Equipment Report

O’Neil Software, Irvine, Calif., has updated RS-SQL, its flagship record storage management product. The new release, Version 3.4, offers enhancements for RS-SQL and RSWebNET.

"In this fast-paced, high-tech world, our software is engineered around two proven facts: One, it’s built to expand, not expire. Two, it’s so flexible that its value is timeless and always compatible with new releases—even the ones we haven’t generated yet," Ian Thomas, vice president of business development at O’Neil, says.

Version 3.4 offers new password and lockout policies for greater security when using the RS-SQL interface, according to O’Neil. Several options allow users to enforce how frequently old passwords can be reused, the amount of characters required, the length of time a password can be used until it must be changed, how frequently a user can change it and the ability to monitor failed login attempts, including date, time and IP address.

Lockout policies also allow the user to set up specific procedures that apply when a user is locked out of the system because of a password failure.

Version 3.4 also features enhanced records retention capabilities, including configurable destroy date calculations, using single or multiple dates. Retention schedules can also be marked as inactive. Additionally, level two or three accounts can inherit record retention schedules from a higher level, dramatically reducing setup time, according to a press release from O’Neil.

A new submenu allows users to view and edit existing RSWeb.NET alerts, to create alerts for almost anything and to use this feature as an internal messaging system.

RSWeb.NET now features drop-down lists for greater accuracy. When adding/editing fields to custom data entry forks, users can set up a drop-down list number for the account and category fields, saving Web users from typing in the entry.

More information is available at www.oneilsoft.com. 

Intechra, headquartered in Jackson, Miss., has standardized its operations around Blancco’s End of Life Asset Management Suite for data destruction and asset management.

Intechra has six facilities that remanufacture, remarket and recycle retired IT assets that currently use Blancco’s End of Life Asset Management Suite and implemented the suite at a seventh facility that it acquired in early August.

Blancco’s software deletes client data from hard drives and allows Intechra to track assets being processed.

"We process millions of assets every year for corporate clients," Intechra CEO Chip Slack says. "Each asset carries potential data-security and environmental risks if not handled properly. Our business could not grow if our clients did not trust us to process every asset with the same consistency and quality regardless of where in the country we process that asset. Blancco’s suite of software and services fits our business model perfectly."

Blancco’s software provides integrated data erasure certificates and reporting that improves inventory visibility.

IT asset disposition is a major concern for large businesses and organizations.

"According to their research, over half of IDC-surveyed U.S. enterprises do not have formal policies for end-of-life PCs or for data destruction," Kim Vaisanen, managing director for Blancco Ltd., says. "Consistency of IT asset disposition processes and procedures is crucial in corporations’ selection of reliable outsourced service providers."

Blancco is based in Joensuu, Finland. More information is available at www.blancco.com.

Notifier, a Northford, Conn.-based manufacturer of commercial fire alarm technology and systems, has introduced Onyx FirstVision, which it describes as "a revolutionary wayfinding navigational tool for firefighters and other emergency responders."

Developed from extensive research and interviews with senior level professional firefighters, Onyx FirstVision is easy to use and requires no special training. Often, a building’s fire alarm control panels are the primary source of information for firefighters arriving on the scene. Typically, fire alarm control panels display activated alarms as a list in alphanumeric location code with limited descriptions. But with Onyx FirstVision connected to the fire alarm control panels, crucial information is easy to interpret with a spatial, graphic depiction of the location and sequence of detector activation. Unlike traditional graphic annunicators, Onyx FirstVision is interactive, allowing emergency responders to access information they need to conduct safe and efficient emergency response operations.

Onyx FirstVision is a PC-based touch screen that graphically displays critical information on the origin and spread of a fire. In addition, Onyx FirstVision is an interactive display summarizing building floor plans, with the location of all fire alarm devices, water supplies, evacuation routes, access routes, fire barriers, gas, power and HVAC shutoffs, as well as chemical and structural hazards in the building.

Notifier is part of Honeywell’s Life Safety Group. More information on Notifier and its products is available at www.Notifier.com.