[LINK] Introducing geoloc

[Paul Brooks]

On 14/01/2011 1:59 PM, Jon Seymour wrote:
> I never did get around to the policy suggestions, but I suspect this
> issue is about to get much more important.
>
> The reason is that iOS4.3 is, finally, going to allow iPhones to act
> as WiFi hotspots. Presumably Apple needs to enable this because
> Android was killing them with this feature. So now most Android phones
> and most iPhone 4's will be subject to being indexed by Google's
> MAC-to-location database at their usual point of presence. The fact
"at their usual point of presence" is a bit of a stretch. Personally, every time I've 
enabled my android hotspot has been well away from my usual location, due to their 
being no other wifi network available. This feature is more likely to muddy the 
SSID+MAC-to-location database, as all these 'hotspots' become indexed at such a wide 
variety of places that it will resemble the song "I've been everywhere, man". Trying 
to determine a location on the basis that one of these is within range is likely to 
become extremely misleading.

Paul.