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Technology Stocks : Apple Tankwatch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: zax who wrote (4046)	4/24/2011 6:06:56 PM
From: Cogito	Respond to of 32692

>>What would you think of it, if it is found out that Apple is transmitting your realtime and or complete location history in the form of GPS tracking data, to their headquarters?<< That would depend on whether or not personally identifying information was included. If it were, I might have a problem with it, but then that would depend upon what was being done with the information. Remember that we're talking about a hypothetical case, since there's no evidence that I've seen that suggests Apple is downloading this information from my computer or my phone. Targeted advertising would seem to be the only possible use that Apple could make of such data, and that's hard to get too worked up about. I can't even imagine a reason Apple would want to know where I, personally, have been over the past year, nor why they would want to know that about any other person. And even if they did, I don't know how I or anyone else might come to harm as a result of their having that information. BTW, my understanding is that the location data used to build the consolidated.db file is not derived from the iPhone's GPS system. I believe the people who discovered the file said that it's built from cell-tower and WiFi network information, which makes it a bit less accurate. Listen, you're the one that believes Apple is malicious and evil. I'm don't. I can understand that you would be more upset about this location thing than I will ever manage to be. I think Apple just wants to make a bunch of money selling computers, gadgets, software, and services. Of course, part of the reason you think this is a big deal is that you are automatically assuming the worst. I would need some evidence of wrongdoing.

To: zax who wrote (4046)	4/24/2011 9:36:54 PM
From: pyslent	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 32692

"What would you think of it, if it is found out that Apple is transmitting your realtime and or complete location history in the form of GPS tracking data, to their headquarters?" There's nothing fundamentally wrong with that in my eyes. Google does it for me and I don't mind because I know some of the things they are doing with it: aggregating it to calculate real time trafic for maps and using it to improve their Skyhook-like database, which depends on correlations location with tower and/or wifi connection data. My problem with Apple having the same information is that I don't know what they are doing with it and I'm not aware of any way users are benefitting from it.