geolocation

This brings a little extra new meaning to the term “social networking”: Honda is adding this social feature to its next-generation GPS in-car navigation system, along with real-time weather reports, the DailyTech.com blog reports. “The SNS [social-networking service] will allow drivers to enter comments about a particular location or point of interest (POI). The information will then be relayed to … [Read more...] about Social networking in the car

We hear about monitoring software in the online-safety space, but we don't read much about it *in context* - with the countersurveillance being done by kids. The Washington Post takes a very anecdotal look at both sides of the story. Monitoring digital natives is not easy. They know stuff: like changing the text and background on a monitor to blue and black "making it harder … to read the screen … [Read more...] about Espionage/counterespionage at home

A 13-year-old in Detroit who lied about her age online and ran off with the 25-year-old man she lied to, was charged this week with "home truancy," the Detroit News reports. "Home truancy is considered a "status offense," or an offense where a crime is not committed, but where behavior of a minor warrants court action," the News explains. In this case, the court action includes requiring the … [Read more...] about Teen social-networker ‘tethered’

I blogged about this when Sprint first unveiled its service, but the Washington Post's Rob Pegoraro actually reviewed the phone, thinking here and there from the perspective of "the objects of all this surveillance." He does get one thinking about how far we've come since 9/11. "As demonstrated by a Sprint publicist yesterday, the service was deceptively easy to use . . . considering that the … [Read more...] about Kid-tracking phones

It's not the first phone with GPS technology, but it's the first one linked to a national database of sex offenders. Nextel's Cat Trax phone "allows parents to build a 'geofence' around every listed child predator that lives within their ZIP code. The phone alerts parents through an email, text message or pager if their child enters that zone," the Associated Press reports. This new feature will … [Read more...] about Phone with sex-offender alerts