NEW YORK (CNN) -- A rash of bank robberies in New York has the city's police commissioner worried that criminals have turned banks into "virtual cash machines" and some wondering whether tough economic times are fueling the trend.

 On Monday alone, robbers targeted five banks in the Big Apple, some striking in broad daylight and near famous landmarks.

Police called the incidents unrelated, but they're just the latest examples of the growing tally of hold-ups.

Bank robberies in New York have risen 54 percent compared with last year, with criminals committing more than 430 in the past 12 months, according to the New York police department.

A news report from ABC.com news on the trend of shoplifting and other crimes (many of which are caught on surveillance video) to increase during economic downturns.

The clerk told authorities a man came up to the counter to purchase some items, but while he was ringing up the items, the customer said he had a weapon and demanded money. The clerk complied and the man left.

Detectives were able to take images from the security camera and get them to the media within a few hours. Media outlets publicized the images and someone recognized the suspect as Roger Dale Brown, 52, of Old Randleman Road, Greensboro. He was taken into custody within 24 hours of the crime and charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon.

"It creates an immediate lead to follow up on," Graham Lt. Brad Shirley said. He said there is no question as to whether the clerk recalled the suspect's height accurately. "It is just one more tool in our toolbox to solve these crimes."

And although security cameras have been around for several decades, the newer technology makes a dramatic difference as far as what the police have to work with.

"At one time, most stores have VHS systems with tapes that were used numerous times, reducing the quality of the image we had to work with," he said. "Now most places have digital cameras that are smaller and have better images."

An said when he bought the store, one of these archaic cameras was hanging up, but the camera didn't even work.

"It had a sign underneath that said it was hooked up to the police station, but that was it," he said laughing. "We keep that beast here just like a vintage souvenir from the 70s. It is kind of nostalgic."

An's family installed working cameras in 2006, but now have four cameras that are only a little bigger than a ballpoint pen and have very clear images. The fact they have the cameras isn't a secret, either as they have the real-time video feed on a small television behind the register, in full-view of the customers as they check out.

The owner of a computer store outside St. John's said he had no ethical qualms with putting a security video on the internet in a bid to find a thief.

Cameras at Dave McGrath's Computer Depot MD store recorded a man apparently helping himself to a processor and then leaving.

McGrath posted a video of the incident, which happened while a clerk was in a room in the back of the building, on the YouTube video-sharing website.

MS has accquired "SeaDragon" a company producing some incredible imaging technology that will blur the line between thumbnail images and full resolution graphics and documents.

Seadragon has developed technology that lets people quickly view large images from a personal computer or other devices. A user could zoom in to see a small road on a vast map, for example, or pick out a single word from hundreds of pages of a novel.

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Info: Video Clip of SeaDragon Imaging Technology

A group of South Korean researchers have produced a wide-angle surveillance camera lens capable of producing a distortion free image covering a field of view of up to 150 degrees. What's more, this technology uses conventional optics with mirrors, and is relatively inexpensive.

Info: ZD Net - Emerging Technology

Honeywell Aerospace has created an unmanned compact aerial hovering video camera device called the Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) that can be used for military applications to provide intelligence on targeted areas.

As the optimal observation elevation is around 500 feet, there are possible urban uses to this application as well. It may not be long before these "mobile observation platforms" are patrolling city streets, following suspects, or covering front line action.

Researchers have made an optics breakthrough that allows them to encode an entire image's worth of data into a photon, slow the image down for storage, and then retrieve the image intact. In theory, this process would allow for vast amounts of image information to be stored in a very small amount of space.

Info: Photonics.com

An Ottawa company has figured out how to bring a paper-thin piece of plastic to life, and now is ready to unleash its moving ads on the world. Using cutting-edge technologies, XYZ RGB can turn an eight-second video into a full-colour hologram and place it in a plastic film that can be posted in malls, pasted to billboards or even wrapped around a can of soup.

See article at: PosterWire.com

D-Wave Systems Inc. of Burnaby, B.C., has developed the world's first superconductor based quantum computer.

Quantum technology could revolutionize the computer industry by allowing systems to perform multiple calculations simultaneously where traditional computers would have to perform them one at a time. This is possible because the system is governed by the rules of quantum mechanics, which govern particle interactions below the atomic scale, where the conventional laws of physics break down.

Fujitsu has developed a unique biometric security technology that consists of a small palm vein scanner that's easy and natural to use, fast and highly accurate. Simply hold your palm a few centimeters over the scanner and within a second it reads your unique vein pattern. A vein picture is taken and your pattern is registered. Now no one else can log in under your profile.

MRAM is faster than most other types of computer memory; Freescale's chip promises to read or write data in 35 nanoseconds. In addition, MRAM can hold data even after the computer is turned off. Proponents say it could replace both flash memory, used inside cell phones and cameras, and DRAM, employed inside computers to shuttle data to the processor.
Homepage: Freescale.com

Info: Freescale goes to market with magnetic memory

InPhase Technologies, the leader in holographic data storage media and systems, announced it has developed and is shipping the first Holographic-ROM (H-ROM) media targeted for use in consumer devices. The company has also announced that it has demonstrated the highest data density of any commercial technology by successfully recording 515 gigabits of data per square inch, as compared to 300 gigabits for standard magnetic disk drives.

Microsoft Corp. today announced the product lineup of its upcoming Windows Vista(TM) operating system. Scheduled for release later this year, the Microsoft (R) Windows Vista product lineup will bring clarity to customers’ digital world by helping them easily accomplish everyday tasks, instantly find what they want, enjoy the latest in entertainment, improve the safety of their personal information, stay connected at home or on the go, and help ensure PCs are up-to-date, more secure and running smoothly.

Info: Microsoft Unveils Windows Vista Product Lineup

Seagate Technologies has released the DB35 Series, a line of Hard Drives providing optimal performance and reliability with capacities up to 500 GB, yielding hundreds of hours of standard digital video recording time.