2007 has been a great year for video surveillance - improvements in technology, widespread applications, and predictions for the future of network cameras. Here are some of our most memorable posts:

Parking garages can be dangerous places, especially at night when there aren't many folks around. Finding your car is hard enough, and when you consider the potential threats in these parking structures, it's easy to understand how security cameras could play a critical role when it comes to safety and protection. In Stamford, Conn. for instance, the city has made plans to install security cameras in each of its three downtown parking facilities.

North County, California didn't cut corners when it came to security for its new Sprinter rail line, which is expected to start transporting travelers between Escondido and Oceanside next month. Security cameras will closely monitor all 15 stations along the line, as well as parking lots, rails, and train cars. Video images are sent to 48-screen control room located in the Sprinter operations center in Escondido.

A man broke into Cesar's flowers in San Jose, CA in mid-December, ordering owner Celina Sandoval and her young son to the floor and emptying the cash register. He didn't get away with much cash - but the robbery has had Sandoval scarred ever since

47 light-rail stations in the Sacramento Regional Transit District are now monitored by a combination of fixed megapixel cameras and PTZ security cameras. The new surveillance system provides police and security personnel with real-time video feeds of activity in and around the stations.

Philadelphia is one of a handful of big U.S. cities that has fully committed to widespread video security in the past year. This week, Philadelphia police unveiled a new state of the art surveillance command center which monitors hundreds of security cameras now operating throughout the city.

Here's a unique example of video surveillance in action, courtesy of Florida's Gulfarium Marine Park. The marine park, located on the beachfront of the Gulf of Mexico, hosts marine shows such as the world-famous Top Deck Dolphin Show, and other animal attractions in a facility that includes tanks containing 500,000 gallons of water. Recent security breaches, including an incident where a group of spring breakers snuck into the park after hours to swim with the animals, have caused the park to enhance its level of security. The first step was implementing a video surveillance system to protect the animals, secure park facilities, and also to give trainers and veterinarians deeper insight into the lives of these sea-faring creatures. The surveillance system is comprised of four D-Link DCS-6620G wireless optical zoom network cameras, and three D-Link DCS-3420 wireless day and night IP cameras.

Greece's Egnatia Motorway is a monumental road construction project linking Europe and Asia. Developers have turned to Axis network cameras as a way to provide wireless traffic surveillance to the motorway's most difficult route, a 9 km stretch of varied terrain that runs from the Metsovo interchange to the Peristeri interchange. The Motorway has installed 14 Axis 213 PTZ network cameras to watch traffic and provide video security along this section, which includes two interchanges, six tunnels, and two bridges.

The city of Helsinki plans on acquiring upwards of 150 new surveillance cameras to be installed in public places and sensitive areas over the next couple years. The aim is to increase the overall level of security, allowing citizens to feel safe in all areas of the city. The new surveillance plan calls for fixed security cameras, as well as portable surveillance cameras that can be used for large public events.

In the small town of Sergnano, Italy, which employs just two police offers to protect 3,000 inhabitants, an IP camera system has been deterring and catching criminals-- particularly vandals-- so successfully that the system paid for itself within a year of its implementation. The system covers an area of thirteen square kilometers, which made traditional analog CCTV impossibly expensive. Instead, IndigoVision, the company that installed the system, came up with a combined wired and wireless network for the cameras, facilitating cost-effective IP surveillance of remote areas.

Looking to boost its Security Systems division, Bosch has agreed to purchase Extreme CCTV for $92 million. Extreme CCTV is a provider of sophisticated video surveillance products that include everything from infrared illuminators to products designed to scan and capture license plate numbers. By acquiring CCTV, Bosch aims to extend its position in the continuously growing video surveillance market.

Last Wednesday's tragic shooting at the Crossroads Mall in Omaha, NE had victims and pundits alike asking questions - how and why did this happen? Why wasn't security better prepared? What can be done to make malls safer?

Time is the crucial element of bobsledding (or bobsleighing, as it is called in the UK). Bobsledders hurl themselves down an icy track in a specially calibrated track, trying to beat the clock and outpace their competitors. UK-based video surveillance company Scryron, known for their intelligent digital video systems used by police and courtrooms all over the UK, has teamed with the British Bobsleigh team to use video surveillance equipment to help improve the sledders' race times.

Director Adam Rifkin's new film "Look" opens in limited release on Dec. 14. What makes the film so interesting is that it's shot entirely from the perspective of surveillance cameras. Rifkin got the idea after noticing the number of security cameras monitoring his shopping experience at Target. He decided it to use the film medium as a way to closer examine how video surveillance affects our daily lives.

Each and every time the Olympics Games are in session, we hear quite a bit about the security measures being taken by the host city. In 2008, the Olympics will be held in Beijing, and as always, security is a key concern. When it comes to video security for the 2008 Games, IBM plans on making a big splash with its Smart Surveillance System. This sophisticated computer system will be used to scan video images of Beijing streets in an effort to spot suspicious activity and potential terrorist threats.

Car manufacturing sites can benefit greatly from video surveillance systems for a variety of reasons. Not only do surveillance cameras help to secure these facilities, but they can also protect employees from the potential dangers that exist when working with automated machinery. The KIA Motors production plant in Slovakia, which recently installed a comprehensive surveillance network, presents us with a great example of how a manufacturing facility can benefit from video security.

Drusillas Park, a 15 acre small-animals zoo in the UK, recently added a series of Optex IP cameras to protect its animal tenants, which include meerkats, owls, gibbons, otters, and attractions like a Thomas the Tank Engine train ride.

Edinburgh Castle, the top tourist attraction is Scotland, is replacing its existing analog CCTV cameras with a new, IP-based video surveillance system. Using IndigoVision's IP Video technology, the new system will offer greater flexibility, remote video monitoring, and can be easily upgraded without disrupting the sensitive areas of the castle. What's most interesting is that, along with hosting millions of visitors each year, the Edinburgh Castle also continues to be occupied by the army. The military presence combined with the constant stream of tourists makes it all the more important to have an effective video security system.

Cisco surveillance cameras have a starring role in the TV smash Heroes - not as a shapeshifting or time traveling Hero, but as a form of strict security for Primatech Paper.

Nassau police tested a cutting-edge surveillance system this week at the city's annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony. The system, which utilizes AgileMesh wireless technology, allowed the police force to monitor live camera footage from a mobile command truck. 20 cameras, some of which were provided by AgileMesh for the test, monitored and recorded the activities of revelers as the welcomed in the holiday season. Archived footage from the festivities will be reviewed so police can evaluate the effectiveness of the system.

The Delaware Psychiatric Center has installed 200 digital surveillance cameras in response to a series of incidents that exposed security issues in and around the facility. The new system will help to improve security for hospital employees and patients, and will provide important visual evidence in complaint investigations.

Vending machine designers have struggled for years to stay one step ahead of would-be snack food cons; adding features that make pilfering candy and sodas difficult and not worth it for the petty thief. A string of vending machine break-ins and thefts in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania has prompted major action from Coca Cola - who's pulling out all the stops to find two men suspected of major vending machine theft.