GPSWeb Extension for Mozilla Firebird Opens Possibilities for Location-Specific Web Services

Wednesday December 24th, 2003

Davide wrote in to tell us about GPSWeb 0.1.2, an add-on for Mozilla Firebird that adds a User-Location header to every HTTP request containing the user's current position as determined by the Global Positioning System. Sites can then use this data to provide location-specific services, such as supplying directions to the nearest restaurant. The extension requires the user to have some GPS hardware connected to their computer (Davide tested GPSWeb with the Garmin E-Trex) and the GPSd Java daemon, which parses the data supplied by the GPS unit, to be running.

#15 Re: Re: Re: What?

by davide71

Friday December 26th, 2003 3:32 AM

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In fact GPSWeb gives the user the power to turn on/off the user location header only when and where he wants. I think this is a fair use of position information because the user has a complete control on them. On the other hand, the mapping between IP and location is a "big brother" stuff and at all events is the inference of a data (the position) from another data (the IP number) that today follows the rule "ISP assign x.y.z.u to location K" but in the future new IP protocols could arise where ISP cannot do that way.