We have all seen images of the ancient cavemen, with the group standing around a roaring fire while some brave soul holds a skewered piece of mastodon meat and tries to get the perfect grill lines. Heat is important when living in a cold environment such as Chicago. While my SoCal, Caribbean and desert friends don’t usually have this problem, I can assure you that when the heat fails in Chicago during January, not only does the family get upset, but serious consequences can occur, including broken water pipes and marital tension.

Have you ever experienced a moment in time when you said, “Why didn’t I think about that before?” I had one of those moments in an elevator while attending the recent CompTIA ChannelCon conference in Chicago.

Writers are taught to use the most precise words possible, so understandably, a writer’s liberal use of the word “thing” in any one article or essay is frowned upon by journalism teachers. Thus when the term Internet of Things came to be widely used, I was delighted by its ability to deliver such a broad and imprecise meaning. It was intriguing, yet ultimately too wide-ranging — just what was this Internet of Things (IoT)?

NVRs are forecast to account for a growing proportion of video surveillance hardware recording technology shipped.

Systems integrator Preferred Technologies Inc., Houston, has integrated the intelligent networking capabilities of LifeSafety Power’s FlexPower iSCAN (Supervision Control Access Notification) SmartPower system to Genetec’s unified security platform called Security Center. Preferred Technologies, known as Pref-Tech, has implemented the integration successfully at numerous customer sites.

Honeywell’s Focal4 Shared Situational Awareness (SSA) system from Gamewell-FCI delivers real-time topic trending information from Twitter.

Find out about the latest technology in the security industry.

Columnist Roy Pollack helps technicians test their skills in the basics, best practices, and codes that govern wiring.

 As a handgun enthusiast I have handled and fired all sorts of semi-automatic pistols and revolvers (and I still have all my fingers). Thanks to my late friend George Maddox I became acquainted with the 1911-style .45-caliber pistol, which was the U.S. military’s sidearm of choice from its introduction in the early 1900s until 1985, when it was replaced by the Beretta M9 9 mm. Many handgun experts have waxed poetic on the qualities of the 1911-style pistol, often declaring it the best handgun ever designed. 

The Telguard Installer Tools app for iPhone and Android smartphones is designed to help Telguard security dealers more quickly and efficiently install Telguard products and solutions.