Trackers small enough to be hidden on bicycles are being used to catch bike thieves.
GPS, short for global positioning system, is based on a series of satellites that ring the globe, sending out signals indicating their position. GPS receivers, now small enough to build into cellphones and other tiny gadgets, compare the signals from several of these satellites to triangulate their position. If the receiver is moving, it can also calculate its heading and speed.
Whether you are a parent who wants to track your teenager when they're out for the night in the family car, a person calling for an ambulance on a GPS-equipped cellphone, or a business seeking more operational efficiency, it is easy to see how knowing a person's precise location provides many advantages.
For example, knowing the location of your teenaged daughter is a good thing in case she has car trouble or is involved in an accident.
But consider the other side of the coin: Are the details about her movements secure? In other words, is there any guarantee that someone within the GPS service company won't use that information for evil or illegal purposes, or that a hacker can't access the system?
And no one can argue that being easily located when you call 911 from a GPS-equipped cellphone is of great benefit. But how long does the GPS provider keep the log of those movements, and what's the data being used for the rest of the time?
There are many questions that arise when people start leaving GPS trails behind wherever they go. Can the information be used to investigate your daily routines, or by others who want to track your movements without your direct permission? Is a marketing company able to purchase the data to try and discern your buying habits so they can fine-tune their sales pitches?
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/tech/gps-privacy.html
[Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on January 29, 2007]
Note: http://www.cbc.ca/news/...
GPS And Privacy
Posted on Sunday, January 28 at 11:40 by jensonjContributed By
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How does someone being able to remotely activate your cell without your knowledge and listen in to what you're doing grab you?<br />
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<a href="http://news.com.com/2100-1029_3-6140191.html">http://news.com.com/2100-1029_3-6140191.html</a><p>---<br>"and the knowledge they fear is a weapon to be used against them"<br />
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"The Weapon" - Rush
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Expect little from life and get more from it.
Computers are the best example, breaking down the control of information, the strongest weapon ruling classes always had to maintain their powers.
I have to admit that I have no idea what this technology is about and definitely will never buy it, as I have no use for it, but I look at it as just another input of energy into life, that will cause equal reactions to its benefits.
There ain't no "win=win", only "win=lose/pay."
I wonder, how long it will take humanity to learn this simple fact?
Ed Deak.
-Max Planck<br />
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But is it really, Ed? Are we really getting direct and uncontrolled information? I tried finding "recent" information on the Canadian lad (Omar Khadr) in the American/Cuban prison camp (Guantanamo Bay). Is he dead or alive? Obviously the net also relies on the news media as well. Is Google or Yahoo uncontroled?
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Expect little from life and get more from it.
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Expect little from life and get more from it.
When we fought the MAI in 1997, it was killed by the Net and one of the Canadian negotiators, Sylvia Crystal screamed in despair "Is there no way to stop these people?"
Off to town.........
Ed Deak.
<p>---<br>"I think it's important to always carry enough technology to restart civilization, should it be necessary." Mark Tilden<br />
Am I the only one here who sees it?
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"and the knowledge they fear is a weapon to be used against them"
"The Weapon" - Rush
Because we can just turn them *off*. Or take out the batteries. Or put them in a faraday cage. Or not buy one with GPS capabilities.
Cell phones are totally optional. Now, if you told me that RFID implants were to become manditory . . .
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"I think it's important to always carry enough technology to restart civilization, should it be necessary." Mark Tilden
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Expect little from life and get more from it.
The artical was posted because others do see it.
Even your SIN is no longer private nor used only for what it was intended. Yet, how many people have given it out when applying for credit or other demands on it? When you apply for a passport, how would the authority be able to authenticate your information? We are all labeled and now we can be personalized when needed.
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Expect little from life and get more from it.
Many of the new ones will only allow standby mode, and not true "off"
Batteries: good unless you actually use your phone during the day.
And buying a phone without GPS capabilities may not be an option in 2 years.
Faraday cage: If you want to be reached, won't work as a Faraday grounds out signal.
My preferred option: don't have one if you can avoid it, or second best: use an old analogue phone IF the service permits it. In my case: I have an old analogue phone with hard off, so when it's off it is really off. And I'll keep one using it until I am no longer allowed to do by the carrier.
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"and the knowledge they fear is a weapon to be used against them"
"The Weapon" - Rush
So true. We could even watch "Desert Storm" live on CNN. The old black and white movies shot during WWII were shown days if not weeks later. Same with the weekly paper. News was certainly not immediate but probably just as accurate as today. Which isn't saying much.
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Expect little from life and get more from it.