Blog Archives
-
Facial recognition goes mainstream
By Geoff Kohl - Wednesday October 11, 2006I found this very interesting piece of news the other day. It pertained to Picasa , which is Google Inc.'s photo management system (kind of like iPhoto from Steve Jobs/Apple). This software basically finds all your photos on your PC in the same way that Google's core web search engine finds pages like this one on the Net.  [Incidentally, I was thinking how this is pretty similar to what Steve Russell at 3VR is doing with its searches for surveillance video, but that might be a bit of a stretch.] So, the fact that Picasa can organize your photos is nice, but so what? Here's the "What" -- the next version of the Picasa software is reportedly designed to use facial recognition to help you sort the photos. So if you want to see all... -
Still got it
By Greg McConnell - Thursday September 28, 2006When Bob Dole took the stage to a thunderous applause this past Tuesday morning in the San Diego Convention Center to keynote the ASIS International tradeshow, I began to get a little nervous for him because he didn't look as I had remembered. His head hung a little lower, his hands were a bit shakier, and he moved unsteadily across the stage. It was a glaring reminder to me that it had been a whole decade since he had run for president; and while I was still confident that he would deliver an able speech, I was lowering my expectations as the welcoming applause gradually became fainter and fainter.    But soon after Dole's speech began, he really got rolling and had the... -
Live from ASIS 2006
By Geoff Kohl - Tuesday September 26, 2006The crew from the Cygnus Security Group of publications -- SecurityInfoWatch.com, Security Technology & Design and Security Dealer -- are out here in San Diego, Calif., where the weather's awful. Ok, we're pulling your leg on that last part. We just wrapped up Day 1 of the 2006 ASIS International Seminars and Exhibits, and I think after reviewing all the technology, we're on a little bit of a buzz. From new digital signal processing in cameras to analytics systems, to PoE switches, to Ethernet managed door hardware (yes, right to the door itself), we've seen a bit of everything. Look for our show reports over on www.securityinfowatch.com/asis2006 , and if you're out here, please stop by at booth 1029, drop off a business card and say... -
The South American Security Tour
By Geoff Kohl - Friday September 15, 2006I just returned from approximately two weeks in Peru, and while I was there for a little R&R, I can never seem to take off my security hat. While most of my time was spent in rural areas slinging a camera and enjoying the natural wonders of the Incans, I couldn’t help but bump into a bit of "security" along the way, so I want to share some observations: 1) Security lines are better than ever. I flew out on Labor Day weekend, a pretty popular weekend as far as flying goes, but TSA security lines seemed faster than ever at the Atlanta airport. I chalk it up to more checked luggage as people are putting items like hair gels and shampoo bottles into their checked luggage, and only bringing the on-plane essentials through the... -
Verified Response: A Hot Topic
By Greg McConnell - Monday September 4, 2006NOTE: This has been re-posted from July. Thank you. Regardless of where you stand in today's heated debate over Verified Repsonse in the burglar alarm industry, one thing is clear: The number of police departments enacting Verified Response policies is growing. Police departments and security dealers both want to keep people and property safe. However, things start to get interesting (i.e., "contentious") when it comes to how costs and responsibilities should be divvied up in the event of a false alarm.  So what's your take? In your experience as a security dealer, do you see Verified Response at the wave of the future? What about Enhanced Call Verification (ECV), where multiple calls must be made... -
It’s all in the handle
By Greg McConnell - Thursday August 31, 2006Last week Warren Simonsen, vice president operations, SimonsVoss Inc. , came down from Milwaukee to visit our office here in Chicagoland. SimonsVoss makes door handles with electronic locks. The company is based out of Germany and has solid roots in the European market. (For example, the impressive Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, where many World Cup soccer games and festivities were held, uses SimonsVoss products throughout). Now the company is trying to get established in the U.S. Simonsen gave a demo and presentation of the SimonsVoss SV1 lock that they hope to introduce to the U.S. market in October. He explained the product as being the middle ground between mechanical door... -
Is IBM next?
By Geoff Kohl - Monday August 28, 2006Earlier this week we published an interview with Steve Collen of Cisco, and judging by the number of your fellow readers who have loaded this article, we really struck a chord. Interestingly enough, just a day after we published that, we got wind that IBM had acquired Internet Security Systems. Now while the ISS acquisition may seem a bit unrelated to those of you selling and working with physical security systems, a side note to the whole IBM acquisition story was that about a month ago, IBM slipped under the radar of the news media and acquired a company called MRO Software. Now, don't be puzzled if you haven't heard much about MRO Software; neither had many in the industry. A little research into MRO explains that they are a company... -
Product over Process
By Marleah Blades - Monday August 28, 2006Thanks for popping in to read the first post on my blog. I’m the behind-the-scenes gal on Security Technology & Design. Many of you know Steve Lasky, our editor, from his monthly editorial, The Front Page. I’m hoping to use this space as my own little Front Page, a place to discuss thoughts about security and the industry that don’t always fit in the pages of the magazine. For my inaugural post, a brief observation about retail security in practice. Not far from my house, there’s a box store—one of those giants of retail industry that sells peanuts by the gallon and toilet paper by the cartful. Recently, this store implemented self checkout stations where its “10 or less†aisles used to... -
Nagin Steps In It Again
By Steve - Friday August 25, 2006Heading into the office this morning I had the radio tuned to my favorite Atlanta talk show. Since I don't drink coffee, talk radio is my system's morning jolt. Lo and behold half way up GA 400 the lightening struck. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was in the house, which is always entertaining since everytime he speaks he steps in a pile of it. The station was replaying his comments from a national TV show where Nagin was asked about delays in rebuilding New Orleans during the year following Hurricane Katrina. Nagin immediately goes on the defensive and attacks efforts to redevelop the World Trade Center site. When a correspondent for the CBS news show "60 Minutes" chided Nagin about all the flood-damaged cars abandoned on New... -
Lessons from IT Security
By Geoff Kohl - Wednesday August 23, 2006Here in the metro Atlanta area where the SecurityInfoWatch.com offices are, we've got a few big security players, like Videolarm and Vistacape, but on the IT security side, none are bigger than Internet Security Systems, better known as ISS. This morning, as I walked in the door, I took a call from IBM's public relations department asking me to join them on a call discussing how they plan to acquire ISS. Three hours later, I was on the call with Tom Newnan of ISS and IBM's Val Rahmani, plus a pack of other news hounds. Now, our industry, being largely focused on physical security systems (but with obvious overtures to IT security), may not pay great attention to the buys and sells of the IT world, but it should, and her's why...
