http://www.legalaffairs.org/issues/July-August-2003/feature_koerner_julaug03.msp
On 4/30/06, Jeff Spirer <jeff@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
At 08:27 PM 4/30/2006, R V wrote:
>Since 911 can pinpoint the location of a cell phone even when not in
>use, I guess the phone uses up power even when no call is made.
Oddly, this is something I know something about. 911 cannot pinpoint
the location of a cell phone when not in use, 911 cannot even
pinpoint the location of a cell phone when in use. 911 can usually
retrieve the location of the nearest access point, which is not the
least bit likely to give a "pinpoint" location for the user.
There are regulations in place that will make it possible to locate a
phone when a call is generated, but the hardware isn't in the phones
yet. The network is built out (a photographer friend is the one who
has built the network that will be used by most locations sytems),
but that is meaningless without the hardware in the phones.
The reason the phone uses power when it's not in use is that it has
to make itself available to incoming calls. Also, it runs in a
"standby" mode rather than off, so that you can quickly make a call
or access other phone functions when needed, instead of waiting for
what is becoming an increasingly lengthy boot-up process.
Jeff Spirer
Photos: http://www.spirer.com
One People: http://www.onepeople.com/
--
Those who can laugh without cause have either found the true meaning of happiness or have gone stark raving mad.
- Norm Papernick
