Bell Labs Demos Cell Phone Location Software

mateub writes "AP via Yahoo reports that Bell Labs will soon announce cell phone software to reveal the owner's location to interested parties. To alleviate privacy concerns they say the software will 'let cell users be as picky as they choose about disclosing their whereabouts' but the article goes on to mention 'the ability for restaurants and other businesses to send a solicitation by text message to a cell phone when its owner wanders within range of those merchants.' Oh, wonderful, cellular popups..."

Comments

Hmm....

[SilentT]

Sounds like a very good reason for me to remain cell-phone-free.

Great for kids

[ObviousGuy]

While some adulterous adults may not want to have their whereabouts known, it is important for kids to be tracked.

Child abduction is a major problem that affects thousands of families every year. This kind of cell phone tracking would go far to help find missing kids before they end up dead and in a ditch.

Re:Great for kids

[a1ok]

Assuming for a moment that, unlike what another poster pointed out, there *are* kidnappers stupid enough to let some kid keep his cell. Why can't the parents just tell the police his cell number and get it tracked through E911 or other triangulation services that are currently available instead?

This technology afaik just builds on the infrastructure that providers also have for E911 (in US) and tries to commercialize it for ad revenue et al. Right now they're talking about letting spouses and friends know about your location, but eventually there could be some provision that ad companies pay for sending the sms or mms (at bulk rates of course), and that would open the floodgates for much more targeted advertising. Especially since once its the sender who's paying for cell bandwidth, it becomes 'acceptable' like for telemarketing to land lines (of course the time you spend answering such calls is apparently worthless!).

No need to transmit at all, most of the time

[HiKarma]

It's possible to produce compelling location-aware network applications without requiring the device to tell the outside world where it is. Instead, have the network provide information about the general area, and let the device decide what to do about it.

Only in an emergency need you tell the outsiders where you are. You don't even want to always tell trusted people where you are. That's like being lojacked. Given the ability, how can you say to your wife, "Honey, I don't want you to see my location every minute of every day?"

Unless she's a good, understanding privacy advocate.

For an example of a nice location aware app that doesn't have to tell the network where you are, check out this blog entry about The Big Yellow Button

Is it your cell phone????

[www.sorehands.com]

If you get a company cell phone, does the company have the right control the rules on who may locate you?

Another thought, what about cell phone companies using the phone location service to send bill collectors?

Enough

[savagedome]

enabling users to specify what location information is shared, when, with whom, how and under what circumstances

They told us that navigation system is for navigation. And then, its tracking the cars, speeding tickets.

They told us cookies is just to make the stateless HTTP protocol have some states. And then, its Double Click and all the tracking.

They told us at the grocery store that the card will be used to get discounts. And then, you start getting those annoying mail related to products you bought.

Hello marketing fellas out there, PLEASE stop. Consumer is getting upset.

Yeah right

[brunes69]

That's the kind of excuse Bush and Ashcroft want to use to pull the woll over your eyes. You really think this would stop any kidnappers?

Step 1: Kidnap Kid
Step 2: Throw any phone they have in the dumpster

Really, why the hell do you think any kidnappers are going to let a kid keep his PHONE on him? You think they're THAT stupid?

Re:Yeah right

[AvitarX]

Well...

Lets see the scenerios.

first. 13 year old child is home alone (quite reasonable) after school for two hours and is absolutly not supposed to do anything else without contecting his/her parents.

On the way home said child is abducted and phone left in a dumpster. Parents come home and flip. Child does not answer phone. They then use this service and find the phone in a dumpster. hmmm, seams like foul play.

If the phone was not trackable it is going to be at least 8 hours before anyone who can do anything (athorities) care. They probably won't really do anything until the next morning.

I somehow see the phone in the dumpster as a big clue that something is up.

Dial 9-1-1 and it should, automagically, track you

[khasim]

From the article.

"However, given the real-time requirements of transmitting information over a telephone network, it can be difficult to program a wide-range of options for individuals to personalize preferences such as when, where and with whom to share location information. One solution is to hard-code a network database with an "on-off" switch that activates or deactivates a service, for instance, during a window of time with set hours such as peak and off-peak."

So, dial 9-1-1 and your phone should broadcast its location.

Otherwise, just make it an option for the numbers you have stored on your phone and a simple check box for the rest (I want to receive tons of phone spam Y/N).

#1. If I dial 9-1-1, my location is broadcast.

#2. If I turn off the broadcast function, my location is not broadcast (unless #1).

#3. For every phone number I have stored, I have the option to broadcast (or not) my location to that number, provided I have broadcast turned on (#2).

#4. For everyone else, I can choose to receive massive amounts of phone spam (unless #2). Why anyone would choose this option is beyond me.

Any problems with that? It seems simple to me. And it should be easily implemented in software. Of course, it will NOT provide the captive audience for phone spam that seems to be the focus of that article. But so what?

Not so great for kids

[HiKarma]

Many have pointed out how ineffective lojacking kids would be if the kidnappers (who 99% of the time are relatives, the press just makes a big deal when there is a stranger kidnapping) are aware of the technology.

It can be worse, it can be used to mislead. Of course they can just turn the phone off (you going to trigger an alert on every dead battery or out of range cell phone?) but they can also plant it at the home or the home of some red herring.

But here's the real question. Kids have rights. At what age will parents finally let their kids be free of the surveillance anklet we're calling a cell phone?

I can tell you it will be later than it should be for almost all parents, that is their nature, and it's understandable.

But I think if we are going to have readily available child-lojack, there may need to be a law to protect the children from their parents, and forbid doing it after the age of 12. The kids can still have a phone, can still call 911 and transmit their location, but no parent query.

Otherwise we destroy the freedom of all kids to catch one stupid criminal out of 100,000 who doesn't know to turn off the phone. All the other times it will be used to say, "I told you not to associate with that Jimmy kid."

Don't Neglect the Useful Applications

[thebiss]

Just as cookies have useful applications, so will location-based messaging. Location-based traffic reports immediately come to mind.

I'd love to get an SMS when I-684/I-95 are jammed, and I'd love it even more if the service was free, paid for by an ad for the local Dunkin Donuts. :-)