When it comes to Internet Browsers, you have a choice. Many sites rely on your browser to do more than simply display a page; they actually off-load “processing” to the browser and are very demanding. From the beginning, SGS architected STAGES to run exclusively within the browser, and to rely on the browser to act as its own mini operating system. In this case, the user experience is reliant on the browser's ability to handle the workload and to interact with the user/server correctly. Believe us when we say not all browsers are created equal!

It is very likely that you have a Windows computer and use Internet Explorer (IE). IE has become the defacto standard largely because it is preinstalled on all Windows computers. In fact, many of us never gave it a second thought and simply used IE because it was already installed on our systems. While all Microsoft Windows computers come preloaded with Internet Explorer, there are now several very good options you should consider.

Internet Explorer

Microsoft has done a good job at providing a free browser that is largely compatible with websites across the web. Internet Explorer supports most of the add-ins you’ll need, and does the job well enough to keep the average user from using another browser. As a company who is pushing the capabilities of browser, we have found IE to be sub-par in a few areas.

Even though IE is widely used, it is not very good at following the published web standards. In fact, since IE is used by so many people, there are many developers who specifically code to the IE browser capabilities. In doing this, the unaware web developer will find that they use IE-only extensions, and their work will not function properly in other browsers. As standards evolve, IE seems to be evolving as well. The pending IE8 (now in beta) is said to be standards compliant, yet, will let users optionally revert back to IE-specific behavior (to accommodate all the IE-only code in place across the web).

While it has the majority of the browser market, IE is arguably the poorest performing of the major browser options. You might think that your internet connection is slow, but you could be pleasantly surprised by the performance boost you’ll get by simply trying another browser. IE shares its memory and information across all tabs you have open, so if one crashes they all crash.

IE is here to stay, but you might want to consider trying other options, if you haven’t already.

Firefox

Firefox is an open source browser that is free to download and use. Firefox is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. As of today, Firefox is running a distant second to Internet Explorer when it comes to the number of users using the product. However, don’t be fooled; this “second place browser” is very capable, and you should consider running it if you are not already.

The current version of Firefox is 3.0, with 3.1 already in the works. Firefox 3.0 is very stable, and VERY speedy. As a casual user you should see your average website open up 2-3 times as fast in Firefox 3.0 when compared to IE7. Most of this performance increase is due to how fast Firefox displays information. Future revisions of Firefox should also include improvements in how fast Firefox can process information, which will only enhance the user experience. Firefox 3.0 is much closer to adhering to today’s published web standards, but once again, there are many IE-specific things that web developers do that may make their pages appear a little odd. Since many of us run on a Windows-based computer, I would suggest giving Firefox 3.0 a try, and revert back to IE7 only when necessary.

As developers we have found the tools for Firefox 3.0 to be superior to those available for IE. Sometimes debugging code under the hood of a website can be difficult, but at least Firefox has provided some tools to help.

If you haven’t tried Firefox 3.0, you should. If you are a loyal Firefox 3.0 user, it is likely that you don’t think I am being strong enough in my recommendation to give Firefox a try.

Safari

By and large Safari hasn’t been a player in the browser game for a while. Until just over a year ago Safari was not available for Windows computers, so it was really only used by the Mac crowd who didn’t convert to using Firefox. Today Safari can still be found on Macs, and is making its way onto Windows computers as well. Taking a page out of the Microsoft playbook, Apple has started to push Safari onto Windows systems as part of an update to iTunes. If you are an iPod owner who uses iTunes, then you have to specifically exclude Safari from being installed on your system.

Safari is capable, yet, not compelling. When compared to IE or Firefox, you are likely to see more sites look funny when you use Safari. You also will not see the performance increase that you will by using Firefox. While not compelling, you might want to keep an eye on Safari in the future. Apple will continue to push it out to users, and, since it is the browser powering the iPhone and iPod touch, it is likely to continue to get development attention and to improve along the way.

Google Chrome

The newest player in the browser game is Google. Last month Google announced their browser product “Chrome”. Instantly IE and Firefox had a formidable competitor. Chrome is not just another browser, it’s a browser backed by the “owner” of internet search and advertising.

There are a few very compelling reasons to consider using Chrome as your primary browser. First of all, it works and works well. It has Google’s signature minimalist styling. There are not a lot of buttons or toolbars, and the majority of the real estate is dedicated to web page content. Like IE and Firefox, Chrome has tabs along the top so you can have multiple web pages open at once. Chrome tabs are along the very top of the page, and each tab has its own navigation box (where you put in the web addresses for sites). When using Chrome, you can type in a web address (i.e. http://www.secglobe.net), or, you can enter in search words and it will open a Google page with your search results. The are other innovative and handy little user interface treats, but the real power of Chrome is deep beneath its surface.

When Google began writing Chrome, they re-architected the way most browser programs are structured. Google recognized that as the web evolves, most sites are becoming more like applications and less like static content. A great deal of time and energy went into how Chrome processes javascript (the most common programming language sites off load to the browser to process). Chrome is blazingly fast in this area. Additionally, Chrome handles each of the open tabs as unique individual programs. Tabs do not share memory or variables or anything else that could cause one tab to crash another. If you run into a problem with a misbehaving site, that tab might die, but the rest of your open tabs live on. Likewise, when one tab demands more resources, it is getting the resources from the computer system rather than stealing them from the other tabs running. This architecture allows companies like SGS to create intense demanding applications designed to be run within the browser as if the browser is its own operating system. Google plans releases for Mac and Linux operating systems in the near future.

Time will tell, but Chrome seems promising and poised to change the browser game.

Others

There are other browsers out there ( Opera, Netscape 9 discontinued, etc.), but IE, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome are the major players to watch. Opera has a stronghold in the mobile browser arena, but, blackberry is releasing a new browser in coming weeks that may make inroads into their installed base. In fact, it is a good time to mention that the “Mobile Browser” market is very fragmented, largely due to the preferences of carriers and mobile phone/device manufacturers. Look for this market segment to change significantly in the next few years. Many of the remaining browsers available are specific to a particular need or audience, and most are esoteric and uninteresting to the average web user.

Summary

You likely have IE loaded on one or more of the computers you own. IE is good, but not great, but it is very convenient. Today most web users still use IE, but more and more users are beginning to give other products a try. For speed and compatibility, Firefox 3.0 is a very solid choice, and it runs on multiple operating systems. Apple’s Safari browser is less compelling, yet it is likely to gain further acceptance due to its ties with iTunes and the iPhone/iPod Touch. Most recently, Google has released Chrome, which is structured to host industrial-strength browser applications of the future. From a purely structural standpoint, Chrome aligns perfectly with the way SGS sees application development in the future, and caters to the exact foundation utilized by STAGES. Chrome is new to the game, but in true Google tradition, it is likely to change the game.

In the beginning there were a few browser choices, and then it seemed that only IE remained. Today you have a several good browsers to choose from, and all of them are good options. Try something new and download and run one of the IE competitors, then select the best browser based on your experience rather than just because it was already loaded on you computer.

Last week I posted here and told you to watch out for an exciting announcement. As promised, I am happy to report that STAGES has gone live! Wednesday at 8pm EST, STAGES processed its first alarm signal.

STAGES development began 11 months ago. In that time the complete product has been developed. The product includes receiver interfaces, a revolutionary dispatch wizard, a web-facing dealer product, and all the features and requirements of a state of the art monitoring and dispatch solution.

I could post plenty of hyped or sensational statements, but the facts speak for themselves; SGS has developed a complete monitoring product, implemented it, and taken it live with a customer across 3 fully redundant sites...all in less than 11 months.

This is just the beginning...

The very nature of a blog is to provide informal communication from blogger to readers on a regular basis. The focus here being REGULAR BASIS!

The past year has been a flurry since our one and only inaugural post. Sounds like and excuse, and, it is. Assuming you will forgive us for our blog absence, we are ready to move forward and begin regular postings after ISC in the beginning of April. At ISC we will host our 2nd annual breakfast. The breakfast will give us the forum to update you on what we have done, and tell you where we are going. Last year we were excited, this year we are ecstatic! Come enjoy breakfast and hear what’s going on in the venue of next generation automation, dispatch, and monitoring. Notice I didn’t mention the word “Alarm” in the previous sentence; this is because the next generation is not exclusively about alarms. It’s an exciting time and we look forward to the opportunity to share and interact with you.

Look here on SecGlobe.net next week (by March 7th) for an exciting announcement that will blow your socks off!

It has been six full months since SGS formally began fulltime operations. Starting with all the issues associated with opening a business through where we are today. Now that the office is furnished and outfitted, and employees are on board, you might be wondering where we are and what has been accomplished. This initial blog entry, is a sort of state of the union, as of July 2007, and there are many exciting updates to report.

Immediately we went to work. In the beginning “work” consisted of endless discussions of what to do and how to do it. Our first order of operation was to become familiar with an existing product we felt was right for the alarm security industry from an IT perspective. GoldenEye, a network monitoring product, was then customized to provide key metrics unique to a Central Station. Since that time, GoldenEye has been installed in several Central Stations, and is helping to prevent and uncover IT problems, as well as provide insight into signal traffic patterns. We believed in the product and its fit within the industry so strongly, that by May 1st SGS acquired Phoenix Data Security (PDS). Besides the unique and robust GoldenEye product, we felt having a 24-hour Network Operations Center (NOC), would allow us to provide additional products and services in new and exciting ways. The Phoenix Data Security NOC is integral to all our plans moving forward.

In concert with the efforts surrounding Phoenix Data Security, we began evaluating the landscape. Along the way we talked with many old friends within the industry. Most called to say hello just to keep in touch. However, each conversation had two distinct characteristics. First, a warm welcome with best wishes for success. Second, with the question “Are you building a monitoring product?”. Eventually, we had to take this question seriously and contemplate the project, and the opportunity to build something from the ground up.

Once the decision was made, we began designing our development tool set. In the end we feel we have settled in on a foundation that will provide robust, reliable, and flexible products. With the acquisition of PDS, we partnered with a breed of developers who are well versed in the Open Source community. The addition of talent from a completely different environment allows us to combine our experience and technical foundations to create the best products with the best tools available. Today we are utilizing everything from Windows to Linux, .NET to PHP, Microsoft SQL to MySQL, and on and on. Each new component is evaluated, and the best development tools are considered.

The very first product to come from our joint efforts is a “Line Tester”. The Line Tester, known as the “SGS backStage LineTester”, solves the age old problems of failed phone lines in a central station. The product is a Linux appliance that sits on your network and connects to outbound POTS phone lines. On a periodic basis, it places automated calls to each of your inbound phone lines, and reports the results. For any Contact ID receiver, it can act as a panel and send a test signal to the receiver that is pushed all the way through to automation. When failures are detected, they are recorded and visible through the unique user interface as well as sent to automation as line failures/restores of a genericSur-Gard receiver. The product is based on LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP), and runs on hardware that is near solid state. From conception, to beta testing, to product launch, it took 90 days to bring this product to market.

In the meantime we continued our efforts on our Dispatch Automation software product, Stages. Stages, set to launch in Q1 of 2008, already caught the attention of several companies interested in the next generation of Dispatch software. A modular approach has been taken, isolating the responsibilities for database interaction, user presentation, workflow management, and rules enforcement. Each module has a specific function, and can be upgraded independent of the others. Likewise, external modules to provide inbound and outbound interfaces (receivers, IVR, telephony, etc) are being developed, many as appliances specific to their task.

The tool set being developed for Stages is very unique, and as I mentioned before, is best of breed. The database foundation is Microsoft SQL, a proven platform for performance and reliability. The database has been designed from the ground up, and includes XML web services that will let customers access the data in an open standard never before available across an entire automation database. The primary development environment utilizes C#.NET, JavaScript, AJAX techniques, Web Services, and SQL Stored Procedures. The result is a browser-based experience that you have never experienced before. There are no plug-ins, no ActiveX controls, and it is cross-browser and cross-platform compliant. The results are truly remarkable!

Beyond the technology we are taking the time to carefully contemplate the structure of the data, and organizing it to better reflect the real world usage today. From zoning to schedule and contact management, each element is contemplated and designed from the ground up. Many powerful new approaches have taken, adding flexibility and ease of management along the way.

As with all of the other fresh approaches being taken, we are also taking the time to reconsider what it means to deliver quality support in 2007 and beyond. This website is a reflection of our concept. Beyond a static marketing and corporate site, this site will be a living breathing site for our customers. You can look to this blog for updates and discussion of timely issue. The backStage LineTester already has a wiki, where you can see online documentation that grows through user involvement. In parallel there will be an online forum where users can help each other, and SGS experts can chime in to address issues that will forever be documented and searchable. Rounded out with a knowledgeable support staff in a true 24-hour NOC, and we believe we will deliver world class support for every product we deliver.

Today we have GoldenEye, and the backStage LineTester. We are knee deep in Stages development, and are building up our support infrastructure to meet our customers needs. We remain excited about our opportunity to start fresh, and we think our products and services will reflect this excitement. Visit our site (and this blog) often to keep informed of our progress and see how we are meeting industry needs in new and exciting ways.