Comment Re:What privacy concerns? (Score 4, Informative) 293
Indeed, this issue is occuring with greater frequency today than it was 5 years ago. My company does mobile data and part of the data we send is GPS location information. Much of the union and non-union labor (this isn't just an AFL/CIO issue) who drive a vehicle with a GPS installed don't like the idea. Until they find out why they have it.
A police department had GPSs installed in their vehicles as part of their computer dispatching system and the cops always grumbled that the chief could see where they were and that it wasn't right. Then one of the officers got shot on the job. He hit his panic button, the dispatcher (and every other cop on the city!) knew exactly where he was within 2 seconds. They got the bad guy (life in jail, what fun) and saved the one cop's life. Did they apso-positivly love GPS after that? Yeah, a lot.
And I can tell you similiar stories from the commercial sector, too. The point is that anyone will think it's intrusive until they see why there is a direct benefit to themselves as part of this system.
Consider this -- there are members of the Amateur Radio community that get excited by the prospect of sharing their position information on the internet. They can see a benefit.
Once you get beyond the "you're trying to screw me over" arguement, things get better and you just live with it. (As an aside, most union contracts specify that the company will dictate what equipment the employee will use, so there's not much to grieve about when you're driving a truck with a GPS in it).
A police department had GPSs installed in their vehicles as part of their computer dispatching system and the cops always grumbled that the chief could see where they were and that it wasn't right. Then one of the officers got shot on the job. He hit his panic button, the dispatcher (and every other cop on the city!) knew exactly where he was within 2 seconds. They got the bad guy (life in jail, what fun) and saved the one cop's life. Did they apso-positivly love GPS after that? Yeah, a lot.
And I can tell you similiar stories from the commercial sector, too. The point is that anyone will think it's intrusive until they see why there is a direct benefit to themselves as part of this system.
Consider this -- there are members of the Amateur Radio community that get excited by the prospect of sharing their position information on the internet. They can see a benefit.
Once you get beyond the "you're trying to screw me over" arguement, things get better and you just live with it. (As an aside, most union contracts specify that the company will dictate what equipment the employee will use, so there's not much to grieve about when you're driving a truck with a GPS in it).
