GPS Future Prediction In 2013
Chance to stay my neck out afresh with my twelve-month GPS expectations ! Auto GPS expectations Garmin will publish their 2013 nuvi line throughout the first a large part of January, incorporating models with an incorporated activity collector Some or all parts of the nuvi 2013 line could be ready generally instantly HD movement will begin to appear on mid-run nuvis Garmin will suspend whatever remains of the nuvi 1xxx line TomTom and Garmin will both keep up the drive to breaking point the number of revamped presentations; want to see one exclusive or two reports for every year (even thus, it wouldn’t astound me for one of those Garmin declarations to headline twelve revamped nuvis) Magellan will present an unit with a driving recorder Garmin will proclaim their first RV unit for the US Handheld GPS forecasts Garmin will advertise a revived Oregon line with GLONASS ability before summer Garmin will discharge unique handhelds with Bluetooth proficience DeLorme will present no unique standalone GPS units for the present year, successfully leaving the handheld GPS business Garmin will irrevocably discharge a double handheld GPS/satellite following unit LIDAR-based maps will end up being more normal – need to see paper backcountry maps and third-gathering GPS maps in 2013, yet no LIDAR-based maps from the preferences of Garmin till 2014 at the soonest Mobile GPS expectations Garmin will overhaul their BaseCamp Mobile application to consider the exchange of topo maps to it Garmin will discharge an Android form of their BaseCamp Mobile application 911 messaging will see a restrained rollout in the US, and we’ll begin seeing news stories about backcountry safeguard being summoned by means of quick messages GPS following expectations Garmin will take off unique GPS following features Lightweight cat-particular GPS trackers will hit the business sector Your turn! What have I missed? What are your forecasts?
Utilizing field notes when geocaching
Utilizing an iPhone to submit geocaching field notes Newer advances for example smartphone applications have put less stress on logs. Therefore, countless another geocacher has fallen foul of simply putting a dab or a ‘TFTC’ (Thanks For The Cache) for whole of their log, just to be reminded amenably (or in certain cases not so amiably) by the geocache manager that more definite logs are ‘encouraged’. This, as you can picture, expedites various kinds of situations. Fundamentally, its down to the discoverer what they feel is a suitable log (independently, if a client simply needs to put a TFTC as the log to one of my reserves, I don’t stress over it), however its effortless to see why certain veterans of the game get the (mistaken) impression that smartphone clients are some way or another demeaning the leisure activity. The smartphone situation An extensive part of the issue falsehoods with the innovation. As I’ve demonstrated to countless a geocaching stalwart, its not so much reasonable to sort up a point by point log on your iPhone, where the attention is on logging your treasure there and after that as opposed to when sat at the workstation at home. I have enough issue sorting a SMS message or twitter redesign on my telephone whilst sat at home in the warm. At the point that I’m out in the sprinkle on top of a slope with just restricted electric storage device essence and dodgy unit scope, I question I might even generate something clear. An answer, thusly, may be a preferred comprehending of these applications within the Geocaching group yet regardless of the possibility that you are a devoted mechanism client, for example a Garmin or Magellan, there can in any case be issues with logging geocaches. Including field notes a Garmin utilizing remarks Like a significant number, I regularly revel in a vast ring with various geocaches. Even though damage has ceased me from completing it in the no so distant past, I can regularly go out for a day and find 80 or more geocaches. The situation is that come chance to post my logs, it might be no picnic to find something extraordinary or enthralling to state regarding every one. Far and away more terrible, here and there are tales I need to describe in my logs, yet would not be able to recall at which geocache they happened. Field notes to the salvage And this is why I swear by Field Notes. Field Notes are best depicted as a makeshift log that you can alter before posting your gem. The official geocaching.com iPhone application has a choice to post your treasure as a field note whereby they sit on the Geocaching.com locale sitting tight for you to alter before binding your discovery as a legitimate log. Different apparatuses, for example the Garmin, give the alternative to include a remark every time you set a geocache to recognized on the unit. The proposed remarks are archived as a component of your discovery index (geocache_visits) and might be transferred straight into Field Notes or controled utilizing devices for example GSAK to make posting various logs so far more effortless (we’ll go onto that in a destiny article!). Field note shorthand The essential thing to recall if you are utilizing a smartphone or a committed apparatus is that the aforementioned field notes are simply makeshift and accordingly, you can execute a type of shorthand when recording your treasure. Case in point, when out geocaching in an aggregation I typically prefer to put into my logs who recognized every geocache. Whenever at the geocache I will normally save the remark / inform as ‘FB’ then after that the geocacher's intial (i.e. FBM – discovered by me). Provided that the geocache is in a clumsy to achieve place I may moreover include ‘RB’ and the beginning of the geocacher who recovered it. Provided that the discovery needed ‘a short search’ I will add the sad acronym of ‘ASS’ to my note. Provided that it took somewhat longer to find I’ll affix ‘AS’. Transferring your geocaching field notes index I will in addition note one word notes to myself for any of the above that happened at the geocache area. ‘Mud’ may mean an area I fell over, ‘Cow’ may indicate an area where the neighborhood homestead creatures ended up being curious. The critical thing is not the saying that is utilized, simply that it helps me to remember that area and what happened there. So ‘FBMAS Cow’ lets me know that I discovered it yet it moved along at a comfortable pace and that this is the geocache where there was some episode including a cow (confidently enough to incite me to recall this treasure). From this I can alter my field note into something completely all the more enthralling before posting it as a fitting log. How you organise your shorthand is altogether up to you however as you can see, by having one it makes it particularly brisk and effortless to record informative content whilst at the geocache area. This can then be utilized to help you, once you give back home, to post a log definite enough for the fussiest of geocache holder. Your turn Do you utilize Field Notes? If this is true, do you have your particular shorthand you utilize? If not, what different strategies do you utilize to help you keep your logs itemized and special? Let us know in the remarks beneath. The post Using field notes when geocaching seemed first on GPS Tracklog .
A New Year Is The Time For A New Approach To Work
Are you over 50?
Good. Then you won't need permission from your parents to read this article. If you are under 40, I give you permission now! I would guess if you are over 50 you have begun to question your life and your work. Good. This is normal and healthy. Perhaps you have also started to question your contributions to society. Perhaps your accomplishments for this period of your life have not reached up to your internal or external expectations. That's ok. Life tends to get in the way as we are making plans. And, this is the right time to deal with the disparity between where you are and where you expected to be in your life. This is important now so you can change your internal expectations to the one that suit you better at this point of your life. This can be a magical process. Do you experience sometimes that you are no longer young? This can generate an awareness of who you are, what you have done and where you might be going. Its normal from time to time now to sense a recognition of your own mortality as this can drive new healthy change. This is an invaluable time to ask yourself key questions around what is most important and whether your lifestyle aligned to your values and sense of identity.
Do you love your work?
If your answer is no, you are not alone. Most people don't find meaning in their work. Many people afraid of failure continue to work harder at jobs which have no meaning. This overemphasis on productivity and sense of doing things which are not personally rewarding causes their inner conflict.
Stop doing what didn't work before
This is the most important lesson to learn from. For example, don't go back to jobs which didn't provide joy or meaning. Don't go back to jobs which you didn't enjoy or lowered your self-esteem. Don't go back to jobs which you didn't feel made a difference to yourself or others. For sure don't go back to jobs JUST for the money as this has a way of catching up to you. You will spend the money you earn faster than you can earn it and then the emptiness of the work will set in.
Try something completely new!
This usually requires risk, courage, and an openness to change in ones life. Why not? What have you got to lose or gain? What could you do which would be completely different with regards to your work? What small steps might you take now to get started?
Become an expert at something you enjoy
What can you become an expert at? Being really good at one thing vs. average at many things can raise self-esteem and give one especially those over 50 a greater sense of self and contribution in the world.
Make a product or service and sell it to at least one person
This is not just for fun. Even if your goal is to work for someone else, the process of thinking through what you could make as a product or service and then selling this to just one other person can create even more possibilities in your life and work.
Learn from others
The world of learning is unlimited. For each idea which you want to pursue you will find many people already doing this. Within seconds you have the worlds knowledge to pursue new learning and new ideas.
What are your first five steps now?
Let me help. Decide what you want to change in your life and work now. Define WHY you want to change. Define how your life will be different if you do change. Define what your life will be like if you don't change. Take one action now which will start to build new habits.
Take a new approach for the New Year to your work
Why not? It might just be the right prescription for a healthier and happier life.
Ill be cheering you on as you go-Craig Nathanson and Happy New Year-2013
Good. Then you won't need permission from your parents to read this article. If you are under 40, I give you permission now! I would guess if you are over 50 you have begun to question your life and your work. Good. This is normal and healthy. Perhaps you have also started to question your contributions to society. Perhaps your accomplishments for this period of your life have not reached up to your internal or external expectations. That's ok. Life tends to get in the way as we are making plans. And, this is the right time to deal with the disparity between where you are and where you expected to be in your life. This is important now so you can change your internal expectations to the one that suit you better at this point of your life. This can be a magical process. Do you experience sometimes that you are no longer young? This can generate an awareness of who you are, what you have done and where you might be going. Its normal from time to time now to sense a recognition of your own mortality as this can drive new healthy change. This is an invaluable time to ask yourself key questions around what is most important and whether your lifestyle aligned to your values and sense of identity.
Do you love your work?
If your answer is no, you are not alone. Most people don't find meaning in their work. Many people afraid of failure continue to work harder at jobs which have no meaning. This overemphasis on productivity and sense of doing things which are not personally rewarding causes their inner conflict.
Stop doing what didn't work before
This is the most important lesson to learn from. For example, don't go back to jobs which didn't provide joy or meaning. Don't go back to jobs which you didn't enjoy or lowered your self-esteem. Don't go back to jobs which you didn't feel made a difference to yourself or others. For sure don't go back to jobs JUST for the money as this has a way of catching up to you. You will spend the money you earn faster than you can earn it and then the emptiness of the work will set in.
Try something completely new!
This usually requires risk, courage, and an openness to change in ones life. Why not? What have you got to lose or gain? What could you do which would be completely different with regards to your work? What small steps might you take now to get started?
Become an expert at something you enjoy
What can you become an expert at? Being really good at one thing vs. average at many things can raise self-esteem and give one especially those over 50 a greater sense of self and contribution in the world.
Make a product or service and sell it to at least one person
This is not just for fun. Even if your goal is to work for someone else, the process of thinking through what you could make as a product or service and then selling this to just one other person can create even more possibilities in your life and work.
Learn from others
The world of learning is unlimited. For each idea which you want to pursue you will find many people already doing this. Within seconds you have the worlds knowledge to pursue new learning and new ideas.
What are your first five steps now?
Let me help. Decide what you want to change in your life and work now. Define WHY you want to change. Define how your life will be different if you do change. Define what your life will be like if you don't change. Take one action now which will start to build new habits.
Take a new approach for the New Year to your work
Why not? It might just be the right prescription for a healthier and happier life.
Ill be cheering you on as you go-Craig Nathanson and Happy New Year-2013
India Launches Satellite-Based Navigation System
New Delhi, India (PTI) Aug 13, 2010
India Tuesday launched a satellite-based navigation system to aid air traffic in the region and joined a select club of nations which have similar capabilities. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel launched the Global Position System Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (gagan) based on a constellation of 24 satellites positioned in six earth-centred orbital planes. gagan will provide seamless coverage of air traffic from south Asia to Africa and connect to the systems of Europe and Japan. It is a also expected to enhance marine and transport navigation, search and rescue operations, survey and mapping.
"This system is expected to provide enhanced navigation performance for critical applications like civil aviation, marine navigation, train and road transport," said a ministry official.
At present, only the United States, European Union and Japan have such a system.
Airport officials said the system will enable airlines to chart out direct routes as they will be less dependent on the ground-based radar systems, save fuel and increase efficiency.
gagan is a joint initiative of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
The system provides enhanced safety features for the airlines as they would be able to have precision approach guidance towards runways in any weather conditions, the officials said. It will also increase air-to-air surveillance.
Source: Press Trust of India
India Tuesday launched a satellite-based navigation system to aid air traffic in the region and joined a select club of nations which have similar capabilities. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel launched the Global Position System Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (gagan) based on a constellation of 24 satellites positioned in six earth-centred orbital planes. gagan will provide seamless coverage of air traffic from south Asia to Africa and connect to the systems of Europe and Japan. It is a also expected to enhance marine and transport navigation, search and rescue operations, survey and mapping.
"This system is expected to provide enhanced navigation performance for critical applications like civil aviation, marine navigation, train and road transport," said a ministry official.
At present, only the United States, European Union and Japan have such a system.
Airport officials said the system will enable airlines to chart out direct routes as they will be less dependent on the ground-based radar systems, save fuel and increase efficiency.
gagan is a joint initiative of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
The system provides enhanced safety features for the airlines as they would be able to have precision approach guidance towards runways in any weather conditions, the officials said. It will also increase air-to-air surveillance.
Source: Press Trust of India
Google Maps Comes to Ford, OnStar via GPS
Ford and General Motors' OnStar unit will let drivers e-mail directions from Google Maps using their mobile phones to certain motor vehicles. Ford calls it a Send to Sync feature, which is available for its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles modeled 2010 or later. Drivers using the new OnStar eNav turn-by-turn navigation feature will search for directions on Google Maps, click the GPS option in the Send menu located in the upper right-hand corner of the map and send the directions to their GM cars.
Ford and General Motors' OnStar unit said June 8 drivers will be able to e-mail directions from Google Maps using their mobile phones to certain motor vehicles.
Ford's Sync Traffic, Directions and Information app, a program that lets drivers access voice-activated services through their mobile phones to communicate with their vehicles, is letting users access Google Maps.
The new Send to Sync feature lets drivers send destinations using Google Maps from their desktops, laptops or smartphones to their 2010 model and later Ford, Lincoln or Mercury vehicles.
The idea is to cut out the classic practice of searching for directions on Web services such as Google Maps and printing them out.
Instead, drivers will transmit directions via the cloud to their Ford vehicle's Sync application when the Send to Sync capability launches later this month. Ford said it is offering the same feature for MapQuest, which will launch later this year.
Ford said the app uses a customer's mobile phone voice plan and the vehicle's integrated GPS receiver to shuttle driving directions or business searches, as well as horoscopes, news, movie listings and stock quotes.
When drivers visit Google Maps on the Web from their computers and smartphones, they will be able to send directions to their Ford, Lincoln or Mercury vehicle via the GPS option in the Send menu located in the upper right-and corner of the map.
Drivers will connect to Sync TDI, for car owners who have registered for TDI access here, using the Services voice command. When prompted, drivers can confirm the request to download the Google Maps direction to the vehicle.
"Printing paper directions from a Website is a relic in our digital age," Doug VanDagens, director of Ford Connected Services Solutions Organization, said in a statement.
"With Send to Sync, you can map a destination at home, at work—wherever you have connectivity—and when you get to your car, it already knows where you want to go. It's convenient, and it eliminates the waste and distraction of paper maps, conserving resources while helping drivers keep their eyes on the road."
Ford is not the only company doing such directional information exchange over the cloud.
General Motors, which is adding features for its Chevrolet Volt application that help users track their vehicles using Google Maps, said its OnStar roadside assistance service will now let users search for and send Google Maps directions to the navigation service in their vehicles.
Just as with the Ford Sync app, drivers using the new OnStar eNav turn-by-turn navigation feature will search for directions on Google Maps, click the GPS option in the Send menu located in the upper right-hand corner of the map and send the directions to their GM cars.
The new OnStar feature will become available through Google Maps at the end of June.
The app will work on all current turn-by-turn capable GM vehicles from the 2006 model year on and will integrate with the OnStar Destination Download to send destinations directly to the vehicle's navigation system.
Google applauded adoption of Google Maps by GM and Ford, as a spokesperson said:
The new support for Google Maps means the app will gain more traction among the millions of drivers of Ford and GM cars and trucks.
That's valuable action at a time when the search engine is seeking to not only maintain its massive Web services user base, but grow it in the face of Internet rivals Microsoft, Yahoo and Facebook.
Delta 4 Poised to Launch with Next Generation GPS Satellite
Ken Kremer for NASA WATCH 21 May 2010, Kennedy Space Center
The launch of a Delta 4 rocket carrying the first in a new series of next generation GPS satellites has been rescheduled for Sunday night (May 23) at 11:17 PM EDT from Cape Canaveral, Florida after the countdown was halted barely 4 minutes prior to liftoff, shortly before midnight on Friday (May 21).
The last minute countdown scrub was called after loss of "the telemetry signal between the GPS and the satellite ground support equipment," according to a statement issued by the Air Force and United Launch Alliance (ULA).
Sunday's launch window runs from 11:17 to 11:35 PM EDT. The weather forecast predicts a 70 percent chance of favorable conditions.
May 2010 marks the 50th anniversary of the Delta program. The first Thor-Delta launched on 13 May 1960.
"This will be the 349th Delta launch. Overall, the Delta family of expendable rockets has a 95.7% success rate. Delta 4 was a 100% success rate since starting 8 years ago," said Bill Cullin, the Delta Launch Director for ULA at Pad 37.
The GPS IIF-1 satellite is the first in an advanced series of 12 satellites funded by the US Air Force which will provide highly accurate, three dimensional position, navigation and timing information on a 24/7 basis in all weather conditions. The spacecraft serve both military and civilian purposes.
The 330 ft tall mobile launch gantry was retracted from around the rocket early Friday morning. Media including myself visited Launch Complex 37 shortly thereafter at noon for a photo op.
See my photo gallery below of the Delta 4 rocket poised at Pad 37.
Watch for my post launch report.
Delta 4 rocket poised to launch on May 23 at 11:17 PM EDT from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Credit: Ken Kremer
Close up of Delta rocket with 4 meter composite payload fairing surrounding GPS IIF-1 navigation satellite. Credit: Ken Kremer
Media visit on May 21 to Delta 4 rocket astride fixed umbilical tower, lightening towers and flame trench. Credit: Ken Kremer
The Delta 4 rocket sits atop flame trench. Nearly a million pounds of thrust will be exhausted through the ducts at liftoff towards photographers location. Credit: Ken Kremer
Launch Complex 37 with Delta 4 rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Credit: Ken Kremer
Mobile Service Tower at Complex 37 with swing arms open was retracted from Delta 4 rocket on the morning of May 21, 2010. Gantry sits atop flame trench. Credit: Ken Kremer
Ken Kremer on top of Launch Complex 37 with mighty 212 ft tall Delta 4 rocket which will fly in the Medium+ (4,2) configuration with two 65 ft long solid rocket motors. Credit: Ken Kremer
credit:www.spaceref.com
The launch of a Delta 4 rocket carrying the first in a new series of next generation GPS satellites has been rescheduled for Sunday night (May 23) at 11:17 PM EDT from Cape Canaveral, Florida after the countdown was halted barely 4 minutes prior to liftoff, shortly before midnight on Friday (May 21).
The last minute countdown scrub was called after loss of "the telemetry signal between the GPS and the satellite ground support equipment," according to a statement issued by the Air Force and United Launch Alliance (ULA).
Sunday's launch window runs from 11:17 to 11:35 PM EDT. The weather forecast predicts a 70 percent chance of favorable conditions.
May 2010 marks the 50th anniversary of the Delta program. The first Thor-Delta launched on 13 May 1960.
"This will be the 349th Delta launch. Overall, the Delta family of expendable rockets has a 95.7% success rate. Delta 4 was a 100% success rate since starting 8 years ago," said Bill Cullin, the Delta Launch Director for ULA at Pad 37.
The GPS IIF-1 satellite is the first in an advanced series of 12 satellites funded by the US Air Force which will provide highly accurate, three dimensional position, navigation and timing information on a 24/7 basis in all weather conditions. The spacecraft serve both military and civilian purposes.
The 330 ft tall mobile launch gantry was retracted from around the rocket early Friday morning. Media including myself visited Launch Complex 37 shortly thereafter at noon for a photo op.
See my photo gallery below of the Delta 4 rocket poised at Pad 37.
Watch for my post launch report.
Delta 4 rocket poised to launch on May 23 at 11:17 PM EDT from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Credit: Ken Kremer
Close up of Delta rocket with 4 meter composite payload fairing surrounding GPS IIF-1 navigation satellite. Credit: Ken Kremer
Media visit on May 21 to Delta 4 rocket astride fixed umbilical tower, lightening towers and flame trench. Credit: Ken Kremer
The Delta 4 rocket sits atop flame trench. Nearly a million pounds of thrust will be exhausted through the ducts at liftoff towards photographers location. Credit: Ken Kremer
Launch Complex 37 with Delta 4 rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Credit: Ken Kremer
Mobile Service Tower at Complex 37 with swing arms open was retracted from Delta 4 rocket on the morning of May 21, 2010. Gantry sits atop flame trench. Credit: Ken Kremer
Ken Kremer on top of Launch Complex 37 with mighty 212 ft tall Delta 4 rocket which will fly in the Medium+ (4,2) configuration with two 65 ft long solid rocket motors. Credit: Ken Kremer
credit:www.spaceref.com
Bing versus Google Maps: Voice navigation compared
We tested Bing's voice navigation alongside Google's Android offering.
(Credit: CNET) We took Bing on a few test drives against Google's map navigation, all in the San Francisco Bay Area. Both apps will likely eventually get you where you want to go, but both exhibited overly creative directions and produced their own frustrating errors.
What we liked
We immediately noticed Bing's less tinny-sounding directions bot. Sure, "she" still sounds robotic, but less so than Google's navigatrix. We also appreciated how the Bing app "bings" before sounding off the next direction. The chime was a natural and unintrusive interruption to signal that voice guidance is imminent. It would have been nice if Bing also chimed to indicate that it's time to make a left or right turn, as Magellan's GPS units
do, but that's a more minor quibble. What we didn't like
Bing was the more navigationally flawed app in our tests compared with Google's navigation. Google's maps also have more features and options; for example, a street-level and bird's eye perspective of the map.
Within our first two test runs, Bing thrice dispensed misdirections that didn't correlate to the real world, including directing us to circle around a neighborhood even when we were on the same street as the destination address. There were also more trivial directional errors that turned up in subsequent testing.
We should note that commercial GPS navigators also run into the same pitfalls we noticed with Bing's navigation--like offering directions too early or too late and temporarily dropping GPS fixes (specifically within urban canyons)--so we can't dump all our blame on Bing, especially for issues that actually generate from the hardware and environmental access to GPS signal, and not from the software itself.
What else Google does better than Bing
On an absolute basis, we prefer Google Maps navigation to Bing's naviagion for its more faithful directions and more numerous map views, but also for its interface design. It's not exactly a fair fight. Specs-wise, the HTC Incredible
on which we tested Google's Android-enabled navigation outclasses the Windows Mobile HTC Pure loaded with Bing. Yet resolution and screen size aside, Google's navigation visuals--with its sharper corners, larger characters, and higher-impact color palette--provide an easier-to-read experience that's essential for drivers who might glance at the app to get their bearings.Although Bing has a ways to go to catch up to Google's overall quality, if you've got a Windows phone, the "pro" of free voice navigation outweighs the service's cons. As with similar voice guidance software, Bing fetches directions after you add an address or location, pick a place on a map, select from favorite locations, and choose destinations-by-address book contacts--and it'll automatically reroute if you've missed a turn.
Just take Bing's voice guidance, like all navigation units, with a grain of salt.
Air Force: Tests didn't include troubled GPS unit
DENVER —
The Air Force says it performed no advance testing on the specific type of military GPS receiver that had problems picking up locator signals after a change in ground-control software.
The Air Force said Monday that it performed tests on other equipment, but none of it contained the type of receiver that was unable to lock on to GPS:Global Positioning System satellites after the change.
The manufacturer of the receivers, Trimble Advanced and Military Systems, says it did run advance tests and found no problems.
An Air Force spokesman says its testers didn't have any samples of the affected receiver. He says the Air Force is now acquiring a more representative sample of GPS receivers that are in use.
The problem occurred in January, and the Air Force says it has been fixed.
The Air Force says it performed no advance testing on the specific type of military GPS receiver that had problems picking up locator signals after a change in ground-control software.
The Air Force said Monday that it performed tests on other equipment, but none of it contained the type of receiver that was unable to lock on to GPS:Global Positioning System satellites after the change.
The manufacturer of the receivers, Trimble Advanced and Military Systems, says it did run advance tests and found no problems.
An Air Force spokesman says its testers didn't have any samples of the affected receiver. He says the Air Force is now acquiring a more representative sample of GPS receivers that are in use.
The problem occurred in January, and the Air Force says it has been fixed.
Credit: The Associated Press
Google confesses it collected Wi-Fi data
SAN FRANCISCO — Google said Friday that for more than three years it has inadvertently collected snippets of private information that people send over unencrypted wireless networks.
The admission, made in an official blog post by Alan Eustace, Google's engineering chief, comes a month after regulators in Europe started asking the search giant questions about Street View, the layer of real-world photographs accessible from Google Maps.
Regulators wanted to know what data Google collects as its camera-laden cars methodically troll through neighborhoods, and what Google does with that data.
Google appears to have acted quickly after the questions were raised. Two weeks ago, Google said it did collect certain kinds of data around the world that identify Wi-Fi networks to help improve its mapping products.
The data on wireless networks can be used for advertising services for mobile phones, which can be pinpointed via a wireless network even if they lack a GPS chip. But the company said it did not collect or store “payload data” — the information being transmitted by users over unprotected networks.
In a confession made Friday that is sure to raise questions about its privacy policies, Google said that its claims were wrong.
Eustace wrote that a review of the Street View software has revealed that due to a programming error in 2006, the company has been mistakenly collecting snippets of data that happened to be transmitted over non-password protected Wi-Fi networks that the
Google camera cars were passing. This occurred in Europe, in the United States and in other major cities elsewhere.
Eustace tried to play down the revelation, saying that Google “never used that data in any Google products.”
Google said it has temporarily halted its Street View cars and will stop collecting Wi-Fi data. Eustace said Google wants to delete the data, in cooperation with regulators, as soon as possible.
But the revelation is likely to set off a firestorm of protest and possibly new legal problems. Google could be accused of intercepting private communications and violating wiretap laws in the United States .
Credit: By BRAD STONE New York Times
Darth Vader Offers His Voice For TomTom GPS Units
Ever wished your GPS gave you more entertaining voice commands while you were driving to your destination? Perhaps that voice could be your favorite character from your favorite movie? VoiceSkins.com -- who brought you celebrity voices from Homer Simpson of The Simpsons and rapper Snoop Dogg -- in partnership with TomTom GPS, Lucas Film and the Rebel Alliance, has released the official Star Wars voices.
The voice of android C-3PO is set to be released in July and Hans Solo's in August. Fans can already download Darth Vader's voice commands on the TomTom Web site for $12.95, while Star Wars-themed start-up screens, sounds and car icons are offered for free.
Below are some outtakes of the recording session with Darth Vader himself:
Darth Vader’s VoiceSkin is the first Star Wars GPS voice to be made available for download by users of TomTom GPS navigation systems.
Users can download Vader's voice for their units at VoiceSkins.com.
credit:
www.ballerstatus.com
The voice of android C-3PO is set to be released in July and Hans Solo's in August. Fans can already download Darth Vader's voice commands on the TomTom Web site for $12.95, while Star Wars-themed start-up screens, sounds and car icons are offered for free.
Below are some outtakes of the recording session with Darth Vader himself:
Darth Vader’s VoiceSkin is the first Star Wars GPS voice to be made available for download by users of TomTom GPS navigation systems.
Users can download Vader's voice for their units at VoiceSkins.com.
credit:
www.ballerstatus.com
Stem cells use GPS to generate proper nerve cells
An unknown function that regulates how stem cells produce different types of cells in different parts of the nervous system has been discovered by Stefan Thor, professor of Developmental Biology, and graduate students Daniel Karlsson and Magnus Baumgardt, at Linköping University in Sweden. The results improve our understanding of how stem cells work, which is crucial for our ability to use stem cells to treat and repair organs. The findings are publishing next week in the online, open-access journal PLoS Biology.
Stem cells are responsible for the creation of all cells in an organism during development. Previous research has shown that stem cells give rise to different types of cells in different parts of the nervous system. This process is partly regulated by the so-called Hox genes, which are active in various parts of the body and work to give each piece its unique regional identity - a kind of GPS system of the body. But how does a stem cell know that it is in a certain region? How does it read the body's "GPS" signals? And how is this information used to control the creation of specific nerve cells?
In order to address these issues, the LiU researchers studied a specific stem cell in the nervous system of the fruit fly. It is present in all segments of the nervous system, but it is only in the thorax, or chest region, that it produces a certain type of nerve cell. To investigate why this cell type is not created in the stomach or head region they manipulated the Hox genes' activity in the fly embryo.
It turned out that the Hox genes in the stomach region stop stem cells from splitting before the specific cells are produced. In contrast, the specific nerve cells are actually produced in the head region, but the Hox genes turn them into another, unknown, type of cell. Hox genes can thus exert their influence both on the genes that control stem cell division behaviour and on the genes that control the type of nerve cells that are created.
"We constantly find new regulating mechanisms, and it is probably more difficult than previously thought to routinely use stem cells in treating diseases and repairing organs, especially in the nervous system", says Thor.
Funding:This work was supported by the Swedish Research Council, by the Swedish Strategic Research Foundation, by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg foundation, by the Swedish Brain Foundation, by the Swedish Cancer Foundation, and by the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences to ST. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests statement: The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Citation: Karlsson D, Baumgardt M, Thor S (2010) Segment-Specific Neuronal Subtype Specification by the Integration of Anteroposterior and Temporal Cues. PLoS Biol 8(5): e1000368. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000368
PLEASE ADD THE LINK TO THE PUBLISHED ARTICLE IN ONLINE VERSIONS OF YOUR REPORT: http://biology.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.1000368
PRESS ONLY PREVIEW OF THE ARTICLE: http://www.plos.org/press/plbi-08-05-Thor.pdf
RELATED SYNOPSIS: http://www.plos.org/press/plbi-08-05-ThorSynopsis.pdf
CONTACT
Dr. Stefan Thor
Linkoping University
Dept Clinical Exp Medicine
Linkoping, S-581 85
Sweden
+46-13-22 57 75
stefan.thor@liu.se
Stem cells are responsible for the creation of all cells in an organism during development. Previous research has shown that stem cells give rise to different types of cells in different parts of the nervous system. This process is partly regulated by the so-called Hox genes, which are active in various parts of the body and work to give each piece its unique regional identity - a kind of GPS system of the body. But how does a stem cell know that it is in a certain region? How does it read the body's "GPS" signals? And how is this information used to control the creation of specific nerve cells?
In order to address these issues, the LiU researchers studied a specific stem cell in the nervous system of the fruit fly. It is present in all segments of the nervous system, but it is only in the thorax, or chest region, that it produces a certain type of nerve cell. To investigate why this cell type is not created in the stomach or head region they manipulated the Hox genes' activity in the fly embryo.
It turned out that the Hox genes in the stomach region stop stem cells from splitting before the specific cells are produced. In contrast, the specific nerve cells are actually produced in the head region, but the Hox genes turn them into another, unknown, type of cell. Hox genes can thus exert their influence both on the genes that control stem cell division behaviour and on the genes that control the type of nerve cells that are created.
"We constantly find new regulating mechanisms, and it is probably more difficult than previously thought to routinely use stem cells in treating diseases and repairing organs, especially in the nervous system", says Thor.
Competing interests statement: The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Citation: Karlsson D, Baumgardt M, Thor S (2010) Segment-Specific Neuronal Subtype Specification by the Integration of Anteroposterior and Temporal Cues. PLoS Biol 8(5): e1000368. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000368
PLEASE ADD THE LINK TO THE PUBLISHED ARTICLE IN ONLINE VERSIONS OF YOUR REPORT: http://biology.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.1000368
PRESS ONLY PREVIEW OF THE ARTICLE: http://www.plos.org/press/plbi-08-05-Thor.pdf
RELATED SYNOPSIS: http://www.plos.org/press/plbi-08-05-ThorSynopsis.pdf
CONTACT
Dr. Stefan Thor
Linkoping University
Dept Clinical Exp Medicine
Linkoping, S-581 85
Sweden
+46-13-22 57 75
stefan.thor@liu.se
iPad 3G uses LCD frame as a giant 3G antenna
For those of you wondering how the iPad manages to lock onto AT&T (NYSE: T)’s wireless data network and GPS satellite signals despite its signal-blocking aluminum unibody casing, iFixIt’s new iPad 3G dissection sheds some light on just how Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) solves the “aluminum problem.” Turns out, the iPad 3G makes the most of its LCD frame by using it as a giant antenna. The black plastic insert near the top of the tablet also allows radio signals to pass through without being blocked by the aluminum shell, but that was already a given. Apple’s use of the LCD frame as an antenna is definitely more interesting.
Aside from the obvious difference of the added 3G radio, the iPad 3G also boasts a GPS receiver. The iPad WiFi model does not have GPS functionality. What’s more, iFixIt’s iPad 3G teardown reveals that the tablet uses a GPS chipset that’s superior to the iPhone 3GS’s GPS hardware. Gone is the 3GS’s Infineon (NYSE: IFX) Hammerhead II GPS chip, replaced by the iPad 3G’s Broadcom (NSDQ: BRCM) BCM4750UBG Single-Chip AGPS Solution. Chalk up a win for the iPad and Broadcom.
What’s most interesting with this teardown is that Apple is employing a fairly novel technique for making the most of the tight space within the iPad’s slim package. The iPad 3G has the same dimensions as its 3G-lacking sibling, but has to pack in more hardware. Rather than making more space for a dedicated radio antenna, Apple is using the LCD frame as a large antenna. Apple also used this technique in the new MacBook Pro, where the frame of the optical drive is used as a WiFi antenna. There’s also a radio antenna underneath the iPad’s black plastic insert.
So, the question is, does the reception from the LCD frame compare well with the iPhone 3G? If you have an iPad 3G and have noticed any differences in reception quality, let us know in the comments below!
More Information
credit: www.intomobile.com
MapQuest iPhone App Revamped To Include GPS Voice Navigation
The MapQuest iPhone App has been given a facelift, and beginning today it now includes GPS voice navigation.
"MapQuest 4 for iPhone" is a free app that brings turn-by-turn navigation by voice to the iPhone. The Android smartphone has long had such capabilities and the iPhone is now officially in the voice GPS navigation game.
It is "basic voice guidance" only, Mashable notes, so while it tells you when to make turns and lets you know if you're off route, it won't pronounce every street name.
But it's a start, and again it is free to download.
MapQuest released its first iPhone App in June 2009 with extremely basic features to compete with the default Google Maps app on the iPhone.
"MapQuest 4 for iPhone" is a free app that brings turn-by-turn navigation by voice to the iPhone. The Android smartphone has long had such capabilities and the iPhone is now officially in the voice GPS navigation game.
It is "basic voice guidance" only, Mashable notes, so while it tells you when to make turns and lets you know if you're off route, it won't pronounce every street name.
But it's a start, and again it is free to download.
MapQuest released its first iPhone App in June 2009 with extremely basic features to compete with the default Google Maps app on the iPhone.
$150K bond for man tracked by GPS in stolen taxi
Bond was set at $150,000 Monday for a man charged with robbery and hijacking after police found him at a Northwest Side gas station by following a stolen taxi cab's GPS signal.
Travis E. Conner III, 18, of the 2900 block of West Fulton Street is charged with one count of robbery and aggravated vehicular hijacking, according to police News Affairs.
Conner was ordered held on $150,000 Monday and a preliminary hearing was set for May 3 in Northwest Felony Court (Br. 50), Cook County State's Attorney's office spokeswoman Tandra Simonton said.
Conner allegedly forced a cab driver out of his taxi at gunpoint about 3:30 a.m. Sunday, the release said. He dropped his cell phone at the scene before fleeing in the cab, which is equipped with a GPS.
Using the GPS, police found the cab at a gas station in the 6300 block of North Central Avenue, the release said. Conner was identified and a semi-automatic handgun was recovered.
credit: www.suntimes.com
Travis E. Conner III, 18, of the 2900 block of West Fulton Street is charged with one count of robbery and aggravated vehicular hijacking, according to police News Affairs.
Conner was ordered held on $150,000 Monday and a preliminary hearing was set for May 3 in Northwest Felony Court (Br. 50), Cook County State's Attorney's office spokeswoman Tandra Simonton said.
Conner allegedly forced a cab driver out of his taxi at gunpoint about 3:30 a.m. Sunday, the release said. He dropped his cell phone at the scene before fleeing in the cab, which is equipped with a GPS.
Using the GPS, police found the cab at a gas station in the 6300 block of North Central Avenue, the release said. Conner was identified and a semi-automatic handgun was recovered.
credit: www.suntimes.com
BlackBerry Bold 9650 Coming to Sprint
RIM and Sprint on Monday announced the BlackBerry Bold 9650, a follow-up to the popular BlackBerry Tour, which adds Wi-Fi and ditches the troublesome trackball for an optical trackpad.
The Tour's trackball has been users' number-one complaint about the smartphone, because the little ball tends to get gunky or sticky. The Bold 9650 looks almost exactly like the Tour, except RIM has swapped out the ball for a smooth, gunk-free pad. Like the Tour, it has a 2.44-inch, 480-by-360 screen.
The Bold 9650 also includes Wi-Fi, which was missing from the Tour. Like the Tour, the Bold 9650 is a world phone that supports Sprint's 3G CDMA network as well as foreign GSM and HSPA networks. It has GPS, Bluetooth, and a 3.2-megapixel camera, just like its predecessor.
Sprint says the Bold 9650 will be available on May 23 for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate.
Find out more about the Bold 9650 at blackberry.com/bold9650. Previous similar models have also come to Verizon Wireless, but Verizon did not respond to a request for comment.
The Tour's trackball has been users' number-one complaint about the smartphone, because the little ball tends to get gunky or sticky. The Bold 9650 looks almost exactly like the Tour, except RIM has swapped out the ball for a smooth, gunk-free pad. Like the Tour, it has a 2.44-inch, 480-by-360 screen.
The Bold 9650 also includes Wi-Fi, which was missing from the Tour. Like the Tour, the Bold 9650 is a world phone that supports Sprint's 3G CDMA network as well as foreign GSM and HSPA networks. It has GPS, Bluetooth, and a 3.2-megapixel camera, just like its predecessor.
Sprint says the Bold 9650 will be available on May 23 for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate.
Find out more about the Bold 9650 at blackberry.com/bold9650. Previous similar models have also come to Verizon Wireless, but Verizon did not respond to a request for comment.
One Way to Get People Out of Their Cars...
The Dutch have an idea that's good for debate here at home. A proposal would tax the miles driven on a car instead of the current taxes levied on roads and new car purchases.
Specifically, "the plan proposes an average tax of $.07 per mile, with fees higher during rush hour and for commercial vehicles," says Live Earth.
"It would use GPS systems installed in each car to track mileage and automatically bill drivers. The goal, the Dutch government says, is to cut traffic by 15% and reduce transport emissions by 10%."
Specifically, "the plan proposes an average tax of $.07 per mile, with fees higher during rush hour and for commercial vehicles," says Live Earth.
"It would use GPS systems installed in each car to track mileage and automatically bill drivers. The goal, the Dutch government says, is to cut traffic by 15% and reduce transport emissions by 10%."
The Orange County cop charged with hiding GPS in woman's car
WESTMINSTER, Calif.—A Costa Mesa police officer has been charged with hiding a GPS device in a woman's car without her knowledge so he could follow her.
The Orange County district attorney's office says 30-year-old Aaron Parsons was charged Thursday in Westminster Superior Court with a misdemeanor count of unlawfully using an electronic tracking device.
Prosecutors say Parsons hid a GPS device in a 32-year-old woman's car on March 18 so he should show up wherever she was.
After several "chance encounters," the woman became suspicious, checked her car and found the device which belongs to the police department. She reported it to police.
Parsons faces six months in jail if convicted. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday.
credit:www.mercurynews.com
The Orange County district attorney's office says 30-year-old Aaron Parsons was charged Thursday in Westminster Superior Court with a misdemeanor count of unlawfully using an electronic tracking device.
Prosecutors say Parsons hid a GPS device in a 32-year-old woman's car on March 18 so he should show up wherever she was.
After several "chance encounters," the woman became suspicious, checked her car and found the device which belongs to the police department. She reported it to police.
Parsons faces six months in jail if convicted. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday.
credit:www.mercurynews.com
California considers easing rules on black bear hunting
The population has roughly quadrupled over the last two decades, and some Fish and Game officials say it would remain robust with expanded hunting regions and caps.
A black bear in the foothills above Monrovia. (Rudy Libra)
As outdoor activities in California go, bear hunting is not particularly popular. Officials estimate that, at most, 1% of the state's population hunts black bears. Many of the other 99% are appalled that anyone does.
"I think most people think of it as an anachronism," said state Fish and Game Commissioner Michael Sutton, who speculates that the state's voters may soon ban the practice.
Bear hunting has come a long way since the 1920s, when ranchers and farmers wiped out the grizzly, leaving its sole California presence on the state flag. Gone are the days when you could kill a bear anytime, anywhere, any way.
So Sutton and his fellow commissioners — hunters all — weren't surprised when proposals to expand black bear hunting drew protest.
Nearly 70 environmental, community and animal welfare organizations have lined up against the proposals, most notably the Humane Society of the United States, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and various chapters of the Sierra Club. In San Luis Obispo County, the board of supervisors passed a resolution last month opposing expansion of hunting into their area.
"We find the totality of the proposal to be unsporting, unfair, inhumane and reckless," said Jennifer Fearing, the Humane Society's Sacramento lobbyist.
But officials at the state Department of Fish and Game say they proposed the changes because California's black bear population is flourishing and spreading.
On Wednesday the commissioners will vote on whether to allow bear hunting in San Luis Obispo County and to increase the hunting area in Lassen and Modoc counties. They'll also decide whether to eliminate a cap on bear kills per season and allow bear hunters to put collars with GPS tracking devices on their hounds.
Black bears long have thrived from Northern California down to Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, according to Doug Updike, the department's game program manager and a wildlife ecologist. In the last few decades, he said, Fish and Game biologists have seen more bears in San Luis Obispo, Modoc and Lassen Counties. The number of bears statewide, meanwhile, has "increased from under 10,000 in the early '80s to nearly 40,000 now," he said.
"They get hit by cars, we get reports by property owners that they broke into their houses, we get pictures, we know what bear prints look like," he said.
Over the last half-century, California has regulated bear hunting. Trapping has been outlawed and a hunting season set — roughly October to the last Sunday in December, depending on the region. Cubs under 50 pounds and mother bears with their cubs may not be killed. Hunters must obtain identification tags and are allowed one bear per season.
Successful or not, hunters must return their tags to Fish and Game, stating whether or not they bagged a bear. In addition, successful hunters are expected to present their bear skulls to department officials, who extract a tooth from each skull for age monitoring. (Hunters then get the skulls back.) It also is illegal to sell bear parts in California. The state considers possession of as few as two bear gall bladders — lucrative products in Asian markets — evidence of illegal activity.
Still, those who object to the proposed hunting changes say the killing remains too easy.
One proposal they find particularly egregious would allow hunters to equip their dogs with GPS tracking collars that have so-called tip switches, which go off when a dog cocks its head, presumably to look up a tree where it has hounded a bear.
"Given that we are not anti-hunting as much as we are anti-trophy-hunting practices, we zeroed in on these changes," said Fearing of the Humane Society. "Hound hunting is totally unfair and often inhumane — for the bears and the dogs," she said.
Opponents portray hunters as unsportsmanlike folks, watching their GPS devices to see when dogs have treed a bear so they can easily amble over and shoot it. Proponents of the sport, on the other hand, portray hunters with hounds as athletic and focused, sprinting after their dogs, enjoying the chase as much as their canines do. They say that the GPS devices are mostly for tracking lost and injured dogs and that hunters already use radio telemetry to track their dogs.
You don't need a GPS device to tell you when your hounds have found a bear, said Updike, a hunter whose wife has killed a bear. "They can tell by the baying of the hounds how the hounds are doing." He also objected to the idea that California hunters are after trophies, saying that most eat the meat of the bears they kill.
The state relies on a variety of methods to track the bear population. In addition to anecdotal evidence and field work by biologists, hunters' tags tell officials when and where bears were killed.
Critics of changing the hunting rules say monitoring killed bears is not enough to get a sense of their real population. They say the state's methods also don't take into account regional pressures on bear habitats.
The state also monitors the median age of bears killed and the percentage that are female, Updike said, to alert them of when to pull back on hunting. Hunters prefer larger bears, which are usually male. So if a season's total kill is more than 40% female, for instance, "that's a red flag because it means the number of males is getting scarce, which means the hunting pressure is starting to affect the population."
Because of such tracking, he said, state officials are confident that the population is robust enough to withstand well over the 1,700-bear kill figure that now prompts the state to send out an alert closing down the season.
"We looked at a mathematical model for the hunting season which would take 3,100 bears — which we've never ever done," said Updike. "That still is an insignificant number relative to the population. The population would still be robust."
And not having to send out an alert would save thousands of dollars, he said. Some commissioners said they are still not sure how they will vote Wednesday. Commissioner Daniel Richards, who hunts mammals, said he is inclined to widen the hunt. Commissioner Richard Rogers — a duck hunter — said he has no problems with bear hunting but was leaning against the changes.
Sutton, who hunts birds but not mammals, said he too is leaning toward voting no. He's not against bear hunting. But his experience as a former federal game warden has made him sensitive to the dangers of hunting, such as "the potential for increased poaching and illegal commercialization."
"Our wardens are already strapped," he said. "All these things tend to argue against expansion of bear hunting."
carla.hall@latimes.com
"I think most people think of it as an anachronism," said state Fish and Game Commissioner Michael Sutton, who speculates that the state's voters may soon ban the practice.
Bear hunting has come a long way since the 1920s, when ranchers and farmers wiped out the grizzly, leaving its sole California presence on the state flag. Gone are the days when you could kill a bear anytime, anywhere, any way.
So Sutton and his fellow commissioners — hunters all — weren't surprised when proposals to expand black bear hunting drew protest.
Nearly 70 environmental, community and animal welfare organizations have lined up against the proposals, most notably the Humane Society of the United States, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and various chapters of the Sierra Club. In San Luis Obispo County, the board of supervisors passed a resolution last month opposing expansion of hunting into their area.
"We find the totality of the proposal to be unsporting, unfair, inhumane and reckless," said Jennifer Fearing, the Humane Society's Sacramento lobbyist.
But officials at the state Department of Fish and Game say they proposed the changes because California's black bear population is flourishing and spreading.
On Wednesday the commissioners will vote on whether to allow bear hunting in San Luis Obispo County and to increase the hunting area in Lassen and Modoc counties. They'll also decide whether to eliminate a cap on bear kills per season and allow bear hunters to put collars with GPS tracking devices on their hounds.
Black bears long have thrived from Northern California down to Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, according to Doug Updike, the department's game program manager and a wildlife ecologist. In the last few decades, he said, Fish and Game biologists have seen more bears in San Luis Obispo, Modoc and Lassen Counties. The number of bears statewide, meanwhile, has "increased from under 10,000 in the early '80s to nearly 40,000 now," he said.
"They get hit by cars, we get reports by property owners that they broke into their houses, we get pictures, we know what bear prints look like," he said.
Over the last half-century, California has regulated bear hunting. Trapping has been outlawed and a hunting season set — roughly October to the last Sunday in December, depending on the region. Cubs under 50 pounds and mother bears with their cubs may not be killed. Hunters must obtain identification tags and are allowed one bear per season.
Successful or not, hunters must return their tags to Fish and Game, stating whether or not they bagged a bear. In addition, successful hunters are expected to present their bear skulls to department officials, who extract a tooth from each skull for age monitoring. (Hunters then get the skulls back.) It also is illegal to sell bear parts in California. The state considers possession of as few as two bear gall bladders — lucrative products in Asian markets — evidence of illegal activity.
Still, those who object to the proposed hunting changes say the killing remains too easy.
One proposal they find particularly egregious would allow hunters to equip their dogs with GPS tracking collars that have so-called tip switches, which go off when a dog cocks its head, presumably to look up a tree where it has hounded a bear.
"Given that we are not anti-hunting as much as we are anti-trophy-hunting practices, we zeroed in on these changes," said Fearing of the Humane Society. "Hound hunting is totally unfair and often inhumane — for the bears and the dogs," she said.
Opponents portray hunters as unsportsmanlike folks, watching their GPS devices to see when dogs have treed a bear so they can easily amble over and shoot it. Proponents of the sport, on the other hand, portray hunters with hounds as athletic and focused, sprinting after their dogs, enjoying the chase as much as their canines do. They say that the GPS devices are mostly for tracking lost and injured dogs and that hunters already use radio telemetry to track their dogs.
You don't need a GPS device to tell you when your hounds have found a bear, said Updike, a hunter whose wife has killed a bear. "They can tell by the baying of the hounds how the hounds are doing." He also objected to the idea that California hunters are after trophies, saying that most eat the meat of the bears they kill.
The state relies on a variety of methods to track the bear population. In addition to anecdotal evidence and field work by biologists, hunters' tags tell officials when and where bears were killed.
Critics of changing the hunting rules say monitoring killed bears is not enough to get a sense of their real population. They say the state's methods also don't take into account regional pressures on bear habitats.
The state also monitors the median age of bears killed and the percentage that are female, Updike said, to alert them of when to pull back on hunting. Hunters prefer larger bears, which are usually male. So if a season's total kill is more than 40% female, for instance, "that's a red flag because it means the number of males is getting scarce, which means the hunting pressure is starting to affect the population."
Because of such tracking, he said, state officials are confident that the population is robust enough to withstand well over the 1,700-bear kill figure that now prompts the state to send out an alert closing down the season.
"We looked at a mathematical model for the hunting season which would take 3,100 bears — which we've never ever done," said Updike. "That still is an insignificant number relative to the population. The population would still be robust."
And not having to send out an alert would save thousands of dollars, he said. Some commissioners said they are still not sure how they will vote Wednesday. Commissioner Daniel Richards, who hunts mammals, said he is inclined to widen the hunt. Commissioner Richard Rogers — a duck hunter — said he has no problems with bear hunting but was leaning against the changes.
Sutton, who hunts birds but not mammals, said he too is leaning toward voting no. He's not against bear hunting. But his experience as a former federal game warden has made him sensitive to the dangers of hunting, such as "the potential for increased poaching and illegal commercialization."
"Our wardens are already strapped," he said. "All these things tend to argue against expansion of bear hunting."
carla.hall@latimes.com
credit:www.latimes.com
GPS backpacks identify leaders among flocking pigeons
A freewheeling flock of birds is one of nature’s most endearing spectacles. The flock’s members move with uncanny coordination, changing direction in unison, splitting and reforming, and even landing as one. The intricacies of these synchronized flights are very difficult to entangle. Who is following whom? Is there even a leader and, if so, does the same bird always take up pole position? Our feeble eyes could never hope to discern the answers just by watching a flying flock. But fortunately, we have technology that can do the job for us.
Máté Nagy from the University of Eötvös, Budapest, has found that flying pigeons obey strict chains of command, even when in flight. He used state-of-the-art GPS devices to track the movements of groups of ten pigeons with exquisite sensitivity. The lightweight monitors, just 16g in weight, captured the subtleties of the pigeons’ twists and turns in mere fractions of a second. Back on the ground, Nagy analysed their recordings to show that pigeons fly according to the pecking orders they establish on the ground. The dominant bird takes the lead and the others follow his directions.
Studying the collective movements of animal groups has been a difficult challenge. Many cameras can be used to film animals moving within the same block of space, but the jostling bodies often block one another from view. Mathematical models can tell us about the basic rules that groups of moving animals adhere to, but they are difficult to test in real life.
But our technology has now become advanced enough to start skirting around these problems. For scientists studying birds, the key breakthrough was the creation of sensors that are light enough to be strapped to a flying bird without compromising its aerial abilities. Now, these sensors include GPS devices that can record a bird’s speed and direction every fifth of a second. Nagy attached such devices to 13 homing pigeons and watched as they flew in flocks of 7 to 11 birds.
Nagy catalogued every instance when one pigeon changed direction only to be followed by another. By pooling together this data, he created a network of leaders and followers, showing the relationship of each bird to its peers. This colorful diagram shows one such network. Each circle represents an individual pigeon, the arrows point from a leading bird to one that follows it, and the numbers represent the time delay between the leader’s movements and those of its follower’s.
The networks showed that flocking pigeons maintain a dependable hierarchy on the wing. On average, when a leading bird changed direction, its followers would follow suit after around a third of a second. Birds will consistently copy the movements of specific individuals further up the pecking order and, in turn, they are consistently copied by more junior underlings.
What makes a leading pigeon? It seems that skill counts for something. Nagy released each of his birds on a solo flight, some distance from home. When they returned, he found that those who arrived home quickest were also most likely to wield leadership authority, although this link between navigation ability and seniority wasn’t quite statistically significant.
Indeed, the chains of seniority within pigeon flocks are fairly flexible, changing dynamically from flight to flight. Influential birds tend to remain influential but Tamas Vicsek, who led the study, says, “There are days when the pigeon which takes the role most of the time is less active. Perhaps it did not have a good sleep! During these days some of the birds on lower levels of the hierarchy have their chance to lead.”
Nagy’s data also revealed that leaders do indeed take up pole position at the front of the flock. That may seem intuitively obvious to us, but remember that pigeons have a field of vision that extends for almost a full 360 degrees. When you can easily see individuals flying behind you, the leading bird doesn’t necessarily need to be at the front, and yet it does.
More surprisingly, leaders also tend to stay on the left of the flock. Nagy found that the more time that a bird spent behind a leading partner, the more likely it was to be flying on that partner’s right. There’s an obvious reason for this – like us, pigeons have highly asymmetric brains with each half wielding greater influence over certain thought processes. Their right brain, which receives signals from the left eye, controls the ability to recognize other pigeons. So if a pigeon sees one of its peers through its left eye, rather than its right, it responds more quickly or more strongly.
Reference: Nagy, M., Ákos, Z., Biro, D., & Vicsek, T. (2010). Hierarchical group dynamics in pigeon flocks Nature, 464 (7290), 890-893 DOI: 10.1038/nature08891
credit: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/
Images: by Zsuzsa Ákos
Máté Nagy from the University of Eötvös, Budapest, has found that flying pigeons obey strict chains of command, even when in flight. He used state-of-the-art GPS devices to track the movements of groups of ten pigeons with exquisite sensitivity. The lightweight monitors, just 16g in weight, captured the subtleties of the pigeons’ twists and turns in mere fractions of a second. Back on the ground, Nagy analysed their recordings to show that pigeons fly according to the pecking orders they establish on the ground. The dominant bird takes the lead and the others follow his directions.Studying the collective movements of animal groups has been a difficult challenge. Many cameras can be used to film animals moving within the same block of space, but the jostling bodies often block one another from view. Mathematical models can tell us about the basic rules that groups of moving animals adhere to, but they are difficult to test in real life.
But our technology has now become advanced enough to start skirting around these problems. For scientists studying birds, the key breakthrough was the creation of sensors that are light enough to be strapped to a flying bird without compromising its aerial abilities. Now, these sensors include GPS devices that can record a bird’s speed and direction every fifth of a second. Nagy attached such devices to 13 homing pigeons and watched as they flew in flocks of 7 to 11 birds.
Nagy catalogued every instance when one pigeon changed direction only to be followed by another. By pooling together this data, he created a network of leaders and followers, showing the relationship of each bird to its peers. This colorful diagram shows one such network. Each circle represents an individual pigeon, the arrows point from a leading bird to one that follows it, and the numbers represent the time delay between the leader’s movements and those of its follower’s.The networks showed that flocking pigeons maintain a dependable hierarchy on the wing. On average, when a leading bird changed direction, its followers would follow suit after around a third of a second. Birds will consistently copy the movements of specific individuals further up the pecking order and, in turn, they are consistently copied by more junior underlings.
What makes a leading pigeon? It seems that skill counts for something. Nagy released each of his birds on a solo flight, some distance from home. When they returned, he found that those who arrived home quickest were also most likely to wield leadership authority, although this link between navigation ability and seniority wasn’t quite statistically significant.
Indeed, the chains of seniority within pigeon flocks are fairly flexible, changing dynamically from flight to flight. Influential birds tend to remain influential but Tamas Vicsek, who led the study, says, “There are days when the pigeon which takes the role most of the time is less active. Perhaps it did not have a good sleep! During these days some of the birds on lower levels of the hierarchy have their chance to lead.”
Nagy’s data also revealed that leaders do indeed take up pole position at the front of the flock. That may seem intuitively obvious to us, but remember that pigeons have a field of vision that extends for almost a full 360 degrees. When you can easily see individuals flying behind you, the leading bird doesn’t necessarily need to be at the front, and yet it does.
More surprisingly, leaders also tend to stay on the left of the flock. Nagy found that the more time that a bird spent behind a leading partner, the more likely it was to be flying on that partner’s right. There’s an obvious reason for this – like us, pigeons have highly asymmetric brains with each half wielding greater influence over certain thought processes. Their right brain, which receives signals from the left eye, controls the ability to recognize other pigeons. So if a pigeon sees one of its peers through its left eye, rather than its right, it responds more quickly or more strongly.
Reference: Nagy, M., Ákos, Z., Biro, D., & Vicsek, T. (2010). Hierarchical group dynamics in pigeon flocks Nature, 464 (7290), 890-893 DOI: 10.1038/nature08891
credit: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/
Images: by Zsuzsa Ákos
iPhone with GPS fingers Double Rock Lexus near laptop-thieves' lair
Technology is always a double-edged sword, full of surprises, particularly for those operating just a few cycles behind the state of the art.
Is it safe to assume that Maifala Tusi, 23 and Jerome J. Satele, 21, both of San Francisco, are familiar with the basic idea of Global Positioning System technology?
Oh, well, perhaps not.
How about the fact that iPhone technology incorporates it?
That’d probably be even less likely.
Or um, oh say, if one were to steal an iPhone and then use it, an exact position of that clever device can be pinpointed by anyone with the right software?
Guess not.
San Francisco District Attorney Kamala D. Harris announced today that both men are being charged with robbery and felony possession of stolen property. She claims they were arrested only hours after they are alleged to have robbed a man and stolen his iPhone and his Apple laptop computer.
The DA says that on April 2, 2010, at 9:55 a.m. a 41-year old man was standing on Van Ness Avenue, at Oak Street, holding his laptop computer, when a man approached him and grabbed his laptop away from him.
The robber then fled down the street with it and the man pursued him until he tackled the perpetrator. As they fought, the man’s iPhone fell out of his pocket and another man grabbed it, then ran into a light-colored Lexus, followed by the robber with the laptop.
They drove westbound on Oak St. in the Lexus and when police arrived later to take a report, the man told them he was able to track his iPhone using its GPS with a tracking application on his computer. He logged onto his computer and pulled up the GPS information, which police then broadcast to SFPD dispatch, which in turn disseminated it to all officers in the field.
The GPS indicated that the man’s iPhone was in the area of Egbert and Hawes streets, adjacent to the Alice Griffith Housing Project in the “Double Rock” area of the Bayview district. Officers found a Lexus parked in the area that was close enough to the description and began surveillance.
About an hour later, several people got into the Lexus and drove away with police following. They pulled it over at 6th Street and Clara Alley.
Authorities said that as the police officers made contact, one of them noticed a passenger, identified as Satele, pass an iPhone to a passenger in the right rear seat of the Lexus, which the officer then seized.
The DA claims the alleged victim was driven to the scene and made a positive identification of both Tusi and Satele as the men who robbed him. He also identified the iPhone and the laptop computer as his property.
The District Attorney said in a press release that Tusi committed the robbery “while on court release in his open felony case. … That case stems from an incident on March 19, 2010, where the defendant is alleged to have committed felony second-degree burglary, grand theft, possession of burglary tools and attempted possession of stolen property. He had been out of custody a total of nine days before he allegedly committed the April 2nd robbery.”
By Thomas Pendergast www.examiner.com
Is it safe to assume that Maifala Tusi, 23 and Jerome J. Satele, 21, both of San Francisco, are familiar with the basic idea of Global Positioning System technology?
Oh, well, perhaps not.
How about the fact that iPhone technology incorporates it?
That’d probably be even less likely.
Or um, oh say, if one were to steal an iPhone and then use it, an exact position of that clever device can be pinpointed by anyone with the right software?
Guess not.
San Francisco District Attorney Kamala D. Harris announced today that both men are being charged with robbery and felony possession of stolen property. She claims they were arrested only hours after they are alleged to have robbed a man and stolen his iPhone and his Apple laptop computer.
The DA says that on April 2, 2010, at 9:55 a.m. a 41-year old man was standing on Van Ness Avenue, at Oak Street, holding his laptop computer, when a man approached him and grabbed his laptop away from him.
The robber then fled down the street with it and the man pursued him until he tackled the perpetrator. As they fought, the man’s iPhone fell out of his pocket and another man grabbed it, then ran into a light-colored Lexus, followed by the robber with the laptop.
They drove westbound on Oak St. in the Lexus and when police arrived later to take a report, the man told them he was able to track his iPhone using its GPS with a tracking application on his computer. He logged onto his computer and pulled up the GPS information, which police then broadcast to SFPD dispatch, which in turn disseminated it to all officers in the field.
The GPS indicated that the man’s iPhone was in the area of Egbert and Hawes streets, adjacent to the Alice Griffith Housing Project in the “Double Rock” area of the Bayview district. Officers found a Lexus parked in the area that was close enough to the description and began surveillance.
About an hour later, several people got into the Lexus and drove away with police following. They pulled it over at 6th Street and Clara Alley.
Authorities said that as the police officers made contact, one of them noticed a passenger, identified as Satele, pass an iPhone to a passenger in the right rear seat of the Lexus, which the officer then seized.
The DA claims the alleged victim was driven to the scene and made a positive identification of both Tusi and Satele as the men who robbed him. He also identified the iPhone and the laptop computer as his property.
The District Attorney said in a press release that Tusi committed the robbery “while on court release in his open felony case. … That case stems from an incident on March 19, 2010, where the defendant is alleged to have committed felony second-degree burglary, grand theft, possession of burglary tools and attempted possession of stolen property. He had been out of custody a total of nine days before he allegedly committed the April 2nd robbery.”
By Thomas Pendergast www.examiner.com
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