Wireless Guide News

Smartphones have changed the way we drive, both by adding new distractions and by helping us get where we’re going with GPS-assisted directions and real-time information on traffic jams.

But what if smartphones could help eliminate some traffic jams, instead of just warning us when they exist? That’s the goal of a study using cell phone records and GPS data to track drivers’ movements and identify the sources of traffic.

The Boston Globe described the study today, noting that MIT and UC-Berkeley analyzed the cell phone records of 680,000 Boston-area commuters through call logs, “which identify the towers used to transmit calls,” allowing “the researchers to trace each individual’s commute, anonymously, from origin to destination.” This helped produce “one of the most detailed maps of urban traffic patterns ever constructed.”

Boston-area roads. Red areas are the biggest sources of drivers. Yellow is next, then green, dark blue, and purple.

The study was published in December in the journal

A 33-year-old man asks a prostitute to come to his home, but can’t pay for her services. It happened early Sunday morning in the 3200 block of south Chase. 

The woman left and returned later with another man, her “business associate.” They broke into the home and stole the 33-year-old’s cell phone. A neighbor called 911 after hearing a lot of noise.

Officers arrested the man and the suspected prostitute on several charges including aggravated burglary and possession of a firearm. The 33-year-old man was also charged with prostitution.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. –  The Maryland House Judiciary Committee is considering a bill that would allow law enforcement officials to obtain location records from mobile devices without a search warrant.

Opponents of the legislation said during a House judiciary committee hearing on Tuesday that House Bill 377 lowers the standard of probable cause law enforcement officials must meet before obtaining cell phone tracking information. But supporters say the proposed legislation will provide a uniform standard across the state for obtaining real-time location information of an individual involved in an investigation.

In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that law enforcement must obtain a search warrant before using GPS technology to track criminal suspects. While the ruling did not impose a warrant requirement or a probable cause standard for obtaining real-time location records, both practices became commonplace in several of the state jurisdictions, including the city of Baltimore, for obtaining real-time location information records.

Cell phones register their positions with cell towers dozens of times a day, and mobile carriers are retaining location data on their customers.

A comprehensive log of person’s whereabouts over time can deny a resident of their Fourth Amendment right to privacy, opponents of the bill said du…………… continues on Fox News

LAS VEGAS (FOX5) -

Nevada drivers who don’t put down their cell phone while driving are paying a big price. Nevada Highway Patrol handed out nearly 12,000 tickets in the first year of the hands-free law.

The statistics, released by NHP Wednesday, account for citations issued by the agency statewide in 2012.

“We were still seeing individuals out there that had the temptation when the phone rang or they got the beep from a text, they still wanted to pick it up, look at it and even respond,” said NHP Trooper Loy Hixson.

A state law banning handheld cell phone usage went into effect Jan. 1, 2012, as an attempt to reduce the number of deadly crashes.

Hixson said he catches violators almost every day. In fact, he saw three drivers using a cell phone while on the way to an interview with FOX5.

“That was probably one of the biggest concerns, because you look at those who are totally disregarding this law,” Hixson said.

Among the statistics, 30 drivers were ticketed twice for violating the law, and 25 people racked up three offenses – all in one year.

“I thought it would be a little bit more. I honestly did,” said Brian Lavoie, who has been on a campaign to stop distracted driving ever since his 18-year-old daughter, Hillary, was killed in a crash in September 2010.

Lavoie…………… continues on FOX5 Vegas – KVVU – KVVU Las Vegas

The stodgy realm of banking has teamed up with the go-go world of smartphone technology to offer ways for people to deposit checks with a simple snap of the phone’s camera.

“This is great. I love it,” said Lea Waters-Clee, a Daly City resident who uses the mobile check deposit service that’s offered by her credit union, Pleasanton-based Patelco. “I don’t have to drive to the branch to deposit a check. I don’t have to find parking. I work in San Francisco, I have to run errands and now I don’t have to add going to the bank to my list.”

Ken Thomas, a Miami-based banking analyst and economist, describes the innovation as a “convenient technology” for both banks and their customers.

“It saves the banks money

because people don’t come into the branches for services,” he said. “And it saves time for the customers.”

Wells Fargo bank, Bank of America, Chase bank and Citibank are among the prominent financial firms that offer ways for people to use their smartphones to deposit checks.

“The initial feedback from…………… continues on San Jose Mercury News

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A new Missouri law making it easier for police to track people’s cellphones in emergencies is being challenged in court on claims that it conflicts with a federal law that grants greater privacy protections to phone companies and their customers.

The Missouri law that took effect Tuesday requires phone companies to help law enforcement agencies track the cellphone signal of 911 callers or ping a phone’s location when there is danger of death or serious physical injury. It’s similar to laws enacted in several other states since the 2007 abduction and murder of a Kansas teenager whose body was found in Missouri only after her cellphone provider eventually cooperated with police.

A lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court claims Missouri’s mandate for phone companies to supply information to police clashes with a federal law. That law gives telecommunications providers discretion in determining whether a police request truly const…………… continues on San Francisco Chronicle

Q Oakland airport officials gave you a big snow job with regard to the cellphone parking lot. Everything driver Bill Partridge complained about is true — narrow parking spaces, narrow traffic lanes and poor lighting. I find the cell lot to be dangerous, especially at night when a flight arrives. A couple of weeks ago I thought we would be in an accident in that lot with anxious drivers speeding through and poor visibility because of factors cited above.

The officials homed in on the fact that Mr. Partridge is a commercial driver and the lot is not designed for him. It is not designed for anybody!

Please listen to us and hold these officials responsible. They are just spreading donkey dust and you bought it.

Bill Hickman

Orinda

A Unfortunately, you are not alone in your feelings.

Q I pick up my wife at the Oakland airport most Thursday evenings, and that lot is incredibly narrow and crowded. I’m always afraid that I’ll get hit or hit someone. I get so stressed by it that I’ve started paying for premier parking so I can avoid it. The $ 4 is worth the reduced stress.

Ian Crew

Berkeley

A After I forwarded numerous complaints, a…………… continues on San Jose Mercury News

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An interstate drug trafficker hauling a motorhome filled with marijuana isn’t the most sympathetic defendant.  But a federal court’s declaration that Melvin Skinner pretty much should’ve known his pre-paid cellphone could be tracked via GPS — and therefore cops didn’t require a warrant to track him — has repercussions that privacy advocates say deserve your attention. 

Even if you don’t drive around in recreational vehicles loaded down more than a thousand pounds of pot.

On Tuesday, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that law enforcement officials don’t need a warrant to track suspects via cellphones. Attorneys argued to overturn Skinner’s many convictions, citing that the GPS location information that led to the defendant’s arrest was obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment, which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures. This didn’t wash with the majority of judges over the case, who voted in a 2-1 ruling.

“When criminals use modern technological devices to carry out criminal acts and to reduce the possibility of detection, they can hardly complain when the police take advantage of the inherent characteristics of those very devices to catch them,”

A plea to text “donate” to 62262 (that’s O-B-A-M-A) may be coming to a political ad near you.

The Federal Election Commission announced Wednesday that it has approved legal guidance that will allow small political donations to be added to cellphone bills when a campaign supporter sends a specific text message.

The agency unanimously approved two opinions spelling out technical details of how the proposals from Republican and Democratic firms would comply with the complex requirements of campaign finance law. It was an unusually swift move from an agency that’s known for foot dragging and partisan gridlock.

“These proposals have engendered widespread, bipartisan support from political campaigns and reform groups alike because they offer a new and dynamic vehicle for political engagement,” FEC member Cynthia Bauerly said in a statement. “I feel strongly that making the political process more accessible to more people will help ensure full participation in our democracy, and today’s opinions represent an important step in that direction.”

Whether campaigns could start soliciting text-message donations before the November elections depends on how quickly the carriers can negotiate the details with companies providing the service to campaigns.

“They are reviewing the opinion to see if there are any remaining issues…………… continues on Washington Post

A federal court has ruled that warrantless cell phone tracking by police is legal.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit yesterday ruled (PDF) that law enforcement officials were within their legal right to track Melvin Skinner, an alleged drug trafficker, through his cell phone before his arrest in 2006. According to court documents, law enforcement officials were able to use the GPS feature on Skinner’s cell phones to track his whereabouts and eventually arrest him.

According to the court, Skinner was convicted of two counts of drug trafficking and another of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Soon after, he appealed the conviction, saying that it violated his Fourth Amendment rights, protecting citizens against unreasonable search and seizure. Judge Rogers, one of the two judges in the three-judge panel to rule in favor of the decision, disagreed with Skinner’s argument.

A bevy of big-name retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Best-Buy Co. and Target Corp., are teaming up to create a company that will give customers another way to make purchases: with their cellphones.

The businesses said Wednesday that the new company, Merchant Customer Exchange, is developing a mobile application that will be available for nearly any smartphone. The app is expected to integrate a variety of coupons, rebates and loyalty programs.

With the announcement, retailers are entering an already crowded arena where different industry groups are jockeying for position on the smartphone screen, which everyone expects will be the new way to pay.

Among the competitors is Internet giant Google Inc., which already has a smartphone payment app in use on some Sprint phones. Three of the biggest cellphone companies – Verizon Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile USA – have a competing platform. Payment networks Visa and MasterCard each have their own designs and apps. Square, a startup, recently struck a deal to become the cellphone payments processor for Starbucks. PayPal, eBay’s payment service, is on cellphones, too.

Retailers have a strong position in the arena, since they can decide which forms of payment to accept.

“As merchants, no one understands our customers’ shopping and payment experience better than we do, and we’re confiden…………… continues on Fox News

A federal appeals court on Wednesday said the authorities do not need a probable-cause warrant to track a suspect’s every move via GPS signals from a suspect’s mobile phone.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, ruling 2-1, upheld a 20-year term for a drug courier nabbed with 1,100 pounds of marijuana in a motorhome camper the authorities tracked via his mobile phone pinging cell towers from Arizona to a Texas truck stop.

The decision, a big boost for the government’s surveillance powers, comes as prosecutors are shifting their focus to warrantless cell-tower location tracking of suspects in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling in January sharply limiting the use of GPS vehicle trackers. The Supreme Court found law enforcement should acquire probable-cause warrants from judges to affix GPS devices to vehicles and monitor their every move.

The court of appeals ruling comes a month after a congressional inquiry found that law enforcement made 1.3 million requests for cellphone da…………… continues on Wired News

Dozens of bystanders grabbed their cellphones and hit the record button as a knife-wielding man skipped backward through Times Square on Saturday. Some witnesses, holding their cellphones above their heads to capture the action, ran alongside police officers as they pursued the man down Seventh Avenue with guns drawn.

The dramatic scene, which unfolded on a sunny afternoon at the crossroads of one of the world’s busiest tourist destinations, ended as two officers confronted the man, Darrius H. Kennedy, 51, and fatally shot him when, the police say, he lunged at them.

Minutes after the shooting, video of the episode, which included audio of hammerlike gun shots, shouts of officers ordering the crowd to “move back,” and cursing from stunned spectators, was all over the Internet. Several witnesses posted their video on YouTube or Facebook and provided it to television stations. Viewers were riveted.

The video also caught the attention of law enforcement officials.

“We reviewed the cellphone images captured by two civilians closest to the shooting,” sa…………… continues on New York Times

California is one step closer to banning law enforcement from tapping the data from the tracking device in your palm, pocket or purse without a warrant.

The state Senate passed a bill Wednesday that requires a warrant to seek access from wireless carriers to the near-constant data stream coming from our cellphones. 

Existing law addresses only the search of places and seizure of property identified in a warrant. There’s also a warrant procedure for acquiring stored communications. The bill, SB 1434, amends the state Penal Code to address location data collected by our ubiquitous electronic devices, including our mobile phones.

“In order to ensure personal privacy in California, our laws must keep pace with the technological advances of smartphones and other electronic gadgets, which contain sensitive information about our daily lives,” Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) said. “This bill strikes a perfect balance to safeguard Californians against improper government intrusion while ensuring that law enforcement officials can utilize this technology when necessary to protect public safety.”

The bill, as it was originally proposed, had required wireless service providers to…………… continues on Los Angeles Times

SANTA CRUZ – A new cellphone application launched across California on Wednesday makes it easier to view maps and information on registered sex offenders.

The free app, called AlertID, takes information from the state’s sex offender database and creates maps and easy-to-read information for smartphones.

“We connect directly to the sex offender website,” AlertID founder Keli Wilson said in an interview. “Any time anything in their profile changes – they move, they get a tattoo, a new job – it notifies everyone in our network.”

Wilson first worked with the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office in Nevada to develop the app in 2010.

Wednesday, the application launched in California, Texas, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Arizona. The rest of the nation is expected to be included in the next six months. The application can be downloaded on iPhones and Android devices.

The app is similar to a free Santa Cruz police mobile application that launched in 2011 – except it adds information about registered sex offenders, severe weather and other features.

AlertID offers sex offender maps without user registration. After registering, it offers many alerts than can be tailored to the user, Wilson said.

It also has tools for parents to communicate with authorities if a child is lost or missing.

Wilson said she st…………… continues on San Jose Mercury News

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Updated: May 23, 2012 2:24AM

In January, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that tracking a suspect’s movements by attaching a GPS transmitter to his car counts as a “search” under the Fourth Amendment. But because the majority opinion emphasized the physical intrusion needed to surreptitiously install the transmitter, it did not resolve the constitutional implications of surveillance using cellphones, the tracking devices that Americans voluntarily carry in their pockets and purses.

In the absence of clear guidance, a recent report from the American Civil Liberties Union suggests, law enforcement agencies are making up the rules as they go along, often obtaining location data from cellphone carriers without a warrant even for routine investigations. Last week, a House subcommittee considered a bill that would address this threat to privacy by requiring a warrant for geolocational surveillance, regardless of the method used.

Whi…………… continues on Chicago Sun-Times

Free cell phones! You may have seen the ads on TV or around town.

But is anything really free? And who’s paying for the phones?

Pre-paid wireless phone companies are offering the deal -whether it’s out of stores in strip malls and even out of the back of a van in a parking lot.

Nathan Samples went to YourTel America in a strip mall near 31st and Garnett in Tulsa.

Within five minutes, he had a phone – 2500 minutes of talk or text for the next month.

“I got a cell phone, just like that,” he said.

All Nathan had to do was fill out some paperwork and show his ID and food stamp card.

“It was that easy,” Nathan said.

There are 12 ways people can qualify for a free cell phone. If you get government assistance of any kind, you qualify. For example, if you live in public housing, get SSI, food stamps or your kids get a free or reduced lunch at school.

To put that in perspective, in the Tulsa Public School district, 80 percent of families qualify for a free or reduced lunch.

The employees signing up users at the YourTel America store told FOX23 almost everyone who comes in qualifies.

Even though it’s advertised as free, the phone technically isn’t free. But after taxes and fees, it’s still cheap.

Nathan will pay about $ 9 a month for his plan. He was paying $ 65 a month for a cell phone before.

“You can’t…………… continues on KOKI FOX 23