Cell Tracking Hearing on Friday

On Friday, a federal appeals court will hear arguments in a case that could establish new standards for locating wireless devices like cell phones. The government will argue that citizens enjoy no “reasonable expectation of privacy” in their device’s location. In short “a customer’s Fourth Amendment rights are not violated when the phone company reveals to the government its own records” related to phone location. The ACLU and EFF will argue on the other side.

- C|net

Census Tracts (aka Tidbits)

Census director Robert Groves decided after discussions with Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., and citizen groups that states will receive information on their prison populations before they finish redistricting work. It will be up to the states how they use that data which will not include the hometowns of the inmates. In the past that data breakdown was provided, but after redistricting meaning some rural areas with prisons had what some would consider inflated populations while the areas from which prisoners came, often urban areas, were undercounted. The data may not even be used as it will be delivered two months after the initial census data and state and local authorities may not have time to include it in their redistricting plans.

- AP

Heavy investments in Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping in Terrebonne, Lafourche and St. Mary have made the census bureau’s job a little easier. Local GIS offices have helped paint a clear picture of where everything in the three parishes is - from buildings to roadways - cutting down on some of the footwork census takers are required to do.

- Tri Parish Times (LA)

James Fee notes CensusHardtoCountMaps.org an app trying to pinpoint where the census misses people. It’s from “the CUNY Mapping Service at the Center for Urban Research   • Project funded by the Hagedorn Foundation   • Created with the Funders Census Initiative.”

- James Fee Blog

Did you see the very confusing SuperBowl ad about the Census? It was about a “shoot” but they’d let everyone know where it was being held. But then they didn’t really explain it’d be held at your house. Then they asked, but didn’t answer (or maybe they did in a later part I didn’t see) when and where the shoot was. Cost: $2.5 million

Even Entertainment Weekly had it at the bottom of its list.

- Paid Google Ad for Census SuperBowl Commercial

Yahoo Sketch a Search - Draw on Your Phone with Your Finger!

There was a Yahoo press event today (I didn’t know about that or the Google one yesterday…). There were no big announcements, but attendees suggest the goal was simply to note that the company was not “out” of search. The one cool demo, per Harry McCracken: a “draw your area of interest” tool to define where to search for results on a map. There were no plans disclosed about when it might be available on cell phones. Hard to believe we don’t have this yet; once I have a touch screen phone I know I’ll like it. I used to use my finger on my Palm Pilot.

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PC World

DC’s Snow Plowing MashUp Gets a Workout

Back in 2008 then DC CTO Vivek Kundra selected 10 GIS projects that needed enhancement. One was an online app to show residents which streets had been plowed in the District, the Snow Response Reporting System. The app build on Google Maps won acclaim from the the Public Technology Institute and was among 2007-2008 Technology Solutions Awards. Not surprisingly, it’s seen a lot of action this week per mentions on blogs and Twitter.

- FCW

GPS for the Good Guys - So they Don’t get Arrested

Here in the US we are mourning Loran-C, but in Malaysia authorities are looking to its successor, GPS to keep fishermen from crossing boundaries into neighbors’ waters, and potentially, getting arrested.

Offshore fishermen in Terengganu may also be equipped with the Global Positioning System (GPS) to avoid them from losing their direction and encroaching into the waters of neighbouring countries.

Fisherman Che Wan Budiman, the captain of a fishing boat from Terengganu, along with four crew were detained by the Indonesian authorities on Nov 12 after they had illegally entered into Indonesian waters. The crew was released, but he was held until just this week after the Malaysian government helped pay his fine. With that happy ending, work now begins on figuring out how to get the fishermen GPS so this does not happen again.

- Bernama