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ZL3AI > APRDIG 19.09.06 22:24l 231 Lines 10008 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: [APRSSIG] Vol 27 #2, 2/3
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From: ZL3AI@ZL2BAU.#87.NZL.OC
To : APRDIG@WW
Message: 11
Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2006 21:10:01 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Tyson S." <timbercutter_at_yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [aprssig] Fun with FloodAdvisor
A friend of mine became a ham specifically because of APRS and what he had
hoped to be able to do with APRS. And that is to monitor small creeks where
he likes to go kayaking that do not have a USGS water station installed. He
wanted to make his own unit and just temporally install it in the portion
of creek he wants to know about. When the level is right, take off early
from work and hit the water! so will this thing work in a creek environment
and do what he wants it to do?
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Message: 12
Date: Sat, 2 Sep 2006 00:24:02 -0500
From: "John Habbinga" <kc5zrq_at_gmail.com>
Subject: [aprssig] Wi-Fi Positioning System (WPS) for APRS
I was recently contracted to map out the location of every Wi-Fi access
point, in the the city where I live, for a company called Skyhook Wireless.
They are using this data to provide a positioning system that can be used
in lieu of satellite based GPS. I'm curious if anyone has considered using
their system to provide location data for APRS. Perhaps the developers of
Xastir or those creating UI-View32 plug-ins, might be able to use the
developer API that Skyhook Wireless provides.
More about Skyhook Wireless:
Founded in 2003, Skyhook Wireless has pioneered the development of the
first-ever metro-area positioning system that leverages Wi-Fi rather
than satellites or cell towers to deliver precise location data
supporting the growing market for location-based services. The Skyhook
Wi-Fi Positioning System (WPS) requires no new hardware, works indoors
and outdoors, provides an instant location and is more accurate than
current technologies in congested downtown areas. Skyhook Wireless is
headquartered in Needham, MA and is privately held.
Check out www.skyhookwireless.com and www.loki.com. Developers check
out http://developer.skyhookwireless.com/.
--
John Habbinga, KC5ZRQ
Lubbock, Texas
http://find-you.com/cgi-bin/find.cgi?call=KC5ZRQ*
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Message: 13
Date: Sat, 2 Sep 2006 01:36:06 -0400
From: "Ryan Tourge" <k2rrt.lists_at_gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [aprssig] Wi-Fi Positioning System (WPS) for APRS
why reinvent the wheel?
--
Ryan Tourge - K2RRT
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Message: 14
Date: Sat, 2 Sep 2006 01:16:43 -0500
From: "John Habbinga" <kc5zrq_at_gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [aprssig] Wi-Fi Positioning System (WPS) for APRS
Why? Well, if your computer is equipped with a Wi-Fi card (or internal)
and not a GPS, then you can still deterimine your location. If you are
indoors, where GPS doesn't work, Wi-Fi positioning would still work. If
you have a GPS, but don't want to wait 2 minutes for it to aquire a
satellite signal, then Wi-Fi positioning can determine locations in just a
couple of seconds.
On 9/2/06, Ryan Tourge <k2rrt.lists_at_gmail.com> wrote:
>why reinvent the wheel?
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Message: 15
Date: Fri, 01 Sep 2006 23:18:12 -0700
From: "Stephen H. Smith" <wa8lmf2_at_aol.com>
Subject: Re: [aprssig] Wi-Fi Positioning System (WPS) for APRS
kc5zrq_at_gmail.com wrote:
>I was recently contracted to map out the location of every Wi-Fi
>access point, in the the city where I live, for a company called
>Skyhook Wireless. They are using this data to provide a positioning
>system that can be used in lieu of satellite based GPS. I'm curious
>if anyone has considered using their system to provide location data
>for APRS. Perhaps the developers of Xastir or those creating
>UI-View32 plug-ins, might be able to use the developer API that
>Skyhook Wireless provides.
Microsoft is doing this now. When you install MapPoint 2006 or Streets &
Trips 2006, an additional application called MS Location Finder is stealth
installed without your permission or knowlege. This application uses a
64MB database of the IP addresses of known WiFi hot spots in airports,
campuses, Starbucks, etc. to try to determine your location if you don't
have a GPS connected.
Further, if you DO have a GPS connected, and the WiFi transceiver is
enabled in your laptop, you are unknowingly reporting your whereabouts to
Microsoft every time you acquire a WiFi connection. My guess is that
Microsoft's agenda is to:
1. Rapidly expand the database of known WiFi IP addresses
2. Ultimately enable "location-based" marketing; i.e. when MS sees you in
an airport, they will pop up ads for local hotels, or hit you with an ad
for the Starbucks at the next corner as you pass a particular intersection.
Here is the complete writeup on this issue I posted last fall when
Streets 2006 first came out:
======PASTE
WARNING If you are using Streets&Trips 2006 or Autoroute 2006 READ THIS
Many APRS users use Microsoft Streets & Trips (or it's Euro equivalent
AutoRoute), either standalone, with APRS applications like UIview, or as
a source of static maps for other APRS applications. Before installing
or using the 2006 version of these programs, note the following.............
====== SPYWARE WARNING FOR STREETS 2006 !!! (=======
Also applies to AutoRoute 2006 (the Euro version of Streets)
Microsoft is using tactics virtually identical to spyware pushers in
Streets 2006. When you first insert the CD to install the program, an
undisclosed undocumented program is stealth loaded onto your harddisk, even
before the first screen of the install dialog appears.
This program, Microsoft Location Finder, utilizes Internet
connections, either hardwired or WiFi, to attempt to determine your current
location and reports it back to Microsoft. The application attempts to
triangulate your location by monitoring what WiFi hotspots your PC can
currently hear. If there is no WiFi present in the PC, it attempts a whois
on the IP address your wired connection is currently using. The secret
placing of this invasive privacy-invading application on millions of PCs is
apparently part of Microsoft's future plan for "Location Based Services"
which means popping up banner ads when MS detects that you are within a
block or so of a particular business. The unwitting installation of this
program places a 64 MEGABYTE ( !! ) password-protected database of the
known locations of hundreds of thousands of public WiFi hotspots in
airports, cafes, Starbucks, etc on your hard disk. (You can see it in the
directory \Program Files\Microsoft Location Finder). Further, you are
recruited as an unwitting accomplice in updating this database. Every time
your GPS and WiFi equipped laptop passes within range of a new hotspot,
it's coordinates are reported back to MS via your current Internet
connection.
The first indication of the installation of this piece of unwanted crapware
is the appearance of an icon of a curved green arrow pointing into a target
in your Windows System Tray next to the clock. The first time you run
Streets, it produces a message "We have detected a WiFi connection on this
PC. Do you want us to determine your current location on the map?". Whats
wierd is that this message appears even when there are NO network
connections at all active on the machine.
Even though the install is completely undisclosed, an item IS placed in the
Install/Remove programs applet in the Windows control panel. The uninstall
routine is a COMPLETE SHAM! It removes the systray icon, an ..EXE file,
and a couple of documents from the Location Finder directory but leaves 4
DLLs (program modules) and the 64MB database.
Thinking perhaps it was just a sloppy uninstaller, I erased the remaining
files (especially the space-wasting database) by hand. Starting Streets
afterwards generated several error messages that "program files were
damaged or missing" and requested that the install CD be placed in the
drive so that this thing could be re-installed!!! In other words, even
after the supposed uninstall, Streets is calling components of Location
Finder.
After many hours of experimentation, I discovered there is a way to kill
this obnoxious crapware.
WARNING! This requires editing the Windows Registry database. One errant
keystroke here can totally trash your Windows system. Back up the registry
first!
1) Before initially installing Streets & Trips 2006 (or the Euro
equivalent AutoRoute), make sure you have NO network connections of any
kind live. Unplug any ethernet cable and ensure that your WiFi transceiver
is turned off.
2) After the install, immediately go to the Windows Control Panel
"Add/Remove Programs" and "uninstall" Microsoft Location Finder.
3) Locate the directory "\Program Files\Microsoft Location Finder" and
delete it.
4) Click "Start, Run" and enter "regedit" (The Windows Registry Editor).
In Regedit, pull down "Edit, Find" and search for "Microsoft Location
Finder". Keep pressing F3 to find the next occurance of this phrase.
Delete every item (registry "key") you find with this string in it.
5) Exit the Registry editor and reboot. Streets should now be able to
startup without Location Finder and without complaining. ====
--
Stephen H. Smith wa8lmf (at) aol.com
EchoLink Node: 14400 [Think bottom of the 2M band]
Home Page: http://wa8lmf.com
NEW! JavAPRS Filter Port 14580 Guide
http://webs.lanset.com/wa8lmf/aprs/JAVaprsFilters.htm
UI-View Misc Notes and FAQ
http://webs.lanset.com/wa8lmf/aprs/UIview_Notes.htm
"APRS 101" Explanation of APRS Path Selection & Digipeating
http://webs.lanset.com/wa8lmf/DigiPaths
Updated "Rev G" APRS http://webs.lanset.com/wa8lmf/aprs
Symbols Set for UI-View,
UIpoint and APRSplus:
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