Update: Crossing the Border Safely, With LBS
Update: A California Congressman, five months after the app popped up, is questioning if this is appropriate use of technology and of tax funds, as the developers hail from public universities in California and Michigan.
“I don’t think it’s an appropriate use of technology,” U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., told FoxNews.com. “If other governments did this and tried to tell people ways to sneak into the U.S., I’m sure the Department of Defensewould take issue with that. But because American universities are doing it, there’s not a whole lot of outcry about it.”
- FoxNews (where else?)
—- original post 11/19/09——
b.a.n.g lab’s Transborder Immigrant Tool is an LBS app built to run on an inexpensive cell phone designed to help Mexican immigrants safely cross the border.
From an interview with the team’s Ricardo Dominguez:
We looked at the Motorola i455 cell phone, which is under $30, available even cheaper on eBay, and includes a free GPS applet. We were able to crack it and create a simple compasslike navigation system. We were also able to add other information, like where to find water left by the Border Angels, where to find Quaker help centers that will wrap your feet, how far you are from the highway—things to make the application really benefit individuals who are crossing the border.
- Vice Magazine via BoingBoing via reader Larry
