Where on
Earth are you?

Twenty years ago the Global
Positioning System (GPS)
was for the use of military
personnel only, a network of
orbiting satellites designed to
guide missiles and pilotless
drones anywhere on the
planet to the accuracy of
a metre. Today, it’s on car
dashboards, virtually all new
mobile phones and personal
computers. Nearly a million
satellite navigation devices
have been sold in Australia
alone.
In 2000, United States
President Bill Clinton
switched off the system’s
‘selective’ control by the
military, releasing it for
commercial purposes. However, it took some time for the wider potential of
GPS to be realised. Now it’s popping up on so many devices that privacy
concerns are being raised. Some mobile phones can show you the nearest
supermarket, hotel or dry cleaner. Some Internet services act like a beacon,
showing friends – and potentially anyone else using the application – where
you are at a particular time. Some retailers offer smart-phone applications
that can tell users the location of their nearest store, wherever they might be
at that time.
But that’s just the first step. Marketers are particularly excited about being
able to target advertisements at particular consumers based on their
geographic location. Imagine finding an advertisement on your phone from
a retailer offering $10 off your favourite brand of T-shirt as you’re walking
past their store. A handy service? Probably – but privacy advocates worry
that location-based services are ripe for abuse by companies.
And then there are the risks for personal security. A robber could know
precisely when a person is withdrawing money from a bank or a burglar
could work out when to break into people’s homes. Those scenarios may
seem far-fetched, but the epidemic of identity theft and security breaches
in recent years should raise some concerns about how well marketers will
protect location information.

• Write the numbers 1 to 4 in the boxes to show the stages of
  the commercial availability of GPS, from its origins ( 1 ) to
  its likely future ( 4 ).
  limited
  pervasive
  common
  denied
• Some Internet services act like a beacon … (paragraph 2)
  In context, acting like a beacon suggests
  illuminating a problem area.
  giving away information.
  sending a greeting.
  issuing a warning.
• Identity theft and security breaches are mentioned to illustrate
  ways the military have used GPS.
  ways of controlling abuses of GPS.
  offences that may arise from abuses of GPS.
  offences that are more serious than abuses of GPS.
• The text presents the use of GPS by robbers and burglars as being
  part of a plan by GPS companies.
  a possible application of GPS capabilities.
  an unrealistic fear about GPS development.
  a risk worth taking for the benefi ts of GPS.
• In this text, the underlying assumption is that
  the risks of technology outweigh the benefi ts.
  modern life relies too much on gadgets.
  there is a solution to every problem.
  people are entitled to privacy
• Which statement about GPS makes the argument presented in the text more urgent?
  GPS is common.
  GPS is electronic.
  GPS is complicated.
  GPS is revolutionary.