BlackBerry

BlackBerry is on fire or should I say creating a `storm' among the smartphone business user market around the world. According to analysts at the NPD Group (National Purchase Diary, a leading global market research company) , Research in Motion’s BlackBerry Curve range outsold iPhone in the 1^st quarter of 2009 in the United States , relegate Apple’s flagship gear into 2^nd place.

Malaysia Telco Mexis and Celcom are also going all out to capitalize on this mega storm. This BlackBerry phenomena was initiated by the most powerful man in the world, US President Barack Obama. This Obama tipping point had rippled out throughout the world.

To ride on this fruity trend we as CCTV solution provider must take heed and pay attention to DVR (Digital Video Recorder) which supports RIM's BlackBerry offsite remote monitoring and viewing. With Obama devotion and endorsement I am very sure BlackBerry supporting DVR is the next big thing in our CCTV industry.

Check out our BlackBerry supporting DVR; http://tander.com.my/dvr.html

CCTV Fallacies

Would like to share with you a few CCTV fallacies;

1. CCTV is to 'catch' thief.

The heroic act of thief apprehension is the prerogative of Royal Malaysian Police not civilian who had installed CCTV. A well planned CCTV deployment is more for crime prevention.

2. Only a pervert will use CCTV.

A knife can be used to rob a bank or to prepare a meal for your family.

3. CCTV is very expensive hence CCTV is for rich people only.

Depending on how extensive you want your CCTV system. It can be as simple as 1 network IP camera like the RM450 Panasonic BLC1 which allows you to record, monitor via Internet and handphone.

4. CCTV is an unnecessary expenses.

CCTV is capital investment which will help you to monitor productivity, improve efficiency, reduce losses and eventually to improve your bottom line.

5. CCTV is very difficult to install should I want to do it myself.

Installing Wi-Fi network IP camera is a matter of plug and play.

6. CCTV is very difficult to use.

Once the CCTV system is properly deployed and configured, operation is as easy as using your DVD player.

7. CCTV is expensive to maintain.

A good quality CCTV equipment is stable and reliable. In fact it is more costly and troublesome to hire a guard or rearing a dog than maintaining a CCTV system.

to be continue....

Picture: The Starbucks Paradox by Bernie Hou

Music to My Ears

Today I would like to share with you a few fine example of WARRANTY claim;

1. “I bought the DVR from you a year ago, please come and help me to backup a recorded video footage for free.”

Music to my ears; I bought the car from you a year ago, please come and help me to pick up my kids from their school for free.

2. “My new CCTV camera was damaged by power surged, please replace it for free.”

Music to my ears; My new car was damaged by a falling tree, please replace it for free.

3. “ Come to reconfigure my router (as the router configuration had changed on its own) for free as I can no longer access to my DVR via Internet.”

Music to my ears; Come to readjust my car seat (as the seat had changed its position on its own) for free as my legs can no longer reach the paddles.

4. “ My PC that hosts your DVR card is not working, come to fix it for free.”

Music to my ears; My car porch to park the car I bought from you is leaking, come to fix it for free.

5. “ Your come to just tighten a screw, don't charge me.”

Music to my ears; Your time, years of study, experience is worthless and you can pump petrol for free right?

I am not saying that those customers of mine are unreasonable but they had failed to see their requests are indeed unreasonable :)

Change

The world had changed quite a bit since I wrote.

Obama did live up to his election campaign promise, change. In the name of 'saving the world from falling to the economic abyss' Obama administration had changed the banking accounting rule to make the books of those 'great' American banks look better.

Back home, we have our vary own interesting changes as well. We got a new premier, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and a new cabinet line-up. Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the Opposition Leader said the opposition front will be establishing a special panel that makes up of our nation vary first shadow Cabinet and its ministries.

Change is also happening to Malaysia surveillance industry, the migration from conventional analog video surveillance systems to an IP networked based platform had started. Since the beginning of 2009 more and more government entities and corporates had started shopping around for IP cameras and Network Video Recorder (NVR) solution.

Depending upon specific system requirements, both analog and IP systems have advantages. The decision to move to an IP platform does not have to be black or white neither, in-between there is a hybrid system which can deliver the best of both worlds while providing the flexibility to enhance or expand your system as the need arises.

We can not say that this will mark the beginning of a complete exodus from analog to IP platform as there is still a tremendous demand for analog products and systems. There are many criteria to consider before a decision can be made when designing and building a new system or upgrading an existing system.

We will revisit this topic again in the future. Meantime, observing we shall.

Worm

In recent weeks a worm, a malicious software program, has swept through corporate, educational and public computer networks around the world. Known as Conficker or Downadup Experts say it is the worst infection since the Slammer worm exploded through the Internet in January 2003, and it may have infected as many as nine million personal computers around the world. Conficker harness infected computers into unified systems called botnets, which can then accept programming instructions from their clandestine masters. It might operate in the background, using the infected computer to send spam or infect other computers, or it might steal the PC user’s personal information.

If you were serious about your CCTV deployment, it is a must to have a dedicated computer to host the PCI DVR card. In other words you should not use the same PC for any other purposes but to run the DVR main server program. A dedicated PC server will definitely reduce the chances of infecting computer viruses and hence reduce the down time of the DVR.

Up vs. Down

Couple of days ago I went to the airport with a friend. At the lift lobby he pressed the down button. I asked him, “ain't we suppose to go up to the arrival hall at 3^rd Floor?”. Huai answered, “ Yes. That's why I call the lift car down as both cars are on the top floor.”

This incident remind me of a quote from JAWS, the 1975 classic shark movie directed by Steven Spielberg.

Brody: It doesn't make any sense when you pay a guy like you to watch sharks.

Hooper: Well, uh, it doesn't make much sense for a guy who hates the water to live on an island either.

Brody: It's only an island if you look at it from the water.

Hooper: That makes a lot of sense.

That is why the same DVR interface, some users find it friendly & easy and other don't. I guess it all boils down to one's perspective & way of reasoning.

Vaastu Shastra

A prospect asked us to work out a CCTV system for his new bungalow in Bangsar with one extra requirement, that is the placement of those cameras should be according to the advise of his Vaastu Shastra (Indian Feng Shui) master.

I am not against Feng Shui but for any CCTV deployment we already have enough elements to consider; the building structure, illumination & the light source(s) at different time of the day, aesthetic & tidiness of the deployment. Just to name a few.

Then again, this new element... or rather OLD Feng Shui belief could turn out to be vary popular and not to be taken lightly especially during this anticipated prolong depressing economy period.

Well, you never know, Feng Shui could be the next big thing in our CCTV industry.