PostPC Computing

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PostPC Computing

• Big Brother is Watching!

Prof. Scott Kirkpatrick, HUJI Amnon Dekel, HUJI,
Bezalel
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Big Brother is Watching

• Personal Position Tracking using GPS equipped
  cell phones is here.
• Phones transmit location information once every t
  minutes to server
• Authorized user can check position on map (PC
  screen, PDA, cell phone)
• User can set up geofences and get alerted when
  a phone exits or enters the perimeter
• User can see position history and paths

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Big Brother is Watching
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Big Brother is Watching
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How it works

• Hybrid GPS / nearest Cell Antenna localization
• Location data is transmitted to server

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Social impact

• Worried parents can see where their loved ones
  are at all times
• Worried parents can get alerted when their loved
  ones enter or exit a geofence
• Worried partners can spy on their spouses
  location
• Employers can monitor their workers

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Social impact

• Major question privacy concerns
• Who has the right to use the location data?
• Can law enforcement use it?
• Can advertisers push location sensitive ads?
• Possible Backlash
• Turn off the phone
• Exchange phones
• Leave the phone
• Other creative possibilities

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Impact on your Projects

• What effects do these issues have on your
  projects?

• User Authorization/Authentication?
• Opt in?
• Privacy filter?
• UI?
• Legalities?