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All posts tagged "location-based"

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Windows Live Search for Mobile Team Does Hilarious Ads

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Pocket PC Talk" @ 10:41 AM

http://www.loco4local.com/

"Why is Live Search for mobile so Loco 4 Local? Because we're crazy about getting you what you need to know now, no matter where you are. Whether you're craving crab cakes or mulling a matinee, Live Search for mobile makes finding practically anything in the area fast and easy."

I really like it when companies can have a sense of humour about what they're doing, so this was right up my alley: the Windows LIve Search for Mobile team has created this Loco4Local site that has some hilarious videos that spoof some of the cheesy used car ads you might see on late night local TV. Great stuff!

Tags: software, location-based, gps, windows live search for mobile, live search

Saturday, January 31, 2004

Location-Based Services: Friend or Foe?

Posted by David McNamee in "THOUGHT" @ 02:11 PM

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1463849,00.asp
U.S. cellular providers have until the end of 2005 to implement their required piece of the FCC's E-911 program. The carriers must be able to provide a mobile phone user's location to 911 dispatch centers to within 50 to 100 meters (about 160 to 320 feet). This information can and will save lives once it is implemented.

The carriers, looking to make the best of forced capital upgrades, are trying to leverage this location information into a revenue stream by offering services that use your location data. These location-based services are going to surface in many different ways. Companies will be able to track their employees and improve their logistics. This will be of interest to couriers, field maintenance companies, or anyone sending their employees out into the world. There is also potential for personal services that show where you currently are in relation to your friends. AT&T Wireless already has a "Find Friends" service on mMode to let you physically find the people on your buddy list. Reportedly, and not surprisingly, some carriers are evaluating services that would allow restaurants and retailers to target potential customers in the area.

This is beginning to sound like some bizarre combination of the ship's computer in "Star Trek" that always knows where everyone is, and the creepy adverts in "Minority Report" that personalize themselves as different people walk past. At what point do the convenience and safety features of location-based services become a dramatic invasion of a person's privacy?

To help with the situation, Lucent's Bell Labs subsidiary is working on a software solution that allows people to control the distribution of their location data. Using the software, the carriers and 911 centers will be able to track a mobile phone user's location. The customer can allow the location to be used in any, all, or none of the above scenarios. Hopefully, the carriers will adopt this solution or a similar one. We've already traded a degree of privacy to receive the benefits of mobile phones. I hate to think that we might be forced to forfeit all of our privacy.

Tags: services, location-based, friend, foe
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