[Sarajevo]

Without it, ATMs would stop spitting out cash, Wall Street could blunder billions of dollars in stock trades and clueless drivers would get lost.

OK, I understand that some people can't read a map, but the article didn't mention how this affects ATM's and Wall Street.

Can anyone explain?

[Jonah Hex]

From what I understand, some ATMs have a GPS receiver built into the unit which can pass its location to authorities by cell phone on demand. That way, when some yahoo yanks an ATM out of the wall with a logging chain and hauls it off to their secluded shack for disassembly, Detective Joe Friday can track it down and move in.

Here's an example.

Just the facts...

[ops33]

From the article:

“Although “positioning” is an obvious application of the technology, it’s also become a crucial timekeeper for the financial industry. Transactions made everywhere, from ATMs to Wall Street stock trades, are time-stamped using precise atomic clocks ticking within the GPS satellites. The clocks are accurate to one-billionth of a second. It’s a crucial technology for Wall Street, where a fraction of a second could mean billions of dollars.”