Location Context « Cheaper than therapy
“Location is one of the most basic yet important discoveries man has ever strived to make.”
Benjamin Lipman makes a strong case for why GPS-enabled electronics represent the next phase of consumer electronics. I agree, having regrets over getting the non-GPS BlackBerry Pearl, and having used the Garmin StreetPilot C330 that Ben advocates (and gave to me as a gift) last weekend to explore the Westport, Mass. area — an adventure that would have been impossible without the device.
Location-aware applications could be huge, with initial impact and experiments coming from “friend-finder” models, as well as “what’s your Twenty, Big-Buddy” questions, as Ben points out: “where r u?”
Absolutely. Years ago when I consulted to Accenture, the labs were working on sensor accuation with rfid and gps. It was cool then. I can only imagine how far they have come with Glover Ferguson continuing to run the ship over there. It was all about “context” for signal processing. Brilliant stuff, dude.
This will all come of age with ipv6 and the real OMI/MOBI revolution coming soon.
Location and related information is evrything. I defame maps with cryptic annotations to my field books. i’ve done this since I was a kid and its invakluable as a tool for fishing my natal stream–the East Fork of the San Gabriel River,north of Azusa. I also annotate quadrant maps when I go ‘sploring out in the desert. It;s useful for noting locations of mineral foundations, house foundations, et cetera.
Jim
Believe it or not, even though I was once rescued due to the embedded gps in a phone, I’m not totally sold on the idea of enabling it’s use for anyone but police, fire, coast guard (I really like the coasties…). I will certainly not be giving anyone the ability to track me like a tagged marine mammal.
Enabled for my use very good. Enabled so my overseers, both corporate and personal, may keep tabs on my movements, very bad.
The next stop is “the village” and a number of my very own.
Was that the time you turned into a U-Boat captain?
Yes indeed. There is nothing so sweet as the site of a Coast Guard MLB cruising in to pluck you from the water…
I didn’t know they tracked you down by your phone. Very cool.
Actually my phone was in Davy Jone’s Locker. Luckily Jackob Kasper’s phone was floating under the overturned hull in a dry box, and we were able to retrieve it. The state police connected him to the coast guard in about 5-10 seconds, and after his 5 second “2 people in the water 4 miles off Sakonnet Point, overturned 18′ white center console” they came back with the welcome words “We have your exact position from the gps on your phone, help is on the way.”
More pleasant words could not have been heard by a guy treading water in the fog.
The words I really don’t want to hear are from the significantly unpleasant other “No, you’re not at the office you #$$@#!*, you’re at Block 5 drinking martinis!”