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Filed under: Cellphones

It’s not quite a Batman-type science-bending project, but DARPA’s apparently hush hush “Gandalf” initiative looks to be fairly ambitious nonetheless — at least as far as we can tell from the rather vague statements that have been made about it. In an announcement of sorts yesterday, DARPA reportedly said that the project’s goal is to use “set of handheld devices” to track down a specific “signal emitter of interest” using radio frequency geolocation, and presumably some other measures they’re not about to dish the details on. The Register’s Lew Page further extrapolates that could mean that a group of undercover operatives or special-forces troops would be able to be dispersed near a target and hone in on a particular cellphone, or other electronic device for that matter, and then proceed to track it with no one the wiser. Whatever it is, it’s going to be discussed at an event in Virginia later this month, though we’re not exactly expecting any first-hand reports to come out of that.

[Via Danger Room]

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Source: Donald Melanson

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Filed under: Cellphones, GPS

Taking a note from Japan, it’s being reported that South Korean police are backing a highly controversial plan that would equip each new mobile sold in the nation with a GPS chip. Reportedly, Song Kang-ho, chief of the investigation bureau of the National Police Agency, has stated that the government has “already submitted a related bill to the National Assembly,” and the general idea here is to crack down on the rise of kidnapping and various other crimes against children and women. Granted, there’s not a lot of supporting evidence that this is actually set to go down, so until we see it inked in stone, our skeptic hats are remaining in place.

[Via textually, image courtesy of The New York Times]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: GPS, Transportation

Oh yeah, we’ve seen GPS devices intended to sit secretively within the confines of a motorcar and beam back real-time tracking data to the powers that be, but typically, they’re fairly subtle about their purpose. Not so with the brashly named GPS Snitch, which makes no bones about its intentions of helping you catch that unfaithful SO or your rebellious teenager. As expected, this unit simply hides within one’s vehicle and can notify administrators via SMS / e-mail as soon as motion is detected or a pre-determined perimeter is exceeded. Additionally, you can track the vehicle’s progress through BlackLine’s website, and just in case the week of battery life isn’t enough, it can be hardwired to the car battery for logging extra long road trips. Ready to quell your suspicions? Grab one now for $399 plus applicable service plan fees.

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: GPS

Although SPOT’s personal GPS tracker was announced last August, it’s just now managed to navigate its way into reviewers hands. Essentially, this unit is supposed to enable the carrier to upload real-time tracking data to friends and family back home, but according to GPS Magazine, that was easier said than done. The unit was hailed as extraordinarily rugged, long-lasting (battery life) and able to work in areas without cellular coverage. Sadly, its internal GPS receiver was so insensitive that even “moderate tree cover prevented the unit from getting reliable signals.” Additionally, there’s no way to tell whether or not a message has been sent successfully (or received), and the lack of geofencing support was also a letdown. All in all, SPOT seemed to be a good bet for hikers, boaters, etc. traveling to remote areas simply due to its ability to ring for help if necessary, but for the average joe (or youngster) hoping to transmit step-by-step data back home, it seems the built-in GPS receiver just ain’t cut out for all that.

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Ah — dead, eerily-prescient, 20th century authors… they just can’t stop proving you right, can they? In a decidedly Orwellian turn, British authorities are considering a proposal to implant “machine-readable” RFID tags under the skin of some prison inmates as part of a plan to free up space in the country’s overcrowded prisons. Just like the nightmare world described in your favorite cautionary tales, the chips would enable authorities to track the location of implantees using satellite and radio-wave technology. The program would build off of the current ankle-tagging currently in place, and according to a official from the Ministry of Justice who finds the plan double-plus good, “All the options are on the table, and this is one we would like to pursue.” Of course, the controversial concept does have its detractors, Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, says that, “If the Home Office doesn’t understand why implanting a chip in someone is worse than an ankle bracelet, they don’t need a human-rights lawyer; they need a common-sense bypass.” Shortly following this statement, however, Shami was taken to an interrogation room and outfitted with a rat-hood, and all record of her existence was erased from state records.

[Via Slashdot]

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Source: Joshua Topolsky

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Filed under: GPS

There’s just something magical about listening to a British dame tell us exactly how many meters remain before we make our next turn, but we’re not so sure we’d be down with only that. Nevertheless, NavStar is hoping that you won’t mind the loss of visual aids when navigating to your next destination, as its Voice Navigator ditches the screen entirely and doles out guidance via auditory cues. Granted, the concept sounds at least halfway decent, but judging by a video of the unit in action, we can’t say we’re thrilled. The firm is, however, aiming to integrate “freshly updated NAVTEQ map data” to its servers each quarter, which should enable US drivers to take the most efficient routes as new roads open up. Hit up your local RV dealer for a demonstration, but set the expectation bar low, okay?

[Via GPSTracklog]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Desktops

If you think doing five months of hard time in the slammer for uploading a feature film to the internet is tough, try using Windows for nearly half a year when your heart belongs to Linux. Unfortunately, this heartbreaking scenario is indeed true, as the “ex-administrator of the EliteTorrents BitTorrent tracker” is now being forced to use an operating system in which the US government can install monitoring software on. According to Sk0t, who has served his jail time and is now sitting through five months of home confinement, he believes that the government “should have software that conforms to [him],” especially considering how expensive it would be to replace all of one’s software… sans a job. Of course, his alternative seems to be just living out the sentence without using a PC at all, but c’mon, we all know that ain’t happening.

[Via Slashdot]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: GPS

Granted, crooks who aren’t up to speed on their technology have paid dearly (and rightfully so) for their ignorance, but a comical case involving a witty bank robber proved that even master plans involving GPS can be subverted. Reportedly, a woman who made off with an undisclosed amount of cash from a People’s Bank in Connecticut somehow realized that a tracking device was stuffed within one of the oh-so-valuable bags. Rather than panicking, however, she simply removed the chip, chucked it in the sewer, and went about her day. It wasn’t noted whether the sly criminal was ever brought to justice, but if the fuzz eventually ran her down, it was most certainly done the old fashioned way.

[Via TGDaily, image courtesy of NYJWJ]

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Source: Darren Murph

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