I'm interested in putting in security cameras at home, both indoor and outdoor. There've been a few discussions on geekzone before, but the ones I've seen have all assumed you know something about them. I know nothing. Can someone write or link to a beginners guide suitable for NZ?

Here's what I think would be useful to cover:
 - General issues, background
 - Recommended cameras for indoor and outdoor, at a budget, midrange, and high end price point, and where to source them
 - Power delivery (hard wired, PoE). If PoE then what camera, equipment, etc is needed?
 - Network (wired, wireless)
 - How you view the images/video, from a PC, phone, etc
 - Can the cameras upload directly to say an ftp server
 - Night vision cameras (IR?)
 - Can they be disabled on a schedule so they're not constantly working while we're home? Could they be integrated with an alarm to turn the indoor cameras on and off? Is there any need/point?

I'd like to use them to deter burglars and monitor tradesmen when I'm at work.

Any pointers appreciated :)