Reply #33: Look At The Clock On Your Cellphone [View All]

We just came back from California and my wife freaked when we arrived in LA, she popped on her cellphone and the time had adjusted for Pacific time from it's normal Central time. I explained the cellphone had "checked in" (we use U.S. Cellular...all these companies are the same) and it knew she was somewhere in the Pacific Time Zone and adjusted her phone accordingly. I went further to say this is how the phone knows when you're in a local cell or roaming and how the company makes money when it charges you extra fees based on distance. She was freaked at how instrusive these things are, but that's part of "living in the modern world".

As a business owner, I have no problems with companies that supply their employees (especially sales people) with devices to keep track of them when they're on the road on company time. I've worked in too many situations where people, when given to do 4 hours to do a one hour job or real work will choose the 4 hours every time. Sometime's knowing someone is watching isn't a bad thing.

There needs to be laws that protect the confidentiality of a "leasor" or someone who buys a service, such as a cellphone and those who agree to use them, and other company "perks" as a condition of their job.