Tools of the Trade

»Keeping an eye on the workplace is not always easy for busy bosses, which some employees may take advantage of. Take, for example, the person stealing expensive office supplies. Or maybe it’s Stacy in accounting who’s rumored to spend a lot of company time texting her friends and shopping online, all from the safe haven of her cubicle. Short of wearing a plant disguise to conduct undercover surveillance, the best bet to thwart miscreant workers is the tiny Vue Personal Video camera (2.19 by 1.15 by 2.5 inches), an easy-to-use, wireless network. The system can keep watch over businesses from virtually anywhere using smartphones or any online PC. There are indoor and outdoor varieties with different mounting options. Merely place them in the desired location, power up the base station and voila: advantage boss. The cameras, which are controllable through a web app accessible with Android and iDevices, can pan, zoom and there is an option to use motion activation. The cameras range from $99 to $159. www.VueZone.com.

»Here’s a trick that will surely impress your colleagues or clients: Pull a whiteboard out of your pocket. HP allows you to do just that with a compact, new device that projects onto almost any flat surface to create up to 10 feet of diagonal workspace. Lightweight and compact, the Pocket Whiteboard can easily be moved around and locked for security. The receiver (7.72 x 1.42 x 0.354 inches) connects to a PC through a USB cable and captures strokes and taps made using a wireless stylus, facilitating access to additional software and online applications. Integrated software ties everything together, projecting interactive content onscreen and online and enabling users to record everything shared for easy distribution.  $899. www.hp.com for more information.