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Privacy and the Devil Pact

February 15, 2012 - By

In the public dialogue about mobile privacy concerns, I’ve yet to hear a plea to turn back the clock to when mobile apps were supported by subscription fees. Surprisingly, many consumers don’t understand the devil pact that free services come with a loss of privacy. With the exception of enterprise offerings, subscription fees have shrunk or disappeared for most location-based services. At the Institute for Communication Technology Management at the University of Southern California, Allison Cera of Lucent-Alcatel talked about the intersection of technology and identity. More than half of the people in her study felt they shouldn’t have to provide information about themselves just to get the most out of online services. Among the most connected technology users, the expectation of privacy was lower. read more

This article is tagged with , , , , and posted in Mobile, Opinions

The World of GNSS: What’s Next?

February 15, 2012 - By

As the world of GNSS moves forward and begins to absorb the new signals which are coming on line, it might be helpful to consider where we are going with all this. Maybe its time to ask ourselves to hold on a second — where is this all leading and what do we actually need? Let’s take a quick look at where we’ve been with GPS and GLONASS and what’s in store for these systems and what the impact might be for us users. Then if we consider the changes coming with Galileo, COMPASS, QZSS and the augmentation and regional system around the world, how can we as consumers cope with what’s coming and what impact will these things have on us? And what direction should manufacturers take to accommodate and lead consumers? read more

This article is tagged with and posted in Opinions

NTIA Thumbs Down LightSquared; FCC Concurs

February 15, 2012 - By

“We conclude that LightSquared’s proposed mobile broadband network will impact GPS services and that there is no practical way to mitigate the potential interference at this time.” These words from Lawrence Strickling (right), U.S. assistant secretary for communications and information and head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), appear to signal the end of LightSquared’s run. Strickling’s letter... read more

This article is tagged with , , and posted in Featured Stories, GNSS

Higher Accuracy Geospatial Data is a Double-Edged Sword

February 10, 2012 - By

There’s no doubt that geospatial data collected today is more accurate than it was five years ago and will be more accurate five years from now than it is today. A couple of items had me thinking (once again) about the challenge that higher accuracy geospatial is posing and is going to pose in the future. The first was an... read more

This is posted in GSS Monthly, Lidar, Mapping

Bringing Visualization to Transportation Research Board Meeting

February 8, 2012 - By

By Art Kalinski Two weeks ago I gave a presentation, at the Transportation Research Board (TRB) annual meeting. This is one of those mega-meetings attended by almost anyone involved in the transportation related professions. TRB is part of the National Research Council jointly administered by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.... read more

This is posted in GeoIntelligence Insider, Lidar, Opinions

Government and Fleet Markets Find Steady Growth

February 8, 2012 - By

It’s not a market that will help users find friends or places to eat, but it seems to be one that keeps movin’ along. The government and enterprise market for location-based services seems to be steady, if not growing, as evidenced by nearly 9,000 attendees at the recent Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. Topics included the 20th Anniversary of the government’s intelligent transportation systems program. read more

This article is tagged with , and posted in Mobile, Opinions

Rugged GPS-Enabled Windows Laptops

February 7, 2012 - By

I brushed the snow from my keyboard and in my mind I could hear the neighbors whispering, "Call the men in white coats, there he goes again." They may have cause for concern, as I am sitting on my deck during a lull in a major blizzard, typing on a laptop computer half buried in snow. My warfighter correspondence indicates that some war tasks call out for a rugged laptop rather than a rugged handheld device; thus, this cold warrior test of a device with embedded GPS capability. read more

This article is tagged with , , , and posted in Defense, Opinions

Inside the Head of the Body Politic

February 7, 2012 - By

In the exciting run-up to Election ’12, we conducted a straw poll of selected voters, giving everyone a chance to see what the electorate thinks about the state of things, and its outlook on the future. This is y’all talking, now: a barely scientific subset of the GPS/GNSS community, the audience at last week’s webinar, “The Challenges of Global Navigation.”... read more

This article is tagged with and posted in Opinions
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