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Federal law allows the Department of Agriculture to keep secret the exact locations of livestock killings by Mexican gray wolves in the Southwest, the 9th Circuit ruled Thursday. Environmentalists had argued that the law doesn’t apply, because it went into effect after the government denied their request for GPS coordinates.
This started out as a FOIA case.
The U.S. Patent was issued on Nov. 23 (No. 7,840,350). The inventor is Thomas Spinelli, Northport, N.Y.
Abstract:
A method for electronically generating driving directions from a starting location to an ending location. The method including: indicating the ending location; indicating one or more preferences for the directions to include less than all steps that would otherwise be generated if not for the one or more preferences; and generating driving directions based on the starting location, ending location, and one or more preferences.
“I admit that using a GPS has hurt my sense of direction. It’s just part of the effect of technology making things easier and more convenient.”
- Jessica Myers, media relations manager at GPS giant Garmin in an article in the Star Tribune about GPS devices replacing maps.
Earthcomber LLC petitioned the US Court for the Northern District of Illinois to block sales and use of a technology that enables Magellan GPS users to personally tune local search. Earthcomber believes Magellan is infringing on a patent that could “ruin Earthcomber’s market.”
Magellan’s “RoadMate” and “Maestro” navigation systems are called out but the press release suggests others of MiTAC Corporation, the owner of Magellan, could be affected, if the injunction is granted. I suspect other companies are on the docket should this suit be successful.
SatNav, a Sequoia Capital funded GIS company, launched a Store Locator service with maps of 810 Indian cities. The data is on the company website and will appear on all its devices. Businesses can add their own information, raising the number of crowdsourced POI databases for India.
Many guests find Charingworth Manor Hotel near Chipping Campden using a satnav device. Problem: it guides them to the back entrance, one that’s been closed for 10 years due to a Cotswold District Council restriction. But, after queries to the council and despite opposition by neighbors, the hotel got the ok to open the back gate for 18 months during which the increase in traffic would be monitored. I guess no one thought to update the satnav data?
The title of the Chicago Tribune (“A great city deserves a great newspaper, The Chicago Tribune…” meh!) was originally “GPS tracking one less worry for parents.” Now it’s “A beep, a flash and one less worry for parents
ID cards, GPS allow school to know if a child is — or isn’t — on the school bus.”
The content is the same old, same old: Palos Heights School District 128 has given kids RFID tags that are scanned when they board the bus, and the bus itself is GPS tracked.
- Chicago Tribune
- CrunchGear (it talks of kids with GPS tags…)
USA Today reports on travellers favorite use of smartphones. It’s GPS. The data from Ypartnership and research firm Harrison Group, is based on a February survey of 2,524 U.S. households with annual incomes of at least $50,000.
47% have navigated to a destination using the built-in GPS,
29% have compared airfares or hotel rates,
28% have shared photos about their travel experiences using their smart phone,
18% have booked air travel or lodging, and
15% have gone to a site that provides information on things to do and see while visiting a destination
