Crime maps and home security

This post will be more speculation than announcement. I've recently been alerted to a number of new initiatives that mashup crime with maps. This isn't a totally new idea, my hometown of Berkeley, CA has had an interactive crime map for a few years now, and in the USA at least, newspapers have been reporting police blotters forever, but it does seem to have a new life.

Blog posts like this one from O'Reilly also look at the concept.

Taking it a step further are businesses like the exciting Terabitz are combining this information with real estate listing and other local detail.

What I wonder is how much that will influence people's decisions on how and where they live. I'm guessing it depends, but I've always felt you take the good with the bad. Living in NYC or London may occasionally pose risks, but that hasn't stopped people wanting to live in such vibrant cities.

I would think the best approach is to use these tools to be informed, but follow your heart (or job or school or friends) and live where you like. Better to take a few steps to protect yourself where you want to be, than to be afraid.

So I'm hoping these tools deliver the information as just that - information. People shouldn't live in fear, they should have peace of mind about their homes. And I guess AlertMe might just be a useful tool in this respect.

For more information, see www.alertme.com

Home security and AlertMe computing security

AlertMe.com takes security seriously.

Our revolutionary approach to intelligent home security will be backed by a hardened approach to datacenter server and network security. We've spent the last six months designing a robust and resilient infrastructure to deliver our service without interruption.

Our computer wizard says:

"The AlertMe system utilizes techniques and technologies developed by the military and the banking industry. A resilient, multiple layer firewall system combined with a military designed datacentre, manned by ex-military personnel, ensures the continued security of your personal data."

And given his spotless track record defending a leading internet-based payment processing company, he should know how it's done.

Our email and webservers are migrating into the nuclear bunkers now, and our full application will also be hosted there.

AlertMe manufacturing goes live!

AlertMe.com is now bringing online our state of the art manufacturing operation.

We have completed build out of the pilot manufacturing facility in our Cambridge headquarters and produced the first run of beta kits here already. All of the kits for the first controlled release will also be hand built in Cambridge by our own crack team of hardware experts. As they assemble the components, they are conducting extensive quality control testing and looking for future improvements and efficiencies.

At the same, we’re also spinning up activity for full scale production with a truly world class consumer electronics manufacturing partner. We’ve had their first samples back and they look really spectacular – just can’t wait to show them off! Even the packaging itself has received rave reviews from those who’ve seen sneak previews of the kit.

FUN FACT: there are over 300 unique parts in a single AlertMe home security kit.

For more information, visit www.alertme.com