Google Offers "Latitude" To Track People

Google is releasing free software Wednesday that enables people to keep track of each other using their cell phones.

CNET got a sneak peek at it, and CNET-TV Senior Editor and Early Show contributor Natali Del Conte explained how it works on the show Tuesday.

She says "Latitude" uses GPS systems and what's called cell tower triangulation to do the job. The software seeks the closest three cell towers and, with GPS, combines the data to show where someone is.

It is designed to work on any phone with Internet capabilities, except the iPhone.

"Latitude" is being marketed as a tool that could help parents keep tabs on their children's locations, but it can be used for anyone to find anyone else, assuming permission is given.

"What Google Latitude does is allow you to share that location with friends and family members, and likewise be able to see friends and family members' locations," Steve Lee, product manager for Google Latitude, told CNET. "For example, a girlfriend could use it to see if her boyfriend has arrived at a restaurant and, if not, how far away he is."

CNET points out that, "To protect privacy, Google specifically requires people to sign up for the service. People can share their precise location, the city they're in, or nothing at all."

"What we found in testing," Lee added to CNET, "is that the most common scenario is a symmetrical arrangement, where both people are sharing with each other."

For complete details from CNET on "Latitude," click here.

But how accurate is "Latitude"?

Del Conte found a family willing to give it a try. The results? Mixed:



The family lives in an area with spotty cell phone reception, Del Conte points out. They found that, if they went to more urbanized areas, the accuracy of the program increased.

[jb5977]

Hey Motus_oper.............

Learn how to spell you moron bigot!!!

[alexcnovak]

I find this to be a useful tool to keep up with my friends. It will become more useful as more of my friends get smartphones and/or laptops AND decide to opt into the program.

As it stands now, about 20% of Americans own a smartphone and about 30% own laptops--I would think the people who own smartphones are likely to own laptops as well. Thus, the total population who would be "at risk" using Google Latitude are 30% of Americans.

Bottom line, since this is an "opt in" program, users have essentially accepted the consequences. What''s more, users can opt out any time at their leisure. Potential threats are not realized without widespread adoption I would think.

[rsmik]

Google, the stalker''s friend

[ddaryl1]

where screwed as a society... we are being fenced in

[modus_oper]

This countru sucks and I no longer have any obligation or allegence to it!~~ Particulary when run by a jugeared burr head who doesn''''''''t know his *** from applesaice!~~~~ POSTED BY Zebraone2

The dry cleaners called. Your white sheet and hood are ready.

[kaffirboetie]

This countru sucks and I no longer have any obligation or allegence to it!~~ Particulary when run by a jugeared burr head who doesn''''t know his *** from applesaice!~~~~ POSTED BY Zebraone2

I enjoyed zebraone2''s post immensely! I wish there were more of such unashamed racialists on these boards to provide me with never ending amusement

[mccowanphil]

Shades of 1984! I bet Orwell is turnin g in his grave. We just keep on taking our personal freedos away. Big Brother is really going to like this. It won''t be long before we are all tracks and our conversations recorded and approved by BB! All these cute little toys only bring us closer to raliztion of the prophest of Orwell in his "1984" novel. It just is taking a little longer. Beware people. Your freedoms and privacy are going to hell here!

[spiritwalk]

This is a "Technique of Propaganda" called an "Appeal to Fear"

There was a time, back in the PTL heydey, when Jim Bakker was promoting the idea to fundamentalists Christians that credit cards should be replaced with electronic implants in their hands that could track financial transactions in order to stop criminals. Of course, it was Bakker who truened out to be the criminal, but that was an appeal to fear, the fear of criminals that was the propaganda to get people to allow themselves to submit themselves to electronic tracking.

Now Google is using the fear of children being abducted as the propagand to get people to submit to electronic tracking. Of course, as we remember last weekend when Google marked every website as "harmful", Google might end up labeling you as "harmful" in its tracking.

[spiritwalk]

This is a "Technique of Propaganda" called an "Appeal to Fear"

There was a time, back in the PTL heydey, when Jim Bakker was promoting the idea to fundamentalists Christians that credit cards should be replaced with electronic implants in their hands that could track financial transactions in order to stop criminals. Of course, it was Bakker who truened out to be the criminal, but that was an appeal to fear, the fear of criminals that was the propaganda to get people to allow themselves to submit themselves to electronic tracking.

Now Google is using the fear of children being abducted as the propagand to get people to submit to electronic tracking. Of course, as we remember last weekend when Google marked every website as "harmful", Google might end up labeling you as "harmful" in its tracking.

[spinproof]

Lifetime criminals already know they are being tracked by their cell phones without this new consumer version called Latitude, like some have already pointed out, Law Enforcement has had this capability for a while. Professional criminals buy "pay as you go" cell phones to compliment their normal cell phones, leave their normal cell phones in the location of their choice so it looks like they are there and roam with their untraceable "pay as you go" phone, problem solved! Police may not even bring these criminals they think they are tracking in for crimes assuming they were in the location of their original cell phone at the time of a crime. This "Latitude" is a double edge sword and can work against its intended purpose providing false alibis.