Interesting People mailing list archives
Where R U? Text service tracks teens
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2005 10:38:15 -0400
Begin forwarded message: From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com> Date: July 20, 2005 10:07:27 AM EDT To: dave () farber net Cc: lauren () vortex com Subject: Re: [IP] Where R U? Text service tracks teens Dave, Well, let's be precise. The service tracks *phones*, not teens. Unless the parents plan to actually keep establishing voice contact at intervals (which would hardly be "discreet"), all they know is where the phone happens to be, not the teens to whom they wish to attach the electronic rubber bands. The kids will have workarounds for this in no time. I can already see the underground ads: "Making the rounds of the clubs? Attending a rave? Planning a secret rendezvous? Natasha's Track-o-Rama phone service is the answer! For a modest fee, Natasha will safely hold your cell phone and carry it on a predetermined course to various "parent-safe" locations (libraries, school athletic events, G and PG-rated theaters, etc.) Phones will be left fully activated, and incoming calls will divert to your voicemail message, which may be customized as necessary for best effect. Special care is taken to ensure that your phone is kept in strong signal areas to avoid suspicious dropouts from the cellular networks. Give your parents the comfort level they desire, while not cramping your own style. Contact Natasha at ... " Of course, then the next step will be devices that *lock* onto the teens' bodies. All of this will just do wonders for parent/teen relations, we can be sure. --Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein lauren () pfir org or lauren () vortex com or lauren () eepi org Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 http://www.pfir.org/lauren Co-Founder, PFIR - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org Co-Founder, EEPI - Electronic Entertainment Policy Initiative - http://www.eepi.org Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com DayThink: http://daythink.vortex.com - - -
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 uponTyne, 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/ ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as lauren () pfir org To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ipArchives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting- people/
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