Ex-Garmin worker charged with $1M in GPS thefts

A former employee of Garmin International has been charged with stealing more than $1 million worth of GPS devices from the Kansas-based company.

The U.S. Attorney's office says 31-year-old Terrence M. Heathington, who now lives in Atlanta, was indicted Wednesday on 40 counts of mail fraud.

Heathington worked from March to September 2008 as a Garmin warehouse material handler in Olathe, where the company is headquartered.

The indictment alleges he caused about 165 cases of stolen GPS devices to be shipped to his home and those of co-conspirators. The devices were then sold on eBay and elsewhere.

In addition to the criminal charges, prosecutors are also seeking a forfeiture judgment.

No phone listing could be found for Heathington in Georgia, and court records do not list a defense attorney.

Geofencing: Bringing Context and Value to User Engagements

Geofencing can take many forms, and has been used extensively
by vehicle tracking systems and mobile resource managers
as early as 2001 to send out alerts when vehicles enter or leave
a particular geofenced location.

As reported by the SmartData Collective: After the web 2.0 revolution, the Internet is now poised to make its next big transition. Concepts like the Internet of Things (IoT) and M2M technology will connect the physical world with the online world, and as we find ourselves in this transitional phase, it is becoming more and more apparent that geofencing will also be a component of this next revolution.

Wikipedia defines a geo-fence as a “virtual perimeter for a real world geographic area”. But it’s core objective goes beyond defining a physical boundary; it provides businesses and marketers with the to deliver location-specific content and personalized information to a mobile user and a precise moment in time.

The meteoric success of Foursquare has inspired industry juggernauts like Facebook, Google and Twitter to deliver elaborate location-based services for their users. They intend to inject some social relevance and context into the geotagged information recorded within their massive platforms.

The impact of geofencing campaigns has already seen immensely positive marketing and lead gen results for many businesses, which have witnessed nearly a doubling of ad click-through-rates from timely and location driven offers. The prospect of serving the right user with the right information at the right time is the next big initiative for all businesses with an online presence and cannot be ignored.

So let us take an in-depth look into the 4 essential points every marketing manager and researcher should consider before jumping on the geofencing bandwagon:

Developing Engaging Content
Although geofencing can fetch you web traffic numbers you always dreamed of, the onus of retaining attention is still on you. Hence, the creativity and value in your content should be of the highest priority in order to ensure that the targeted users become active participants in your campaign.

Prioritizing Data Integration
The best way to capitalize on geofencing campaigns is to understand how to leverage the data aggregated from your users and identify further diverse demographics.

By charting down user feedback, historical consumption and user engagements across various stages of your marketing campaign, you can accordingly restructure your business model to appease all segments of your user base.

Address the Privacy Concerns of Users
Users have a legitimate concern when it comes to privacy issues, and since geofencing campaigns are reliant to a major extent on user permissions, it is critical for companies to tread carefully.

Marketers must recognize the compromise in user privacy as a privilege that must not be exploited by creating intrusive user permission protocols that users may be highly skeptical to opt for.

Drawing an Accurate Geofencing Perimeter
Before you start laying down strategies for your geofencing marketing campaigns, it is essential to identify the ideal coverage area for targeting. The dimensions of your geofencing perimeter are imperative in determining the number of customers you can draw to a particular location.

If marketers are able to follow these steps, then they’ll be able to fully take advantage of users who are in a particular location at a particular time. Ultimately, users can sign up for smartphone alerts from their favorite brands and receive instant alerts on events and offers they can check out at the nearest outlets at their convenience. This is the power of location data, geofencing and how we as businesses will draw context from the immensely growing number of data points available.

Electrifying Infrastructure: Conductive Concrete Brings Smart Cities Closer

Electrified concrete roadways could be used for deicing or to
sense when infrastructure is cracking or in need of repairs.

As reported by Txchnologist: Decking out infrastructure with wires and sensors is the goal of many future-leaning urban planners and architects who are working to realize the dream of a true smart city. Now, the interconnected hyper-reality of interactive skins on buildings and bridges that signal when they need fixing is moving one step closer to fruition.

Several research groups have developed and patented unique formulas for electrically conductive concrete, which could deice roadways, sense when infrastructure needs repairs or even create cyber-secure buildings.

Just add water
Concrete typically has three main ingredients: cement, water and an aggregate, which is usually stone. But start playing around with that recipe, and the final product will have interesting properties. Add in a conductive aggregate - like materials science wunderkind graphene - and you’ve got electrically conductive concrete. The formula can be tweaked depending on the material’s intended use.

Here are a few applications for conductive concrete that researchers are investigating:

Hold the ice
One Canadian research group envisions the new concrete being employed in roads, sidewalks and bridges to melt dangerous ice, and to heat the floors of homes.

The invention is being developed around the world - and has been for several years. But it’s been the subject of intensive investigation at the Building Envelope and Structure research group at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), a country with particularly harsh winters. The NRC has already patented and proven the technology in small-scale applications.

According to NRC’s Rick Zaporzan, their material’s applications go beyond deicing and heating. “With a few tweaks, it can be used for developing a crack-detection system if it’s hooked up to proper sensors that can monitor and interpret that data,” he says.

That’s a useful application, considering that in the United States alone, one in nine bridges is structurally deficient, according to Transportation for America.

Cyber-secure buildings
Electrified concrete can block electromagnetic signals, which means that if it is used to insulate a building, no information could get in or out.

But what about catching an Internet signal? “A building could be electronically secured and still have Wi-Fi,” says Zaporzan. “This is already done in, for example, military shelters. But the concrete is quicker, more effective and less costly than other ways of shielding a building.”

Blocking unwanted electromagnetic signals is useful beyond creating cyber-secure buildings, explains Zaporzan. It can also shield individual objects within buildings. “The concrete can also be used to protect extremely sensitive medical equipment, and that’s a huge application,” he says.

Laying the foundation
How long until electric concrete is available on the market? “It could be commercialized within one to two years, but we need industry partners,” Zaporzan says. “These partners could be anybody who wants to take their product further, from building or bridge owners, medical equipment manufacturers, or architects and urban designers.”

There are a few limitations to the technology, such as its power source. Hardwiring the concrete to the power grid is, to date, the best option. That means that heating up an entire highway isn't practical, but heating up particularly vulnerable stretches or parts of a bridge is.

But as Zaporzan says, “Anything is possible if you can create enough power. There are so many energy options available, from wind power to hydrogen fuel cells, solar and regenerative power. Down the road, heating up an entire highway is in the realm of the possible.”

Remote texter can be held liable for distracted driver’s crash, appeals court rules

The NJ appeals court ruled that a remote 'texter' can be held liable
to third parties for injuries if they knowingly sent texts to someone
driving a vehicle - with the expectation that they would read them
while driving.

As reported by ABA Journal: In a case of first impression, a New Jersey appeals court has held that a remote texter can be held liable to third parties for injuries caused when the distracted driver has an accident.

However, that is only true if the individual sending the texts from another location knew they were being viewed by the recipient as he or she was driving. And, in the case at bar, the trial court correctly held that insufficient knowledge was shown to defeat a motion for summary judgment by the defendant texter, 17-year-old Shannon Colonna, the Appellate Division of New Jersey Superior Court ruled. An accident that caused serious injury to two motorcyclists occurred within less than 30 seconds of when phone records show the driver, 18-year-old Kyle Best, last received a text from her.

"We conclude that a person sending text messages has a duty not to text someone who is driving if the texter knows, or has special reason to know, the recipient will view the text while driving," explains the court in a Tuesday opinion. (PDF). "But we also conclude that plaintiffs have not presented sufficient evidence to prove that Colonna had such knowledge when she texted Best immediately before the accident."

There was no evidence that Colonna "actively encouraged" Best to text her while he was driving, the court said, and "Colonna did not have a special relationship with Best by which she could control his conduct," the appellate panel said.

Colonna had sent two texts to Best on the September 2009 afternoon when the accident occurred, and the other one was sent about two hours before the accident. The content of the messages isn't known, the court noted.

"Even if a reasonable inference can be drawn that she sent messages requiring responses, the act of sending such messages, by itself, is not active encouragement that the recipient read the text and respond immediately, that is, while driving and in violation of the law."

The claims of the plaintiffs, David and Linda Kubert, against the driver were previously settled.

“Kill Switch” for Stolen Smartphones and Tablets Planned for 2014

'Kill switches' include a feature that would allow users
to permanently disable their phone if lost or stolen in order
to protect access to their data, as well as phone usage.

As reported by Android Community: This isn't the first time we've heard the term “kill switch” when talking about smartphones. Samsung has talked about it in the past, and now some new reports from the Wall Street Journal is stirring things up again. This new anti-theft system looks to finally curb a massive and growing problem, and it’s already in some devices already.

Stolen phones are a huge problem, and has only increased severely with iPhone and Android phones in nearly every persons hand. The “kill switch” would reportedly make the device completely unusable, which would make stealing ones device rather useless. I like this idea already.

It's estimated that 113 cell phones are lost or
stolen every minute in the U.S. alone.

Smartphone theft has reportedly jumped nearly 500% from 2009, and isn't showing any signs of slowing down, so something surely needs to be done. Swapping the SIM card, wiping the phone, or even flashing new firmware wouldn't get around this “kill switch” and the point of stealing a device would be gone. It’s a big move, and something we've seen and heard before.

The folks from Apple have Find my iPhone, and Google’s recently launched a similar service for Android, although it only finds it. Not to mention Pantech started offering this kill switch on all their devices earlier this year. For now we don’t have exact details, but the WSJ reports that both Samsung and LG could introduce this with all their phones moving forward starting in early 2014.

It's estimated that 113 cell phones are lost or stolen every minute in the U.S. and that $7 million worth of smartphones are lost daily.

Keeping the 'kill' process speedy but secure will be the biggest issue, so that hackers or other entities are not able to kill your phone without your permission - while limiting access to the phone till you are sure you want to permanently disable the device.

How to turn Construction Equipment Telematics Data into Actionable Information

With cloud-computing, data collected in the field
can be automatically imported into other software
applications using API's and web services.

As reported by Equipment World: Technology continues to evolve and the latest innovations are changing the way construction and equipment managers work. Job sites are more connected than ever, and advances in telematics provide real-time data on equipment usage and location.

While telematics technology is not new to the industry, its adoption (or, current lack thereof) is one that some are calling vital to successful construction companies.

But how successful a company, and more specifically an equipment manager, is with using telematics is a matter of doing something with all the data.

Information Overload 
Possibly the biggest benefit of telematics is that you do get a lot of data. However, this data is not necessarily translated into information that can easily help you make decisions.

While real-time statistics on equipment usage and location monitoring is vital to an equipment manager’s job, the sheer volume of data can be overwhelming. Without a software system for equipment management that provides filtering, organization, and analysis, data is just data and fails to provide the information needed to make important fleet decisions.

Incomplete data 
Consistent data tells a complete story, such as which pieces of equipment were used where, and for how long. But when there are inconsistencies or missing data, you get holes in your fleet’s story. It is the rare contractor that has the same brand of vehicles with the exact same telematics device.

With varying devices and reporting capabilities, equipment managers only have some of the data some of the time, not all of the data, all of the time for every piece of equipment.

Utilizing limited data is sustainable for the management of individual pieces on a short-term basis, but not the long term management of entire fleets of equipment. Standardized data across all pieces of equipment can be turned into useful information that lets you know your fleet’s average utility, size, and make up, and that helps you make decisions such as whether to adjust your fleet’s average age or if you should be buying or leasing equipment.

With potential holes in the data, equipment managers can’t make good decisions, begging the need for a complement to telematics.

The rest of the story 
Even when data is distilled into useful information, equipment managers may not have a full understanding of their fleet’s performance. Telematics gives you data points that tell you the operating statistics of a piece of equipment. Where was it? How long did it run? How much fuel did it consume?

But this doesn't tell you why your equipment is operating in its current state. Maybe a component is broken because regular maintenance hasn't been performed or more fuel is being consumed than previous reports.

Outside influences, such as weather conditions, job site terrain and preventive maintenance activities aren't recorded with telematics. Equipment managers end up investigating on their own the answers to these why questions.

By having additional systems in the field for contextual data entry, there isn't a need to play detective—you get the why not just the what.

Complementary Equipment Software 
Even though telematics provide significant amounts of data, having a way to turn that data into information is necessary for obtaining all of the benefits of telematics. This is where complementary equipment software becomes vital to making equipment decisions.

Whether you have separate equipment management software or it is tied into a larger ERP system, the latest in construction software technology allows for the easy import and export of all of your data.

With cloud-computing, data collected in the field can be automatically imported into another software application using web services. And true cloud-based software is usable on any device, which means that your field employees can enter supporting information to tell the complete story of your fleet’s usage.

America's biggest rocket launches spy satellite

A United Launch Alliance Delta 4 Heavy rocket lifts off from
Vandenberge Air Force Base in California on Wednesday,
carrying the NROL-65 spy satellie into space.

As reported by NBC News: The United States' largest rocket launched a spy satellite on a hush-hush mission Wednesday.

An unmanned Delta 4-Heavy rocket lifted off the pad at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base at 2:03 p.m. ET (11:03 p.m. PT) Wednesday, carrying a classified payload into a polar orbit for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.

"Today's launch is dedicated to the men and women who serve for our nation's freedom," a commentator said a few minutes into the liftoff.

It's unclear what intelligence the spacecraft, which is known as NROL-65, (now known as USA-245) will collect as it zips around our planet. Because of the clandestine nature of the mission, it entered a planned media blackout about seven minutes after liftoff.

While details of the mission are classified, numerous independent analysts identified it as a KH-11 reconnaissance satellite.  KH-11 satellites are typically used to provide high-resolution optical and infrared imagery for US intelligence agencies.

'Truly honored'
"We are truly honored to deliver this critical asset to orbit," said Jim Sponnick, United Launch Alliance vice president for the Atlas and Delta programs. "The ULA Delta 4 Heavy is currently the world's largest rocket, providing the nation with reliable, proven heavy-lift capability for our country’s national security payloads from both the east and west coasts."

The Delta 4 Heavy, built by ULA and first flown in 2004, is the biggest and most powerful American rocket in operation today. The 235-foot-tall (72-meter) launcher generates about 2 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, according to ULA officials.  This is still less than 1/2 of the payload mass that was capable of being launched by the Space Shuttle (2,040,000 kg).

Wednesday's launch managed to stay on schedule despite the difficulties imposed by the automatic federal budget cuts known as sequestration, which went into effect March 1. The liftoff marked the 364th flight of a Delta rocket overall, and the 24th for the Delta 4 family. Delta 4 rockets have now lifted eight payloads into space for the NRO, which builds and operates the nation's spy satellites.

Bigger rockets on the way
While the Delta 4 Heavy is the current American heavyweight rocket champ, several other vehicles on the horizon will be even more powerful. For example, NASA is building a giant rocket called the Space Launch System to send astronauts toward asteroids, Mars and other destinations in deep space.

The first incarnation of SLS will stand 321 feet (98 meters) tall and carry up to 70 metric tons of payload. But NASA plans to develop a 384-foot-tall (117-meter-tall) "evolved" version that would be capable of blasting 130 metric tons into space, making it the most powerful rocket ever built.

The SLS is designed to launch a crew capsule called Orion, which is also in development. The rocket and capsule are slated to fly together for the first time during an unmanned test run in 2017, with the first crewed mission expected to come in 2021.

Orion will be ready to fly before the SLS is up and running. Orion's first test flight is scheduled to take place in 2014, when NASA will use a Delta 4 Heavy to send an uncrewed Orion out to a distance of 3,700 miles (6,000 kilometers) from Earth — farther than any spacecraft built for humans has traveled since the Apollo program ended in 1972.

The private spaceflight company SpaceX is also working on a big rocket, which it calls the Falcon Heavy. That launcher, which is expected to fly for the first time in 2014, will produce nearly 4 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, SpaceX officials say.