Locating Wi-Fi Users at MIT

Smartmobs points to an article in eSchoolNews that details the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT or around here “the Institute”) new real time mapping of its new wireless campus network. The maps are now shown at the MIT Museum and are available to those on the network. If community members like they can share their identity on the map. While there is no map (why not? security?) there is this description:

Red splotches on one map show the highest concentration of wireless users on campus. On another map, yellow dots with names written above them identify individual users, who pop up in different places depending where they’re logged in.

The article does reveal some less than astonishing patterns.

The maps show, for example, that the bulk of wireless users late at night and very early in the morning are logged on from their dorms. During the day, the higher concentration of users shifts to classrooms.

But researchers also found study labs that once bustled with students are now nearly empty as people, no longer tethered to a phone line or network cable, move to cafes and nearby lounges, where food and comfy chairs are more inviting.

Will U.S. retain Internet management rights?

SiliconValley.com reported today that at the U.N. technology summit in Tunisia that the U.S. will retain control of the Internet’s addressing scheme. The U.S. State Department is apparantly thrilled at a brokered deal that allows the U.S. to keep its technology leadership role in managing the Internet’s "plumbing." Other countries have complained that they do not want to be at the behest of "an American company" and if the Internet is to expand, the U.S. should not have such a dominating role.

The U.S. Army is using ultra-wideband RFID sensors to help track the movements of soldiers during combat training maneuvers

From RFID Journal, 11/15/05 - Using a combination of RFID chips, GPS and Infrared sensors the Army is tracking and monitoring the performance of troops in combat training. This allows for not just viewing the progress of an exercise while it is happening, but gives the Army the ability do show the participants the after exercise evaluation.

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Metrobot Launches Nationwide Mapping Search Engine

Today Metrobot launches a Google based search engine with a unique way of displaying search results. When an address or business name is search for, the results are the entire street seqment showing what is on each side of the street from the location searched for. You can try it at http://www.metrobot.com

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GoogleBase is Live

There’s a nice overview with some specucation and questions from Gary at Search Engine Watch. I really think this could be something useful for finding geospatial data - at some point.

Gary does specifically mention the ability to search for something within so many miles of a location. So, there’s some geosmarts in there!