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vniow

macrumors G4
Original poster
Jul 18, 2002
10,266
1
I accidentally my whole location.
Ericsson said Monday it has begun offering U.S. wireless carriers its new network equipment that automatically e-mails a cell phone user's exact location to friends or loved ones.

The Swedish company's equipment uses software called Where Are They Now, developed by Israeli wireless software maker LocatioNet. The software lets cell phone users create a list of friends or relatives who have permission to receive location information. Users can choose how frequently the e-mails are sent.


Hope they keep it between friends.

click
 

Mr. Anderson

Moderator emeritus
Nov 1, 2001
22,568
6
VA
Its no big deal, cell phones have always been able to be tracked, just do a little triangluation of the signal off the cell towers and you get a position. It requires you to be 'seen' by more than one tower/tx - so it won't always work.
 

Gelfin

macrumors 68020
Sep 18, 2001
2,165
5
Denver, CO
Originally posted by dukestreet
Its no big deal, cell phones have always been able to be tracked, just do a little triangluation of the signal off the cell towers and you get a position. It requires you to be 'seen' by more than one tower/tx - so it won't always work.

New cell phone regulations require the phone to be able to provide your location to emergency services. New cell phones have very low-power GPS receivers that, combined with signals from the towers, can identify your whereabouts close enough for, say, an ambulance to find you. My new Sprint phone gives me the option of completely disabling location services for anybody other than 911, but apparently will always ask for confirmation before providing my location if I haven't disabled it. SnapTrack, a recent spinoff from Qualcomm, makes one of the most common chips for this.
 

cyks

macrumors 68020
Jul 24, 2002
2,090
8
Westchester County, NY
I'm waiting for them to put full tracking on the things we really need it on...like car keys. Of course, then it'd need to be able to say "under left sofa cushion"

of course- if that information was to get into the wrong hands... :rolleyes:
 

Sun Baked

macrumors G5
May 19, 2002
14,937
157
Tracking children and errant spouses, what a concept.

Probably could be used for nefarious reasons when a PI, law-enforcement, or kidnapper is on your tail.
 

Bradcoe

macrumors regular
Apr 25, 2002
134
0
Northeast U.S.
Oh great

Oh great, just what we need. One more thing in the cell phone to emit more waves into our skulls. I don't have any phone but a cell phone (my roomates and I seldomyly use our apartment phone) so I talk on it my cell all the time, some times hours on end. Brain tumors here I come!!!
 

medea

macrumors 68030
Aug 4, 2002
2,517
1
Madison, Wi
Why don't we just embed a chip into our heads already and then we can make sure we know where everyone is everywhere they go.
why not, they do it on dogs don't they?
 

Gelfin

macrumors 68020
Sep 18, 2001
2,165
5
Denver, CO
Re: Oh great

Originally posted by Bradcoe
Oh great, just what we need. One more thing in the cell phone to emit more waves into our skulls. I don't have any phone but a cell phone (my roomates and I seldomyly use our apartment phone) so I talk on it my cell all the time, some times hours on end. Brain tumors here I come!!!

GPS receivers are just that -- receivers. Any location data the phone transmits would be sent over the same connection your phone has already.

And there is no credible evidence that cell phones cause brain tumors anyway.

Originally posted by medea
Why don't we just embed a chip into our heads already and then we can make sure we know where everyone is everywhere they go.
why not, they do it on dogs don't they?

Actually, no they don't. The things you can have implanted in pets are put just under the skin, not in the head, and they cannot broadcast the pet's location. A veteranarian or someone at an animal shelter will use a special reader which must be within a couple of centimeters of the implant in order to read the data it contains. In effect it's nothing but a dog tag which cannot be lost.

And even if it were technically feasible, the difference between the ability to track a cell phone and a chip in my head is that I can turn my cell phone off or leave it at home. If I discover that the feature is being abused (for instance, by giving the information to someone I have not explicitly authorized), I can easily prevent further abuse (by discontinuing use of the phone and possibly suing the violator).
 
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