The Schlage CM Safe School electronic locking system provides student and faculty safety in case of a hostile intruder. A faculty member uses a proximity card to access the classroom or to lock down the room from inside as needed. When placed in Safe School Lockdown, ordinary credentials do not unlock the door from outside. An inside LED display verifies that the door has been locked. Locks can be programmed from a laptop computer or PDA. A Smar Time feature allows locks to be programmed to unlock at the beginning of the school day and to lock after dismissal.

Security Management - November, 2003.

A pen that helps improve memory

Kolkata - January 3, 2004 - Devised by engineer Biswaroop Roy Chowdhury from Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, the device, - Mnemonic Pen - is said to help in memorising anything ten times faster. The pen has been built with memory codes based on a technique of visualization and imagination. He demonstrated his skills with a simple number game where he asked journos present there to come up with double digit numbers randomly, which he wrote on a board. When the board was full, he could repeat the numbers verbatim even in the reverse direction. If one wants to improve one's brain bytes, the memory enhancing training conducted at Guru Dronacharya Educational Research and Training Pvt. Ltd. comes in a six-day package with a kit containing the Mnemonic pen, and costs Rs.2500/-.

The Asian Age - January 4, 2004.

Smart-card readers

Model 260 medium 14-inch read-range smart-card readers from GE Interlogix Access and Integration Group of Boca Raton, Florida, offer universal compatibility with all ISO 15693 and 14443A security badges, disc tags, and key fob credentials. Users can implement contactless smart-card technology for logical/information access control, time and attendance, and other applications in addition to physical access control.

Security Management - November, 2003.

Anonymous incident reporting

My Safe Workplace of Golden, Colorado, has released a version of web- and phone-based anonymous incident reporting solution. When a company registers for the service, its employees can make a report via toll-free telephone call or Internet round the clock, interacting with staff who can take reports in more than 140 different languages. The service is designed for reporting theft, fraud, substance abuse, unfair labour practices, harassment, discrimination, unsafe conditions, ethics violations, and other concerns. New features of the solution include automated distribution of incident reports, enhanced capabilities to interact with the individual submitting the report and a secure database for tracking management discussion and actions.

Security Management - November, 2003.

Security and Detection Systems - X-ray screening systems

L-3 Security and Detection Systems of Woburn, Massachusetts, has introduced its enhanced PX product line of X-Ray with standard sizes which can accommodate even the smallest footprint. The company offers a wide range of systems capable of screening everything from incoming mail to 40-foot shipping containers. Cargo inspection imaging is superior on the company's high-resolution 24-inch, flat panel display.

Security Management - November, 2003.

Building management software

I/NET Seven is a new software version of the high-performance building security system form TAC of Malmo, Sweden. It is designed with a peer-to-peer architecture and so any device in the system can interact without depending on a host computer. As it does not have any server, there is no single point of failure, and the costs are lower. The system maintains a standard of backward compatibility to legacy systems and integrates with all devices in a system, including lighting controls, without multiple front-ends, networks, or gateways. Its sophisticated alarm management relays warnings to other workstations, refers alarms, initiates pagers, and sends text messages to mobile phones and e-mail addresses.

Security Management - November, 2003.

UK - world's Biggest Brother

London - January 12, 2004 - Britain has turned into the world's biggest big brother nation where residents of London can expect to be caught on CCTV at least 300 times a day. More than four million surveillance cameras monitor the country's every move, making Britain the most-watched nation in the world. Britain accounts for one-fifth of all CCTV cameras worldwide. Most of the members of the public are often unaware they are being filmed, and are usually ignorant of the relevant rules and regulations governing the use of cameras in Britain.

The Asian Age - January 13, 2004.

IIT toppers' magic in surveillance - Use latest in chip technology with eye on 2008 Olympics

Pune - January 19, 2004 - In 1989, two IIT (Powai) toppers, Nitin Joshi and Anant Gokhale, passed on offers from Siemens, TCS and MNCs and pulled out Rs 50,000 from savings from scholarship to build a communication system used in computers and industrial automation. In 1996, the duo realised there was a huge potential for embedded software exports. Since then, they have been busy creating intellectual property in security and surveillance systems, and expect to roll out the product in four months. ''Incidents like that in Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute could have been prevented if there was a proper surveillance system in place,'' Joshi pointed out. With an eye on the 2008 Olympics, Joshi has already made a trip to China. ''We have found customers in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan - they are the pioneers of new technology, never shy of testing it out.'' With M.Tech degrees in Instrumentation, Joshi and Gokhale's motto is to make technology more useful to common people. A senior citizen has to just press a button or pull a cord (the bathroom has a sensor-fitted cord). This will alert the CMS which can then come to their aid.

The Indian Express - January 20, 2004

This car parks itself

Tokyo - Parallel parking is designed to be a breeze with the intelligent Parking Assist system, part of a new @2,200 option package for Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius gas-electric hybrid in Japan - a car parks itself. Parking Assist relies on a built-in computer, steering sensor and a tiny camera in the car's rear and works like this: A dashboard display shows the image taken by the camera. When you near a parking space and shift into reverse, computerized lines pipe up on the display, along with arrows pointing up, down, left and right. Using the arrows, you move the lines around until they define exactly where you want the car to be parked.

Times of India - January 21, 2004.

Food for Thought

"An error becomes a mistake only when you refuse to correct it."

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You can achieve anything you want in life if you have the courage to dream it, the intelligence to make a realistic plan, and the will to see that plan through to the end.

Sidney A. Friedman
(1935-, Entrepreneur, Author)

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Whatever you may look like, marry a man your own age. As your beauty fades, so will his eyesight.

--Phyllis Diller