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MIT Mapping Students WiFi Access in 3D
GuitarNeophyte writes "Ever wished that you had a way to just look at a map and find your friends across campus? Or wanted to find an open study lounge without having to foot it on over? Well, with MIT's new WiFi Mapping project, you can. They've set up large plexiglass maps, projecting dots over a campus map, allowing you to know the concentration of WiFi users in various parts of the grounds. With over 2800 access points, locations of individual students (if they have opted to reveal their information) can be found with accuracy as close as the individual classroom (even in multi-story buildings). It's also had the affect of providing some interesting research on study patterns, '[R]esearchers also found that study labs that once bustled with students are now nearly empty as people, no longer tethered to a phone line or network cable, move to cafes and nearby lounges, where food and comfy chairs are more inviting.'"
Just because the information is hidden, what about unscrupulous system admins? Law enforcement? Etc. It could even be discoverable for lawsuits.
History has shown that if the capability exists, it will be used.
Pessimists.net - as if life wasn't depressing enough.
I'm serious. Nothing around you but other computers and students. Chugging the code on an all night project, with nothing but a 2 liter of Mt. Dew to fuel your sleep-deprived, caffeine induced coding hallucinations.
Going to the lab was an explicit statement of "I'm getting shit done" - cutting yourself off from an many distractions as you possibly could (though email/web pervade) and working until you drop / it's done.
I look fondly back at the labs these days - wish I was younger - and remember the all nighters and watching the sun rise. (From the top of the CII).