Answers dot com  pulls information from dictionaries, glossaries, encyclopedias and atlases to return concise answers and facts on over a million topics, without all of the zillions of link results that you have to wade through on the major search engines.   

The US Government Online Bookstore  offers all the published federal government publications that are available for purchase.  Publications are arranged by topic.

The 2005 CIA World Factbook  contains published facts and demographic data on other nations.   The World Factbook is updated every two weeks to keep the information current.

Information on foreign countries typically includes:
- Maps
- Country Background Information
- Geographical Data
- Population Data
- Government and Political Information
- Economic Data
- Communications Infrastructure
- Transportation Infrastructure
- Military Data
- Trans National Issues and Disputes

An interesting story out of South Korea about a software program designed to search through online message posts on portals, bulletin boards, personal home pages, online communities and, potentially, web logs to find key words and phrases like a search engine.

Although the software was originally designed for doing online market research and measuring public opinion, there is the fear that it can be used to monitor online comments about public figures ( and possibly everyday citizens ).

You can read the full article at Software tracks online comments @ JoongAng Daily.

OK, time for a few laughs.  Check out Court TVs site that is devoted to stories of stupid crimes and stupid criminals:  Stupid Crimes and Misdemeanors

Google has released the beta version of their new blog search engine.  Now you can search the information-packed blogosphere, with its constantly updated news and blogs.  You may even be able to track down some people and  phone numbers that get posted to these sites.  You can access the blog search at Google Blog Search and a list of frequently asked questions and how-to tips for the blog search is available at About Google Blog Search .

Good luck with your searches!

The National Archive of Criminal Justice Data is an online searchable database of crime and justice data that is collected from US federal, state and local agencies as well as investigator research projects. 

The NACJD is supported by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) in the U.S. Department of Justice.

You can access the NACJD search at National Archive of Criminal Justice Data .

Google local is a great specialized search that allows you to search for key words and phrases by address, city and state or zip code.  Just type in what you are looking for and the area and google will return local results, phone and address listings, maps and related web sites ( if any ).  This is great for investigators, skip tracers and other legal professionals because it allows you to search an area for particular government offices, business services, etc. 

For example, if you are looking for courts within Akron, OH, just enter "courts" in the What field and "Akron, OH" in the Where field and you will get results for all the courts listed for that area, map locations and any related web sites.  You can find municipal offices, police departments, libraries, local investigators, repo agents, etc.

You can access Google Local at Google Local .  In addition, there is a version of Google Local for internet-enabled cell phones and mobile devices that can be accessed at Local Google Mobile .  Get familiar with Google Local and you will see the potential benefits it offers for skip tracers and other investigations professionals.

Good luck with your searches.

CollectionIndustry.com Discussion Forums  are a great place to network with other debt collections and skip tracing professionals.  You can also use the forums to exchange debt collection and skip tracing techniques and sources with other people in the industry. 

A partnership between Nextel Communications and Trimble Outdoors ( makers of GPS software ) will allow consumers to have a GPS - global positioning system - built right into their cell phones.  Although the technology has a steep learning curve, it should become more  user friendly as time goes on.

Now, whether you are on a main road or off the beaten path, you will be able to find your exact location, using a GPS enabled cell phone.  You can read more about this technology at GPS: Mapping by cellphone by Tricia Duryee @ The Seattle Times, published by northjersey.com .