That's right, part of the data package it delivers to Palm includes your GPS location, according to Joey Hess, on top of ever webOS app you use, and how long you use it:

The first thing sent is intended to be my GPS location. It's the same location I get if I open the map app on the Pre. Not very accurate in this case, but I've seen it be accurate enough to find my house before.

{ "errorCode": 0, "timestamp": 1249855555954.000000, "latitude": 36.594108, "longitude": -82.183260, "horizAccuracy": 2523, "heading": 0, "velocity": 0, "altitude": 0, "vertAccuracy": 0 }

Which their privacy policy totally allows.

Pre Central makes the most out of the info, breaking down their privacy policy and who they're allowed to share it with.

Palm will most definitely be attempting to "clear up" this bit of information, but in the meantime, what's apparent is that the Pre uploads your GPS location to Palm to the best of its ability, and that's just feels a little creepy, even if we're all totally used to broadcasting our location all the time anyway.

Update: As expected, Palm comes through with a clarification, via PhoneScoop:

"Palm takes privacy very seriously, and offers users ways to turn data collecting services on and off. Our privacy policy is like many policies in the industry and includes very detailed language about potential scenarios in which we might use a customer's information, all toward a goal of offering a great user experience. For instance, when location based services are used, we collect their information to give them relevant local results in Google Maps. We appreciate the trust that users give us with their information, and have no intention to violate that trust." [emphasis ours]

As Eric notes, they don't exactly mention how to opt out, though. But yes, ordinary enough. [Joey Hess, Pre Central]

The justification for this action is that if kids have structured upbringings, they won't get sucked into street crime and drugs. And because the housing is subsidized, the government isn't technically putting cameras in private homes; these are public homes.

But still, the precedent this sets is terrifying. This is the definition of a nanny state, a government that doesn't trust its citizens to live their lives autonomously so it sticks its nose into every little aspect of them for their own good.

Really, I think this can all be traced back to the Children's Secretary, Ed Balls. I mean, obviously Mr. Balls was mocked mercilessly as a child for his hilarious name. But really, Balls, do you have to take it out on the children of Britain? [Daily Express via Gadget Lab]

Now a class action lawsuit has been filed that seeks punitive damages for those affected by the deletion as well as an injunction that forbids Amazon from improperly accessing Kindles in the future. Granted, after the fallout and subsequent Bezos apology, there probably wasn't much risk of Amazon crossing the line again. Still, I agree that they had this coming.

Again, the fact that Orwell's 1984 is at the center of all of this controversy is one of those delicious coincidences that is impossible to ignore. [Trading Markets]

The powerful demo actually proves that facial data mining—real, accurate facial data mining—is coming to a Big Brother video search engine near you. The demo even does facial recognition from the side, as well as the obvious full-frontal we'd expect such an endeavor would have. "Non-frontal tracks" are planned for the future. Everything you see presented in the link was generated autonomously by the software, say the Carnegie Mellon folks.

Fun side game to play with this software: Spot the red shirts!

Note: There's no sound in the clips because of copyright restrictions. [Face Mining via Slashdot]

It wouldn't matter if you ran the light or were driving conscientiously. The proposed system would exploit both existing stoplight cameras and general security cameras to scan your plate and hand it over to the InsureNet database. If InsureNet discovered that you were lacking insurance, you'd receive a $300-$500 ticket in the mail.

The system is anticipated to raise yearly earnings "well in excess" of $100 million (possibly even double that figure or more), with InsureNet taking a modest 30% for their services. Of course, all of this cash would be contingent on uninsured drivers actually paying their fines. [Chicago Sun-Times via ars technica and Getty]

I guess it shouldn't be too shocking coming from a country with a Censorship Minister, but this is still pretty ridiculous. Said minister Stephen Conroy posted on his department's blog recently that they were planning to test new filters to block BitTorrent traffic country-wide.

Australians, what do you have to say about this? Why are you electing jackasses like this that are turning your country into a less productive version of China? [Slashdot via News.com.au]

After all that, you've gotta wait through a one-hour holding time. And I didn't even get to use my visa for a student discount. So the sad fact of the matter is that the UK is hardly exceptional in its attempt to track everyone who buys a mobile phone, and I expect it to increasingly be the case—don't be surprised when this particular aspect of Big Brother is imported stateside. After all, can't have no crim'nals or turrists running around with cellphones, and a big database of everyone that legitimately buys one will totally cut off their access. [Times Online via The Raw Feed]

As anyone who's been to Japan knows, there are vending machines all over the place there, especially in the cities. They're on every block and ever corner, offering up hot coffee in a can and cigarettes whenever you need them. The next generation of vending machines, as first released on Friday, will also include a security camera, an emergency phone and an alarm.

The camera will be a CCTV camera accessed by the police department. When the door to the emergency phone is opened, an alarm on the top of the machine starts going off, alerting those around you that you're in trouble.

With only the first machine being installed a few days ago, there's already been a backlash against it, with someone tearing off the camera and spraypainting "Surveillance Society" on the machine.

Will these machines catch on, slowly replacing the thousands of vending machine already spread across Japan, or will the people there stand up against becoming another country where privacy takes a backseat to security? Time will tell. [JapanProbe]

The first Android phone is dropping next week, and the people who pick it up will be toting around mobile Google software in their pocket wherever they go. They'll be using mobile Google apps, probably in concert with using Gmail, Gcal and Google Maps on their normal computer. We know that Google is tossing out all user data after 9 months, but you've got to wonder what kind of a picture Google is getting of its heavy users like that when it's only getting info from how its apps are used. After the jump, an imagined day in the life of a Google user, as recorded and perceived by the Googleplex itself.

07:36:04: Application — Gmail
User reads 1 new emails
Keywords: dinner, match.com, reply, date

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male/Female

07:43:38: Application — Search
Search Term: italian restaurant upper east side manhattan
Search Term: italian restaurant upper east side manhattan cheap
Search Term: creampies

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker

08:31:17: Application — Gmail
User sends 1 new email
Keywords: dinner, meet, Ford Fiesta

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income

08:40:03: Application — Search
Search Term: vern troyer sex tape

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist

11:01:12: Application — Google Reader
Feed read: Gizmodo
Feed read: Kotaku
Feed read: Cute Overload
Feed read: Gothamist
Feed read: Gizmodo
Feed read: Kottke
Feed read: Boing Boing
Feed read: Fleshbot

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller

12:14:30: Application — Google Maps Mobile
Search Term: SuperCuts
Near: Current Location

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate

12:59:08: Application — Mobile Search
Search Term: slimming pants

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure

13:01:56: Application — Google Maps Mobile
Search Term: H&M
Near: Current Location

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy

13:42:12: Application — Google Maps Mobile
Search Term: Florist
Near: Current Location

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy, Unimaginative

14:19:31: Application — Search
Search Term: dating tips
Search Term: first dates
Search Term: halitosis cure
Search Term: bang bus

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy, Unimaginative, Virgin

14:55:00: Application — GCal
Reminder: Sales Meeting in Five Minutes Sent via: Text

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy, Unimaginative, Virgin, Boring Job Holder

17:13:49: Application — Google Reader
Feed read: Gizmodo
Feed read: Fleshbot

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy, Unimaginative, Virgin, Boring Job Holder, Porn Addict

18:51:10: Application — Google Maps Mobile
Start Location: Current Location
End Location: Olive Garden

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy, Unimaginative, Virgin, Boring Job Holder, Porn Addict, Fat, Not Italian

19:15:03: Application — Mobile Gmail
User sends 1 new email
Keywords: date, forgot, still here

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy, Unimaginative, Virgin, Boring Job Holder, Porn Addict, Fat, Not Italian, Pathetic

19:20:41: Application — Mobile Gmail
User reads 0 new emails

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy, Unimaginative, Virgin, Porn Addict, Fat, Not Italian, So Pathetic

19:26:11: Application — Mobile Gmail
User reads 0 new emails

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy, Unimaginative, Virgin, Porn Addict, Fat, Not Italian, So Pathetic, Desperate

19:31:55: Application — Mobile Gmail
User reads 0 new emails

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy, Unimaginative, Virgin, Porn Addict, Fat, Not Italian, So Pathetic, So Desperate

19:40:21: Application — Google Maps Mobile
Search Term: Strip Club
Near: Current Location

Current Demographic Profile: Benny Goldman

The ad aired on September 11 on CBS' “Big Brother” reality show. It's funnier than the first and you get to see Jerry clip his toenails and Bill do the robot, but as a Windows user, I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to think about this. “Looks like Macs aren't the only thing catering specifically to East and West coast elitists?” [ZDNet]

Part of the US National Geospatial Intelligence Agency NextView program, the SUV-sized GeoEye-1 launched yesterday in a Delta II 7326 rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California—without exploding. Hours later, GeoEye's ground station in Norway confirmed that the rocket had delivered its payload right on target. The satellite was alive, fully armed and operational on its 423-mile orbit above the Earth.

Built by General Dynamics, the GeoEye-1 is equipped with a next-generation camera made by ITT. This camera can easily distinguish objects 16 inches long, with 11-bits per pixel color. In other words: this thing can see the color of your shorts. It will be up there, looking at your pants every single day, the time it takes for it to complete one orbit. And it will keep doing that for more than ten years, its expected life.

Of course, there's nothing new here until you notice the huge Google logo on the rocket, signaling the fact that Sergei and Larry own the exclusive rights to the GeoEye-1 images. Yes, no other company will be able to access this information, only Google. And they will be there, available for the public in Google Maps and Google Earth.

But don't fret, tin-foil hatters, because Google won't be able to access the highest resolution images because of US government regulations. Sure, the other guys will, but then again, their big bad satellites can see closer than this one. Still, you can rest safe that your underpants will be safe from public scrutiny. For now. Unless you do like me and keep flashing them around. [GeoEye, Wikipedia, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency via Cnet]

The seizable items list is almost a formality, since it basically means "everything:"

The policies cover "any device capable of storing information in digital or analog form," including hard drives, flash drives, cell phones, iPods, pagers, beepers, and video and audio tapes. They also cover "all papers and other written documentation," including books, pamphlets and "written materials commonly referred to as 'pocket trash' or 'pocket litter.' "

Granted, I would not be too surprised to find out that most countries with semi-hardened borders have similar policies. And Homeland Security claims that the guidelines for information seizures at the border have "long been in place" but came to light last month because of "public interest in the matter" (which doesn't make it any less of a big deal). Still, it's a little Iron Curtain-esque, don't you think? US senators like Russell Feingold are understandably pissed, and hoping to soften the policies through legislation. [Washington Post]

The email came from Frank Eliason, whom the NY Times has a great story on this morning. He's a Comcast rep who constantly monitors blogs, forums, Twitter, Facebook comments and everything in between for gripes about Comcast, then responds directly to the complainer to "clear the air." He's done this well over a thousand times in the 7 months he's been on the job.

Direct one-on-one service sure beats spending days of your life on hold with support only to find there's no cable being run to your house, and definitely no hard feelings for Frank, who is just doing his job and doing it well it sounds like, but leave it to Comcast to instill what could be a good thing with such overt Orwellian creepiness. [New York Times]

The plans for the new database are currently being drafted up and may be proposed for inclusion in the draft Communications Bill later this year. While many of the types of politicians you'd expect are behind it, a number of others are, thankfully, vehemently against it. They're against it not because of the basic violation of citizens' privacy that would come from such an action, however. Instead, they point to the UK government's lousy track record with data security as a security threat great than whatever threats they'd be stopping by being able to look up those emails of you flirting with the girl you met at the office Christmas party. It's another really strong argument against giving governments overreaching powers to spy on their citizens.

Hopefully, the people of England will get properly angry and vocal against this plan, keeping it from ever becoming a reality. The next step, after all, will be the thought police, and at that point it's really too late. [BBC via Boing Boing]

Contrary to our previous report, the Micro Air Vehicle is still pending FAA testing but "is expected to make its debut soon in the skies over the Florida Everglades."

Honeywell's MAVs, which are now being used in Iraq and Afghanistan, are not the only ones waiting for FAA permission. There are dozen of companies making all kinds of spy drones now, among them Cyber Defense Systems, which has a kite-sized surveillance drone that has been already flown once by the police in Palm Bay, also in Florida. [Reuters]

The camera is called the T5000, and it sees objects based on the Terahertz, or T-rays, that they emit. The camera works because all people and objects emit low-level electromagnetic radiation. Every material emits a different signature of Terahertz wave, which lies between infrared and microwaves on the electromagnetic spectrum. That means it can tell the difference between cocaine and flour but won't show the distinct outline of your danglers.

It's all well and good, but with the camera working from over 80 feet away you've got to wonder how long it'll be before a city starts installing these cameras on the street and arresting anybody walking around with drugs in their pockets. Where is the privacy line drawn? Will that make people safer or just make it feel like we're living in a totalitarian police state? It's tricky. Boy, I can't wait. The future is now, and it's unsettling! [Reuters]

The commish—who seems entirely too hot on this project—wants them "everywhere on the beaches and parking" except bathrooms (hmm...), because "anything that deters that kind of activity is going to be good." Los Angeles uses the Big Bro FlashCAMs as well—to stop vandalism, not dudes boinking. [Palm Beach Post via The Raw Feed]