That new blue dot on google maps

So the thing is pretty accurate, it's quite amazing, and scary.

if you don't know what i'm talking about google maps now has this show my location button, and it works with desktop systems without the aid of any gps/cell tower information. I don't understand.

we should use this so our member map isn't full of gaytards that live in yemen and easter island

for me it just got vague vicinity, actually.

in fact it just centered on the city i lived in, zoomed way out. not even sure if it pinned me down there, or if it just was trying to say "southeast wisconsin."

not impressed!

explained here

http://www.google.com/support/chrome/bin/answer.py?answer=142065&hl=en

i don't see it?

It's above the zoom control.

ah, thanks...good way to test that my vpn is working properly, according to google i'm in kansas city lol

it got mine to within about 10 feet. that's kinda scary.

it doesn't work for me from my desktop (which is plugged into my router by ethernet), however it works just fine for my Nexus S that is connected by WiFi to the exact same router (GPS and A-GPS turned off)

Accurate to a few meters!

off by two houses. fucking useless. lol

  On 1/8/2011 at 11:08 AM, Coalbucket PI said:

explained here

http://www.google.com/support/chrome/bin/answer.py?answer=142065&hl=en

yeah i read that before i posted but I still don't get how it can use my neighbor's wi-fi routers/modems to pin point a location.

  On 1/8/2011 at 8:56 PM, GORDO said:

  On 1/8/2011 at 11:08 AM, Coalbucket PI said:

explained here

http://www.google.com/support/chrome/bin/answer.py?answer=142065&hl=en

 

yeah i read that before i posted but I still don't get how it can use my neighbor's wi-fi routers/modems to pin point a location.

because both Google and Skyhook Wireless have driven around pretty much everywhere in the western world and have logged the MAC addresses and SSIDs of routers that publicly broadcast that information (please note, this is not illegal to do) and have noted the lat/long coordinates for those details.

this information, in certain circumstances can be better than GPS for a location fix, especially in heavily built-up areas with tall skyscrapers due to the fact that GPS signal has diffculty getting a lock

here's a layman's explamanation: http://www.skyhookwireless.com/howitworks/loader_howitworks.swf

LINK

the fact that it is a self healing network is pretty cool.

i don't how they really implemented it, but it shouldn't be too hard to programatically guesstimate the distance to a router by signal strength and/or ping time. now if you see two or more routers, you can start calculating your position relative to them by using basic trigonometry.

so i wonder how Chrome's thing works, it doesn't have direct access to the OS's information about WIFI networks seen by it, or does it? I reckon it has to use the operating system's location framework.

not even close, 15kms away from my location.