Watch Where You're Going-(Businesses are quietly buying mobile-phone data...)

tech ^ | November 9, 2010 | By Neil Savage

[Flavius]

Target must make some people hungry, because a quarter of its shoppers head from the store to a restaurant. Another 25 percent or so eat out before their shopping trip. So maybe Target should capture some extra revenue by selling meals right on the premises. Or perhaps it could do a cross-promotion with neighboring food establishments

[Flavius]

from the article:" And Gorman says people are generally getting used to the idea of broadcasting where they are.."

[Diana in Wisconsin]

"...people are generally getting used to the idea of broadcasting where they are..."

That'll make it MUCH easier for Big Brother to micro-chip and track us, won't it?

[randita]

Target must make some people hungry, because a quarter of its shoppers head from the store to a restaurant. Another 25 percent or so eat out before their shopping trip.

Must be because they've run the equivalent of a marathon from one end of the store to another trying to find what they want. I rarely find exactly what I want in Target. They sometimes have "kind of" what I want.

[meyer]

"It's not very hard to get to a tangible benefit," says Phuc Truong, managing director of Mobext.

I cannot think of any reason that this person should NOT change their name!

I am, of course, against this misuse of technology. Perhaps I'll start leaving the phone at home. Or, getting a metal case in which to store it. It won't work in the case, but it won't be track-able either.

[Pearls Before Swine]

Or, getting a metal case in which to store it. It won't work in the case, but it won't be track-able either.

It would be better to turn it off. In the metal case, it will run at max power as it tries to find a cell tower to connect with. It won't be able to, but it will run the battery down more rapidly than normal.

[meyer]

It would be better to turn it off.

Good point. As one who works in an area where cell service is essentially blocked, I know how that wears down the battery. I would say turn it off AND, just to be safe, put it in a metal case as well.

[Pearls Before Swine]

I would say turn it off AND, just to be safe, put it in a metal case as well.

You can double bag if you like, but I don't think the second layer of protection adds anything after the power is off.

[meyer]

It shouldn't, but I have such a strong distrust for those in "authority" that I prefer as many layers of protection as possible. Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean that they're NOT out to get me! :)

Actually, I had once called 911 with a cell phone, and it immediately went into GPS mode. Once the call was complete, it stayed in GPS mode. I turned it off and then on and it was still in GPS mode. Finally, I disconnected the battery and that took care of things. Can't take out the battery in my iPhone though. Apple's got it locked up inside.

[upchuck]

That'll make it MUCH easier for Big Brother to micro-chip and track us, won't it?

Don't have one myself, but from what I understand, anybody with a cell phone can already be tracked.

[moovova]

As Jackson Browne said in The Pretender...

I'm going to be a happy idiot
And struggle for the legal tender
Where the ads take aim and lay their claim
To the heart and the soul of the spender
And believe in whatever may lie
In those things that money can buy