Check it out at http://video.nbc5.com/player/?id=247256 Wal-Mart is not alone. There are other companies like Target and K-Mart that perhaps love those signs that announce the presence of video, but are they just a guise? Are dummy cameras still around and being used in these instances and many more around the country? No cameras at... -
Living and learning
By Deborah L. O'Mara - Sunday April 13, 2008The alarm industry gets it. They understand the tie-in to computer and information technology. They understand it's much more than providing burglar and fire alarms, or at least it is if success is to follow. This was quite evident at the recent ISC West show. Take, for example, Alarm Net, a Honeywell Communications network and its Total Connect program. It's evolution in action. The alarm industry is doing more than monitoring openings and closings. Total Connect lets authorized dealers provide customers value-added services (another phrase you will hear us talk about more and more in the near future). Basically it sends SMS or text messages to laptops, pda's, cellular telephones and more to alert the customer of... -
You’d Better Believe
By Deborah L. O'Mara - Friday February 15, 2008The students were in disbelief. Everything seemed slow motion. One of the students thought the weapon sounded like a champagne cork popping. That reminded me of my ‘ladies rifle’ the one I love so much for the fine art of game hunting. It’s light and easy to use and quiet. But it’s lethal and the backfire packs a bunch. (I have a Firearm Owners Identification card (FOID) and have taken hunter’s safety training classes.) For those who don’t believe it can happen to you, anytime, anywhere, you’d better believe. When a gunman opened fire at my Alma mater Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill., yesterday afternoon, my thoughts turned to all the fun times there, in that lecture hall and... -
Can Security Products Be ‘Green?’ You Bet
By Deborah L. O'Mara - Friday January 11, 2008One of the biggest movements in building is toward green and energy efficient premises that meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) goals. Part of this program, which provides credits and various project certification rating categories, includes lighting and energy efficient building operations. Does security have a part in this green movement?  You bet! If you’re not familiar, the LEED program is administered by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), Washington, D.C., see www.usgbc.org. The LEED Green Building Rating System™ promotes the use and adoption of sustainable green building and development and it’s based on overall building performance. It’s definitely the future... -
Conventional versus addressable fire alarm panels
By Deborah L. O'Mara - Monday December 3, 2007You may have heard from some that the conventional fire alarm panel is dead. I don't agree. In fact, conventional panels certainly fill a need in the marketplace. Sure, addressable panels may offer more intelligence and the ability to pinpoint alarms and include additional supervisory circuitry, but not every application needs all the advantages that these types of fire systems offer, along with the higher price tag. Again, as with everything in the security industry, it all goes back to selecting the right product for the application. Conventional panels are no slouches, they have been updated with new features and functions and are more robust then ever. They are easy to control and maintain and service and fit well... -
Only the Best
By Deborah L. O'Mara - Friday October 19, 2007A lot of people don’t understand the security industry and that may be a good thing. Remember the 80s when mass-marketed systems first hit the streets with free equipment and installation? Kind of ruined the good thing many dealers had going and certainly changed the course of the industry.  Or,  around the same time frame or later when outside investors from industries-- names the likes of the car rental czar (you know who I mean) snatched up some of the finest alarm companies from our ranks? Then, and now, a security dealer and integrator knows how to reinvent themselves and their companies. In the above examples there were truly inventive security dealers and integrators who knew exactly what to do. Faced with harsh...
