Using a cellphone to tag along
By Ellen Nakashima
updated 3:00 a.m. ET, Sat., July. 12, 2008
WASHINGTON - John Arispe cruised slowly along in his car, one eye on the road, one eye on a glowing blue dot on a digital map of the Springfield Mall neighborhood in Northern Virginia, displayed on the screen of his sleek new Apple iPhone 3G. As he moved north on Frontier Drive, the dot moved with him. He turned left. The dot smoothly hung a left.
"This is like the stuff you see in movies," the 26-year-old tech aficionado said.
Consumers for years have been able to carry portable electronic devices that can pinpoint where they are on a map or a mountain trail. But yesterday's launch of the iPhone 3G signals the growing sophistication of an industry -- demonstrating the power of marrying precise location technology with the reach of the Internet on mobile devices.
Merchants can use this information to target ads, malls to entice shoppers, insurance adjusters to calibrate premiums, employers to catch moonlighters and parents to keep an eye on children. But what many users may not realize is that by sharing this information, they are creating often permanent records that can tell not only wireless providers, but also social networking sites, other users, and potentially law enforcement and civil attorneys every place they are and have been, as long as their phone and tracking device are on.
(snip) more
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25647942/_______________________________________________________________
Fuck these things. And people will willingly give up their privacy for the latest gadget.
Did you know that it is possible for the FBI to remotely trigger our cell phone to act as a roving bug, even when it's turned off? And now they can do it without a warrant? And now, people want everyone to know where they're at? And they need more advertising?
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