We are not here to be arbiters. It's impossible to keep up with every new product introduced into the security space by every multi-national goliath and micro start-up alike. Thus, when we receive product releases, we take companies largely at their words. After all, it's possible one manufacturer may not even know of a competitor's similar product. So the product descriptions you find in our ISC West product listing starting on page 45 are simply edited versions of supplied information, not in any way vetted for truthfulness.

With that caveat, we thought it might be interesting to round up those claims of innovations and collect them here. For instance, OzVision Secure Network (OSN) says it delivers the first infrastructure for the security industry to provide secure remote services over IP networks. Those services include advanced verification, WAN-based storage, "look-in," and the "industry's friendliest video portal." Sounds good to us.

Amseco, now part of Potter Electric Signal Company, says its VDP-100 Digital Video People Counter is the first of its kind, using both a camera and a unique algorithm to accurately distinguish between multiple people entering or exiting at the same time. We're writers, not math types, so it's doubtful we could tell one algorithm from another.

Crest Electronics pulls no punches whatsoever with its new DVR. They claim it's "simply the greatest ever built!" The CDVS-7000 Series is available in 4-, 8-, and 16-channel versions and comes standard with such features as MPEG4 compression, real-time recording, 4CIF resolution, audio recording, and two-way communication. Debating the "greatest ever" DVR is a lot like debating the "greatest ever" hitter in baseball. How could you choose between Ted Williams and Babe Ruth?

Fiber SenSys says its SPIDeR FD500 Simultaneous Point Intrusion Detection System is the first fiber-optic perimeter intrusion detection system capable of accurately identifying and locating multiple, simultaneous intrusion attempts for high-security perimeters. Also, the SPIDeR provides the added capability of identifying the location of intrusion attempts, even simultaneous intrusions at different locations. That could be a great tool for a father with multiple teenage daughters.

Also on the detection front, the BIS-WDS Prime claims to be the first and only millimeter wave-based camera system to detect concealed weapons, indoor or outdoor, passively and in real time. It's also the first, they say, to search and locate concealed weapons made from composite, ceramic or plastics. The Registered Traveler programs would seem ideal sales opportunities.

Finally, see if you thought you'd ever read this in a security mag: GE claims its PNXplus IT-friendly CPU is the first security system microcontroller with Flash memory, the first to support direct communications over a TCP/IP network and the first with a pre-configured enclosure.