Rich Mexicans turn to microchips to foil kidnappers

Sun Aug 24, 2008 8:38PM EDT

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If you've missed the news, kidnapping is big business in Mexico these days, with the incidence rate about 40 percent higher since 2004, now hitting about 6,500 abductions a year. Earlier this year the State Department issued a warning for U.S. travelers heading south of the border, saying that dozens of citizens had been kidnapped and/or murdered in Tijuana alone last year.

Locals are scared, too, so the wealthiest among them (after all, it isn't the line cooks that are getting kidnapped) are turning to technology for protection. A company caled Xega is now selling a small chip about the size of a grain of rice, which reportedly transmits location information to a satellite, a la GPS. If Xega subscribers fear they are being kidnapped, they can hit a panic button to alert the company, which then calls police and feeds the location info to them.

I'm curious how they get this kind of functionality into such a small package, but I can't find any additional details on how the technology actually works; products like the similarly-sized VeriChip, used here mainly to track pets, rely on RFID and can't be located remotely.

At $4,000 for the unit and $2,200 a year in additional fees, it isn't cheap, but still in striking range for a middle class that is increasingly being targeted by kidnappers. Intriguingly, Xega used to make garden-variety GPS technology until one of its owners was himself kidnapped. His experience led the company to refocus on security hardware.

Is a microchip appropriate or extreme as protection against violent crime? How scared would you have to be to get your own implant?

LINK: Satellites track Mexico kidnap victims

Comments on 4th of July fireworks photography tips

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  • 1 Posted by pb_enial on Wed Jun 24, 2009 5:15PM EDT Report Abuse

    Thanks for the tip. Just bought a Canon A480.

  • 2 Posted by alexgannis on Wed Jun 24, 2009 7:45PM EDT Report Abuse

    You're 100% correct thanks, I made some great shot last year on my Canon 40D ISO 100 bulb setting. bulb is not a fla----- s a setting in pro camera manuel mode.

  • 3 Posted by lubbcraig on Thu Jun 25, 2009 7:17AM EDT Report Abuse

    i guess this is a yearly post for you eh? XD

  • 4 Posted by rogueist on Thu Jun 25, 2009 9:20AM EDT Report Abuse

    You forgot the most important tip - dont stand over the fireworks expecting to catch a firecracker (or M80) exploding on the ground, or a bottle rocket or roman candle as they launch.

  • 5 Posted by gullwingdoors on Thu Jun 25, 2009 10:13AM EDT Report Abuse

    Good article. I think I'll try some of this stuff with my A590IS. Another tip for those whose camera does not have those settings, if it is a Cannon, try the CHDK firmware. http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK It adds a ton of extra features including the ones mentioned in this article (rapid fire, long exposures, etc).

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