Private Eyes, Stung by Bad Economy, Turn to Gadgets for Edge

DALLAS — Let's say you're a private investigator, and your client wants to get the goods on that philandering spouse.

You could do it the old-fashioned way, trailing him (or her) all over town.

Or, for $695, you could buy a GPS Personal Asset Tracker and hide it under the bumper of the subject's car. Then you could sit back in your office, turn on the computer and, via a secure Web site, get the location of every place Cheatin' Heart goes.

"It works in real time so if they're in a bar or at someone's house, you can show up," said Cody Woods, a private investigator and manager of the Spy Exchange & Security Center in Austin, Texas.

Technology is one of many factors changing the P.I. business, and nowhere was that more evident than at the recent World Investigators Conference in Dallas. Some 600 gumshoes from as far away as Thailand were on hand to learn about the latest gizmos and services for "getting the competitive edge" in a down economy, as one speaker put it.

Read more here and be sure to check out and subscribe to our free weekly newsletter,The Round Up, for more news and upcoming events!

It is Better to Play Safe Than Be Sorry

A common pen or even a hand phone lying on the table could mean more than meets the eye these days.

The technology used in these simple devices has become so sophisticated that they possess the capability of recording an entire board meeting without anyone even realizing.

With the dawn of such hi-tech devices, and the consequences that could follow if certain recordings are made public, some private companies are considering a ban on hand phones at meetings altogether.