Bob Mesnik, Author at Kintronics

How to Comply With the Archiving Regulations Without Paying an Arm and a Leg

Posted on March 8, 2016March 22, 2020 by Bob Mesnik

Optical Archiving Libraries make it easy to protect your data.
by Bob Mesnik

So you are being dragged kicking and screaming to archive your e-mails and data. What can you do that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg? Well, the new jukebox library systems with the latest 100 GB media are now an economical alternative to tape, and provide the best way to archive your data.

The library software makes the jukeboxes easy to use so you can archive your data quickly and automatically. Blu-ray media is now the same price per megabyte as the tape media, and provides archive quality that’s not available with tape.

How Blu-ray Optical Discs Work

Posted on March 1, 2016June 22, 2020 by Bob Mesnik

The technology for storing data continues to bring us ever-increasing capacity. First, there were CD-ROM discs, next the DVD-discs, which increased capacity and data transfer speed. Now we have blu-ray discs that provide 100 GB of storage. They are used in optical jukeboxes or libraries for archiving computer data

Blu-ray Discs (BD) was introduced by Sony in October 2000. Even though this new technology was developed for the consumer market, it also was capable of handling computer data. As a matter of fact, Blu-ray became the standard in both markets.

How to handle all the Information that needs to be Archived

Posted on February 29, 2016March 22, 2020 by Bob Mesnik

Meeting the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act

As I recall, the first optical discs became available in the fall of 1984. I was working for Sony at the time, and one of the engineers from Japan visited our office in New Jersey. “Bob”, he said, “Do you want to sell WORM in the US?” I looked at him kind of funny and said, “We don’t eat worms in this country”. “Oh no Bob-san, not worms, Write Once Read Many – W, O, R, M. This is optical disc”. This was my first introduction to optical storage. The technology has improved dramatically over the years and the market for the product has grown. Today optical disc systems are starting to replace tape libraries. The cost per megabyte is about the same, but optical storage is archival while tape is not.

There are many reasons to archive corporate and government information. For example, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 defines regulations for saving information. Here is a summary of some of the reasons for using optical jukeboxes to meet these requirements:

Comparison of the Classic Analog Paging System to the PA over IP Systems

Posted on February 27, 2016March 22, 2020 by Bob Mesnik

This article compares central analog amplifiers to distributed digital network attached amplifiers.

The latest IP paging systems utilize the Ethernet network to distribute sound over your organization. This is quite different than the classic systems that used a large central amplifier with wires to all the speakers. How good is this new approach to paging?

The following article compares the traditional approach that utilizes one large amplifier to the latest PA over IP systems.

The classic method of providing a paging system was to connect many speakers to a central very large amplifier. The latest IP amplifier method is much more flexible. It connects a few speakers to many small network attached amplifiers that are distributed around the organization. You can attach several speakers to one small IP amplifier or attach one CAT5 ready IP speaker directly to the network. Here’s a comparison the two types of systems.

IP Cameras in Action: Fighting Fires with Technology

Posted on February 26, 2016March 22, 2020 by Bob Mesnik

How the University of Montana College of Forestry uses the IP camera system by Virginia Fair

When a customer calls Kintronics seeking information about IP cameras, our sales engineers ask questions such as “What are your objectives? What do you want to monitor?” And “In what type of environment will you be mounting the camera?”

They are accustomed to hearing answers like parking areas, corridors, storerooms, entry areas, rear exits, elevators and so on. But every once in a while, the answer is unique and intriguing.

Seeing in the Dark

Posted on February 24, 2016June 20, 2020 by Bob Mesnik

Very low light optical cameras, IR illumination, and thermal cameras are options for seeing in the dark.

It was a dark night with just a small sliver of the moon shining through the trees. The mouse nosed its way through the underbrush using its nose to find small nuts and berries. Unknown to the mouse there was something watching from a tree limb high above. The owl was able to see the mouse clearly even though there was hardly any light. Poor mouse. He had no idea he was in trouble.

How does the owl see in the dark? This article describes the various ways that animals, and more importantly, video cameras can see in the dark. We discuss how cameras make use of the limited light available, IP cameras that use IR illumination and thermal cameras that use thermal imaging technologies.

What is the Best Price for Your IP Camera System?

Posted on February 23, 2016March 22, 2020 by Bob Mesnik

The other day I was walking down a street in Manhattan and I saw a guy selling watches. There was one watch that looked just like an expensive Rolex but it cost only $50. What a deal, I thought.

I think everyone tries to find the best deal. Unfortunately, we sometimes forget that old maxim, “you get what you pay for”. I know I do. How many times have we gotten burned by this?

I’m not sure how to tell if the watch is worth $50, but I can provide some guidance about what to consider when purchasing an IP camera.

IP Cameras range in price from under $50 to well over $1000. What is the difference? As you may guess it’s the functionality and quality. The low-cost cameras are usually sold to the home consumer market and are not designed for commercial security and surveillance applications. The more expensive camera lasts longer and allows you to see things clearer. So how does this relate to getting the best IP camera for your money?

Technical Jokes and Cartoons 14

Posted on February 9, 2016March 24, 2021 by Bob Mesnik

A wife sent her husband a message on a cold winter evening: “Windows frozen”. The husband sent an answer back: “Pour some warm water over them”.

Some time later husband receives an answer from his wife: “The computer is completely messed up now”.

How can you tell which one of your friends has the latest iPhone?

Don’t worry, they’ll let you know.

A wife sent her husband a message on a cold winter evening: “Windows frozen”. The husband sent an answer back: “Pour some warm water over them”.

Some time later husband receives an answer from his wife: “The computer is completely messed up now”.

How can you tell which one of your friends has the latest iPhone?

Don’t worry, they’ll let you know.

Selecting the Right Speakers for Your IP Paging System

Posted on February 7, 2016June 21, 2020 by Bob Mesnik

One of the most important components in a paging system is the speakers. So before we define any paging system, we start by determining the amount of sound required at each location.

Once we know the type of sound required, we can select the right speaker. After we have defined the speakers, we can determine the right amplifier to use.

What’s the best speaker for you? Well it depends on a number of things.

For example, do you want to hear music or just voice paging? The type of speaker also depends on how large an area you want to cover with sound. The background noise and where you want to place the speaker is also important. It may be necessary to select a different speaker for each location. This article reviews how to select the right speaker for the job. We will review the sound output which is measured in decibels (dB), the sound quality (or frequency range), and the power required at the speaker.