Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Acquires Indoor Mobile Location Positioning Firm WifiSLAM for $20 Million
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I'm thinking the same thing. Apple, like Google, knows there's lots of $$ there and wants it.
uh ok
Nice job..... The uploader of that YouTube video closed their account....
lol.... Indoor tracking... Isn't location tracking freaky enough to make you to out of your mind....
This only "adds" to that by being inside..
You'll never have privacy again
Remember that movie where the guy got in the cab and tossed his phone out the window ? I'm ready to do that right now and give it all up for just a basic, phone, where you have "control"
Nice job..... The uploader of that YouTube video closed their account....
lol.... Indoor tracking... Isn't location tracking freaky enough to make you to out of your mind....
This only "adds" to that by being inside..
You'll never have privacy again
Remember that movie where the guy got in the cab and tossed his phone out the window ? I'm ready to do that right now
and give it all up for just a basic, phone, where you have "control"Like a bunch of Lemmings. we swore this garbage up..... But in a few years, it will be out of control.. Yes, there's privacy options now, but if Apple can sneak under the radar and still stay, they will, just to have more control.
Ever seen Inside Street View of Google Maps ?...... Its all optional now regarding privacy, and "opt-out" crap, but for how much longer.. ? Thern you'll all be screwed..
Except me, because i'm not one of them.
Ever seen Inside Street View of Google Maps ?...... Its all optional now regarding privacy, and "opt-out" crap, but for how much longer.. ? Thern you'll all be screwed..
Except me, because i'm not one of them.
Technology is not a substitute for a functional brain. Its meant only to complement.
I often wonder now-days..
I have a different theory... Most people probably don't think anymore logically,, why would we, we have Siri for that... Smart-phones have turned that in this direction.
Ever go to a supermarket where power has gone out to the building ? Everyone is rushing round trying to find to calculations in their head.. lol because their calculator ran out out batteries.
Why do you think people complain when Siri doesn't work ?. Most if not, i think is because the amount of complains is simply because now, we rely on this as the only thing.......... Our nature is now from "That should be easy." rather than even taking 10 seconds to open up a search engine, we use Siri, ad whe kt fails, guess what.....
We gotta open bowser anyway manually anyway...
now that logic
relying on the "quickest" thing, to hopefully do the right thing, when we not sure 100% weather it will or not..... No thanks...... I'd rather go straight to the source of the matter. I don't go for these side-tracks when i'd never sure.
You'll never have privacy again
Yes, you DO! Turn the "location services" OFF on your phone, problem sorted! No need for drama.
Your complete lack of facts, research, or anything at all to support your opinionated rebuttal is duly noted.
Mapping isn't enough, you need to provide locations. Which is easily done by putting WiFi hotspots into known, fixed locations. But how does Apple find out where the WiFi hotspots are? For the hotspot in your home, they get the location if someone with an iPhone with GPS walks by. The GPS notices the WiFi, it knows its own location, so it figures out that the WiFi is in the same location. But in a shopping center, GPS doesn't work. So _someone_ has to put the WiFi into a place and then tell Apple where it is.
I'd assume that your shopping center, or university, would be interested in people finding their way, so someone at that organisation would supply the coordinates.
----------
Like GPS, it only shows your location to _you_.
For "finding your car": GPS could figure out where you left your car. You are moving at high speed (driving), slower speed but more than walking (looking for a parking space), then you stop for a while, then you move at 3mph (walking away). The problem is when you park in a parking garage, GPS doesn't work. What these guys have could help when you put the car into a parking garage.
The missing piece of the puzzle: This is about "Indoor" Location Positioning. The whole thing breaks down when you are indoors. There is no GPS. So there is no GPS recording the locations of WiFi hotspots. The WiFi at Starbucks doesn't know where it is because there is no GPS to tell it.
lol.... Indoor tracking... Isn't location tracking freaky enough to make you to out of your mind....
This only "adds" to that by being inside..
You'll never have privacy again
Remember that movie where the guy got in the cab and tossed his phone out the window ? I'm ready to do that right now
Your phone knows where you are. But it doesn't tell anyone.
Last edited:
Most people never thought logically in their lives, today or the last 200000 years. Logical thinking is not something we are really borne with. We learn it at school, if we choose to. And we use it in our lives only when it is necessary, with or without technology. Siri doesn't think for us. Siri only accesses information.
Extremely long video explaining the technology in detail:
(If you just want to see the 90 second demo, skip to around the 23:40 mark)
(If you just want to see the 90 second demo, skip to around the 23:40 mark)
M
Mr.damien
Guest
Well unless the GPS software watches for these sorts of out range events. A couple of hundred and they could probably pin the building entries down to a GPS provided coordinates. Have the phone record a detailed wifi record at those points and they might be able to start guessing the wifi points coordinates as well. It might need to use gyro for some dead reckoning but still. Shopping centre or office building with lots of foot traffic and wifi points might map itself pretty quickly.
I guess apart from that apple will be installing 3+ wifi points in their stores.
To get a few know locations in the map.
I made it to this post before laughing. Well done.
-----
As for the technology itself, the criminal in me doesn't want the government, Apple or anyone else to be able to find me so easily and with such exactness even inside a building.
Then I wake up, realize I'm not on the lamb, and still feel like this software is a bit overbearing, but it'll probably be cool.
Yes!
This is great news and hints that Apple is going in the right direction. Implement this into the core of iOS and make the apps easily location aware.
One of the features I miss in iOS is "smart folders" for apps. With so many apps on the phone, people forget about the apps they have installed and barely use them. Smart folder would act as a passbook for whole apps making them easily accessible when in relevant location. You are in Paris and your travel guide moves onto front page. You are at the sports event and your betting app goes into front. You are in the mall and that particular mall's app goes there... Please!
This is great news and hints that Apple is going in the right direction. Implement this into the core of iOS and make the apps easily location aware.
One of the features I miss in iOS is "smart folders" for apps. With so many apps on the phone, people forget about the apps they have installed and barely use them. Smart folder would act as a passbook for whole apps making them easily accessible when in relevant location. You are in Paris and your travel guide moves onto front page. You are at the sports event and your betting app goes into front. You are in the mall and that particular mall's app goes there... Please!
In 10 yards, at the third door on the left, turn right, then, in 6 yards turn left and enter cubicle, drop trousers and sit, you have arrived at your destination
eh? I haven't seen any innovation from Apple for MANY MANY years! A fancy case (that scratches or reduces the mobile signal without a bumper!) isnt innovation, innovation is where a prduct does innovative things like Samsungs eye tracking software, or windows mobile 8 reading out texts and letting you reply back without even touching the phone! Apples only concerns other the past 6 or so years have been to make things thinner (at the loss of functionality (iMac!!)) and embroil themselves in legal wranglings. Meanwhile, the likes of Google have been buying companies and putting new offerings into building great new products with bigger screens, NFC, smart software, wireless charging, improved OS ... Etc etc. now that's what I call innovation!
Wow you've got some serious Flawgic going on there. You remind me of all the Google trolls on here that get banned all the time for saying silly things and being off topic.
Please stay on topic. My post was specifically related to Apple and a comparison to a related company as far as acquisitions. Your post is only because you seem to need to come to defend Google's lack of innovation. I suggest you review the Mac Rumors guidelines.
And no self driving cars, Google Glass, etc. are not innovative. We put a man on the moon over a half century ago. My daughter plays Angry Birds on computers more powerful than NASA had now. So pretty much anything is technologically possible in 2013. The auto companies have been developing driverless cars for years. Long before Google. Neither has anything nearly to the point where the general public can actually use it though.
You would be amazed at some of the stuff sitting in Microsoft, Apple, and other big tech companies' labs right now. Some really far out and amazing things. However, (and especially with Apple) they don't usually show these prototypes and projects around unless they become an actual viable product.
Google is an ad company. They specialize in advertising, PR, and marketing. That's what they do. Remember how they hyped up Google Glass at Google I/O, made demo videos, and still promoting the heck out of it? But where is it? I don't know a single person who is driving a driverless car or with a "Google Glass", do you? However, I know lots of people with iPods, iPhones, and iPads which were true innovative breakthroughs when they were released.
Google hasn't figured out how to actually make these products something the general public can use and afford. They have no clue about what the right mix of features should be, how well it should work, etc.
It's all just PR until then. The same as all the prototypes sitting up in every big tech companies labs that the public never sees. The only difference is they like to awe gullible people by actually showing their prototypes because they know those people don't understand how much more innovation and effort it takes to go from a prototype to a real useable and affordable product that millions of people can enjoy.
In other words, real innovation is actually finding a way to bring a real product to market in such a way that it actually changes and/or enriches or improves people's lives in some way. And just a few having access doesn't count.
A billionaire can actually go to the moon right now. But true innovation is when my next door neighbor (who is a teacher) says she just came back from the moon and enjoyed the experience "Company X" provided. That's when you know "Company X" has had a breakthrough in innovation in design, manufacturing, systems integration, engineering, supply chain operations, etc. to make that possible. Because currently it isn't really feasible although the possibility has already been demonstrated over half a century ago by NASA. Sort of like driverless cars and the Glasses thing.
Reports are out now that Ive has been working on a smart watch for years but you won't see any product leaks or demos until its actually ready for consumers on a mass scale. And mark my words, once Apple releases it, Google is going to put the Glass idea on the backburner and release their own "ready for consumer" version of a smart watch on a mass scale. It's going to be hilarious to see the fanboys try to justify how that happens once again. Google seems to have no clue of what they're doing unless somebody like Apple shows them how or they buy another company. See the Nexus Q failure when they finally try to be different.
But again, I don't believe Apple should try to innovate everything all by themselves. They should buy other innovative companies because other people have great ideas as well. They don't have to almost fully rely on this method like Google apparently does but they should do more of it. This is a good purchase and effective use of the billions in cash. I'd like to see more.