TAPIRE, Princess Bituin H.

3Bio1
Computer Assignment

3. The location of digital devices can be pinpointed using three different, but complementary,
technologies: GPS, cell-tower triangulation, and WPS. Use wikipedia and other online resources to
explore these technologies. How would you describe each technology?

Tracking is either useful or creepy. The thought of someone is stalking or following your activities
is really a bit creepy, but in times of emergency situations tracking is one of the very helpful thing.
Privacy is a very sensitive issue when it comes to tracking but its a consequence to everyone that
once you enter the online world your location is already at risk regarding of what you are posting.
The technology makes it easier to track your location and other information with your handheld
devices using three different, but complementary technologies: GPS, cell-tower triangulation and
WPS.

GPS or Global Positioning Satellites is the most accurate than the three but it is not available on all
devices. It is not available on first generation phones, only on devices with 3G data connections.
GPS reads microwave signals from multiple satellites to determine the current location. The catch is
that GPS takes longer to find satellites; it uses more battery and doesnt work well indoors.

Cell-tower triangulation determines the current location by doing a calculation based on the
locations of the cell tower in the phones range. Cell-Tower Triangulation can be more accurate in
areas with more cell tower density and becomes less accurate in areas with greater distance between
towers. In short, the more tower involved, the more accurate the location.

WPS determine your location using the WIFI access points around you. The advantage in this
method is that it works well indoors. The phone doesnt have to connect to the WIFI network in
order to be located rather the WIFI radio in the phoned only needs to be on.

Actually, all these methods really eat up a lot of battery usage so its up to you if youre into
tracking.