Where R U? Text service tracks teens

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Brian Randell <Brian.Randell () newcastle ac uk>
Date: July 20, 2005 3:42:30 AM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Where R U? Text service tracks teens


Dave:

From today's (UK) Guardian:


> Where R U? Text service tracks teens
>
> Lucy Ward, social affairs correspondent
> Wednesday July 20, 2005
> The Guardian
>
> It is a familiar dilemma for parents of teenagers testing new-found  
> independence - do you sit at home fretting over their after-school  
> whereabouts or call their mobiles and risk a tirade against over- 
> protectiveness?
>
> The answer, according to one company, is a hi-tech apron string  
> based on the mobile phone location tracking techniques used in  
> police investigations.
>
> The new KidsOK service, sold in shops including Boots and Bhs as  
> the summer holidays start, allows parents to use their own mobiles  
> and their children's to "discreetly" locate wandering offspring (or  
> their phones, at least) to within about 500m in built-up areas.
>
> Instead of dialling their teenager's number, parents subscribing to  
> the service send or "ping" a text message including the child's  
> name to a special mailbox. Within 60 seconds, they receive a map  
> (if they have a picturephone) or a description showing the position  
> of the youngster's phone.
>
> The system uses technology which traces the location of a mobile by  
> pinpointing it within the three nearest mobile phone masts. Because  
> the masts are clustered in built-up areas, the method is most  
> accurate in cities and gives a much less precise picture in rural  
> areas.

. . . .


Full story:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1532026,00.htm

cheers

brian
--
School of Computing Science, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon  
Tyne,
NE1 7RU, UK
EMAIL = Brian.Randell () ncl ac uk   PHONE = +44 191 222 7923
FAX = +44 191 222 8232  URL = http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/~brian.randell/


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