https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/CanYouHearMe/Articles, news, random tid-bits on wireless, location services, etc., in the Telecommunications industry.hourly12000-01-01T12:00+00:00https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/CanYouHearMe/7473Amazing! The satellite cellular industry has known about these urban canyon shortcomings since Day One, and ignored the issue entirely in their blind march to the sea. Now that reality has set in, they want to add "filler" land-based towers. I say to the FCC that they should say "NO" to this...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/CanYouHearMe/7471Remember the company I told you about a long time back in an early post? Wherify Wireless? The one that allows you to make children wear a wrist watch so that you can find them? Well, they just got more support from the proponents of CDMA technology—QUALCOMM. So, they should be around for a while,...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/CanYouHearMe/6382Here we go. Finally, a study that claims to be more exacting about the specific dangers of talking on a cell-phone while driving. I do not know whether they are right — I have to admit I am an occasional cell-phone user when driving — but it is only correct to watch out for such problems. They...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/CanYouHearMe/6141It looks like satellite radio is appealing to some "wealthy baby boomers", but it still has a long way to go before it will succeed and survive. Restructuring of the companies has helped, but they are not out of the woods yet. Charging for service that has always been "free" to the vast majority...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/CanYouHearMe/6073There are simply no words left in me to describe my feelings. I am as lost as on that other fateful day... in January 1986. Rest In Peace, Columbia and Challenger astronauts!https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/CanYouHearMe/6072Here we go again. Another community tries to make our fast life-styles not have to wait for any more than necessary. It seems that we are always fussing about these things. Life is too short, people! Live it at a more relaxed pace! You can track your bus on the Internet Metro programs give riders...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/CanYouHearMe/6071Hi, all. Due to unforeseen medical circumstances, I have not been an active writer or reader here for some months now. But I am back! So, you should start seeing articles from me again in the near future. I have to admit that my medical circumstances (quadruple bypasses in my heart) has changed...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/CanYouHearMe/4101All Right! This is the Way-To-Go™ for sure! Who hasn't been annoyed with those dinner time telemarketing calls? This is one way to make sure that you are not bothered. Automatically zap the telemarketer and make sure that they do not call you again, either! For more on tne story, see here....https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/CanYouHearMe/3326Somebody has to make sure that the Telematics industry does not sit around smoking its own hype for too long! Argh. Telematics Gets the Treatment WORLD CONGRESS, Oct. 15, 2002 - The Ninth World Congress on ITS today offered a high-profile look at exactly where the market is, or may be, for...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/CanYouHearMe/3325If you think this is not possible, you are wrong. If you think this is advanced stuff, you are even more wrong! You ain't seen nuttin' yet! How mobile phones let spies see our every move Government's secret Celldar project will allow surveillance of anyone, at any time and anywhere there is a...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/CanYouHearMe/3324Here is town that is transforming itself and getting ready for the next revolution. Telematics Valley may be a bit strong a term, but it ain't too far off! Along for the ride Tue Oct 15, 5:32 PM ET By Chana R. Schoenberger Göteborg is betting big on wireless services in cars. A city with a...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/CanYouHearMe/3323Now OnStar isn't exactly one of the most wonderful success stories, or at least, one of the best repeat success stories (customers don't seem to wanna stay signed up after the first year...the cost is too prohibitive, I believe!), but here is one of the better articles I have seen on what OnStar...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/CanYouHearMe/2996The next location service: tell me where I am, or at least, for emergency services, find me wherever I am. The whole E911 initiative has been a bit derailed, due to technical and other problems, but it is happening... slowly but surely. You are here Personal location technology tracks you down...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/CanYouHearMe/2807Here is another child tracker device. (see an earlier post for the first such device I talked about.) The difference appears to be that this device is hidden away in a backpack and not strapped to the child's wrist, like the Wherify unit. My biggest concern with the Wherify unit was its highly...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/CanYouHearMe/2499RFID or Radio Frequency Identification is going to be very ubiquitous in the near future. Tracking items in stores, etc., is going to be pervasive. In an article in MIT Technology Review, Simson has an interesting point... we need to have a bill of rights to make sure that the information that is...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/CanYouHearMe/2472Online mapping has come a long way, but still has a few kinks to be worked out... we use it regularly now, though! Online mapmakers: Popular, prolific, not perfect Tue Oct 8, 7:53 AM ET Jefferson Graham USA TODAY Erin Douglass knows that when she expects visitors, they'll be late. ''I warn them,...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/CanYouHearMe/2321Asset tracking is going to be big... soon enough. Here is an example of what is on the horizon: Defense Tracking System Proves Crucial To Port Security WASHINGTON, DC, Oct. 8, 2002 According to an article in govexec.com, the real-time tracking system developed years ago for the Defense Department...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/CanYouHearMe/2219Here is another high-tech implementation of location services using GPS satellite and notification systems. These kind of service are going to become more main-stream, and people will wonder what life was like without the GPS system! New signs next thing in bus travel BY BRAD BENNETT...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/CanYouHearMe/2164What do doctors and auto manufacters have in common? According to this story, an advocacy group is recommending that auto manufacturers should "seek and follow" the advice of doctors and emergency rescue workers in designing cars with high-tech equipment intended to save lives in crashes. Since...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/CanYouHearMe/2125One big problem for US cellular carriers is taking the next step to increase the number of users... till they are willing to take on customers with a bit more risk. The problem is that cell phones are very portable. Where do you send the bills for collection if the user does not have a residence,...