May 31, 2006 • 10:04 pm 0
This is fascinating: GPS-based E911 implemented within the limited geographical confines of islands. Maui County is comprised of 4 islands with a total land mass area of about 1159 square miles. The statistics gathered in this situation will be very, very helpful to other emergency management officials.
The Maui Police Department is claiming accuracy to within 3-250 feet (!). We’ll see if that holds true.
Filed under: E911
May 30, 2006 • 11:00 pm 0
Thanks to Fred Stutzman on the claimID weblog, I just discovered the Identity Mash-Up. The conference covers topics that are near and dear, like technology and law, and of course privacy.
To quote:
The goal of the conference is to explore the role of identity systems (tools that let users and merchants know whom to trust on the web) in furthering or inhibiting privacy, civil liberties and new forms of civic participation and commerce.
I would love to be there, but since I just started my new job I won’t be able to make it. Maybe next time.
And while I’m on the subject, claimID is worth noting for a couple of reasons. First is the idea that maintaining control over your own information is one aspect of privacy. By that logic, claimID can be considered a tool for managing identity and, as a consequence, privacy. It got me thinking about identity and privacy enough to create a new category for the blog.
By strengthening the ties between you and the links that matter most, claimID helps steer the search engines (and anyone looking for your information) towards what is most relevant and important to you. It’s a clever idea, and one that strengthens individual privacy on the internet.
May 26, 2006 • 9:43 pm 1
Duluth News Tribune | 05/26/2006 | Cell phones, laptops let the world know where you are
I actually kind of like this article, but I wish they had done a few things differently. For one, it’s still much more difficult than implied to track someone with a great deal of accuracy (“pinpoint” is used again; and so the trend continues).
What I do like is this quote from the Center for Democracy and Technology: “tracking ‘reveals sensitive information about a person that may have no relation to criminal activity’.”
Also note the mention from Skyhook Wireless‘ Jed Rice that there are no federal privacy laws for wireless location tracking.
• 9:14 pm 0
Verizon Wireless Passes E911 Compliance – 5/26/2006 10:37:00 AM – Wireless Week – CA6338660
We may have the first cellular carrier in the nation to meet the 95% minimum for mobile E911 market penetration. Of course, not everyone can take advantage of this feature.
Filed under: E911
May 18, 2006 • 1:18 pm 0
The Eternal Value of Privacy | Wired Magazine
More on why privacy matters to people who are not criminals or terrorists.
Filed under: Privacy
May 11, 2006 • 3:13 pm 0
• 2:25 pm 0
Filed under: Further Reading
• 1:29 pm 0
Free Press: Hidden Cost of Free Wireless
Good questions. Getting an open dialogue with the public and informing them of the ways the technologies work, the risks and benefits, is the best way of creating informed consent.
Filed under: Privacy
May 10, 2006 • 3:11 pm 0
http://www.sattel.com/E911%20myths.htm
There is actually a pretty good synopsis of limitations to E911 technology here, but I wish there were a link to the independent study mentioned. Their link to a Consumer Reports article on E911, however, is worth a read even if it is over two years old. It’s the first place I’ve heard of “lock-in”, or as they describe it, when your cell phone “is programmed to preferentially seek out the signal from the home carrier even if another carrier’s signal is stronger”. At the time the article was written, all-digital cell phones were not required to use a competitor’s network if the subscriber’s network did not get through to 911. That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t, but it’s certainly implied. I need to find out if this has changed in the last two years.
The Emergency Network Myths site itself is part of a larger site promoting the company, SATTEL, and their location-detection product SafeLink, which I need to research a little further.
Regardless, we’ve got a long way to go before cellular E911 is as effective as it needs to be.
Filed under: E911, Further Reading
May 8, 2006 • 10:51 pm 0
Cell Phone Tracking: Laws Needed | Wired News
It cannot be stressed enough that policy and legislation need to be debated and crafted while cell phone location monitoring is still in its infancy.
Filed under: Privacy
