Wireless Home Networking - Index of

Chapter 19: More Than Ten Devices to Connect to Your Wireless Network
Having wireless fun with geocaching
Geocaching is an entertaining adventure game
based around the GPS technology. It’s basically
a wireless treasure hunt. The idea is to have individuals
and organizations set up caches all over
the world; the GPS locations are then posted on
the Internet, and GPS users seek the caches.
Once they’re found, some sort of reward may be
there; the only rule is that if you take something
from the cache, you need to leave something
behind for others to find later. Check out what
caches are near you: www.geocaching.com.
Want to find out more about GPS? Visit a couple
of fun GPS tracking (pun intended!) sites, such
as www.gps-practice-and-fun.com and www.
gpsinformation.net.
A technology of great impact in our lifetime is GPS, which is increasingly being
built into cars, cell phones, devices, and clothing. GPS equipment and chips
are so cheap that you will find them everywhere. They’re used in amusement
parks to help keep track of your kids. There are already prototypes of GPSenabled
shoes (the initial application has been to protect prostitutes).
Most GPS-driven applications have software that enables you to interpret
the GPS results. You can grab a Web tablet at home while on your couch,
wirelessly surf to the tracking Web site, and determine where Fido (or Fred)
is located. Want to see whether your spouse’s car is heading home from work
yet? Grab your PDA as you walk down the street, log on to a nearby hot spot,
and check it out. Many applications are also being ported to cell phones, so
you can use those wireless devices to find out what’s going on.
GPS-based devices — primarily in a watch or lanyard-hung form factor —
are available that can track people.
Many perimeter-oriented child-safety devices emit an alarm if your child
wanders outside an adjustable safety zone (such as wanders away from you
in the mall). For instance, the GigaAir Child Tracking system ($190) is a
two-piece, battery-powered system that consists of a clip-on unit worn by
the child and a second pager-size unit carried by the parent or guardian.
The safety perimeter is set by the parent and can be as little as 10 feet and as
much as 75 feet. The alarm tone also acts as a homing device to help a parent
and child find each other after it has gone off — important for those subway
rush hours in New York City. Many other person-locator products are on
the market, such as a more removal-resistant unit from ionKids (www.brick
housesecurity.com/vbsik.html, $200) and a GPS Kid Locator Tracker
Backpack (www.spyshops.ca, $900).
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