September 2011

35 posts
Sunshine Landscape Sees a ROI in 18 Days with FieldLogix

Using the fleet tracking system’s activity reports, he quickly realized that his employees were falsifying time sheets. Employees were taking long lunches, leaving early and were not where they were supposed to be during work hours.

But all this changed after installing a fleet tracking system. Once Mr. Contreras had a reliable way to measure his employee’s actual work hours, his overtime costs dropped immediately.

****In fact, his overtime costs dropped by more than 2 hours per man per day with no change in the workload. Based on these calculations, Mr. Contreras paid for the entire first year of the system within the first 18 days. ****

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Government Debates Future of GPS System and IIF Satellites

The US economy has been struggling since 2007. Many are hoping that the country does not enter a double-dip recession this year. Budget cuts are a harsh reality for cities and states across the US. Budget cuts affect us all, and now they are affecting the US global positioning system aka GPS.

The U.S. Air Force has done an incredible job with the GPS system. But budget issues are forcing the US federal government to carefully scrutinize its plans for space. One issue that may end up on the table is whether to proceed with plans to develop a new generation of “GPS III” satellites, or try to save money by sticking with the existing GPS IIF design.

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New Sprint App Prevents Texting and Talking While Driving

Texting and talking on the phone while driving is very dangerous. We all know this, yet many people continue to do it. The Governors Highway Safety Association combed through a decade’s worth of statistics and research papers about the causes of car crashes, and found that cell phone-related distractions accounted for 15 to 25 percent of crashes, according to PC Mag. The figure is likely even higher since law enforcers might not catch every driver using his cell phone before an accident.

To combat distracted driving, Sprint (NYSE: S) has launched a new app called Sprint Drive First. The app locks your phone when you’re driving over 10 miles per hour, and alerts your parent or spouse when the phone has been locked.

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GPS Fleet Tracking Helps Habitat For Humanity Improve Customer Service

Habitat for Humanity Uses FieldLogix GPS Fleet Tracking System to Improve Customer Service and Reduce Fuel Costs Habitat for Humanity Charlotte recently installed GPS fleet tracking systems in its entire fleet of vehicles. Since deploying a fleet GPS tracking system, Habitat for Humanity has reported an improvement in customer response times, the amount of job […]

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Federal Judge Delays Case About FBI’s GPS Tracking Without a Warrant

A 20-year-old Egyptian-American college student is suing Attorney General Eric Holder and FBI Director Robert Mueller, after the FBI secretly placed a GPS tracking device on his car without a warrant. The student, Yasir Afifi of San Jose, says the FBI had no reason to consider him a suspect of any type of illegal behavior.

It was announced yesterday that a federal judge has agreed to delay Afifi’s lawsuit against the FBI for putting a GPS tracking device on his car without a warrant. Afifi asked for the delay until the Supreme Court decides a related case.

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Teacher Sues Computer Tracker For Sharing Nude Photos

A federal judge has decided to allow a lawsuit to proceed between a couple and a laptop tracking system called LoJack for Laptops for intercepting and sharing a couple’s private, sexually explicit communications with police, according to Wired Magazine.

Unbeknownst to Mrs. Clements-Jeffrey and her boyfriend, the laptop had a computer tracking system installed on it. The laptop tracking system was called “LoJack for Laptops” and was provided by Absolute Software.

Absolute captured screenshots of the couple while exchanging naked photos and other sexually explicit behavior. The tracking system company, Absolute Software, then sent all of the data to local police including the teacher’s sexually explicit images and location data.

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LightSquared’s Network May Be Detrimental To Hurricane Tracking System

Last week LightSquared received another blow in its efforts to get permission from the FCC to build out its wireless network. LightSquared’s network needs further testing because of its potential effects on a satellite system that increases the accuracy of hurricane tracking, said U.S. government agencies to Congress, according to Bloomberg News. A statement for […]

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US Gas Prices Up 3 Cents in One Week

The retail price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas in the US is currently averaging $3.65 per gallon, up 3 cents in the last week, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report. One month ago gas prices were the exact same price.

Recent refinery issues, global economic concerns and hurricane threats on the Gulf and East Coasts have kept upward pressure on gasoline prices, even as relatively lower crude prices have exerted downward pressure on prices. From July 31-August 22 the national average price declined for 21 of 23 days from $3.71 per gallon to $3.57. From August 23- September 6 gas prices increased for 14 consecutive days from $3.57 to $3.66.

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Major Improvements in Smartphone GPS Signals Coming Soon

GLONASS is a network of 22 satellites orbiting the earth that are owned and controlled by the Russian government. Starting next year smartphones based on Qualcomm chipsets are going to get a huge improvement in their GPS reception because they will be able to utilize Russia’s GLONASS signals in addition to the Global Positioning System (GPS). According to Qualcomm and an article in PC Mag, adding GLONASS improves GPS accuracy in “deep urban environments” by 50 percent.

New smartphones will actually be able to leverage both satellite networks to get a much stronger, more reliable GPS signal, even in urban like New York City and in the mountainous terrain like in Colorado. Between GPS and GLONASS, Qualcomm smartphones will have 55 satellites to choose from, which makes it much easier for a smartphone or GPS receiver to get a GPS signal.

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Only 55% of US Smartphone Owners Have Used Their Phone’s GPS System

This week Pew Research released its Internet and American Life Project. Based on their research, virtually all smartphones now include a built-in GPS receiver to enable location tracking, but only 55% of U.S. smartphone owners have used their phone’s GPS system to help get local directions or recommendations.

Pew did not speculate about that other 45%, but I found this to be a very interesting statistic. One of the problems with a smartphone GPS system is that it can be unreliable when you are unable to get a cell phone signal, so those who can afford a smartphone may also be willing and able to spend the cash on a better and more reliable GPS navigation system. Perhaps, the remaining 45% of people who can afford a smartphone either have a handheld GPS device, such as a Garmin Nuvi, or their vehicle has a factory-installed GPS navigation system.

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GPS Tracking System Catches Kayak Thief

On numerous occasions this summer, kayaks were being stolen from a local kayak rental company in Massachusetts. Despite getting creative and trying different ways to lock the kayaks up securely, they just kept disappearing.

After dozens of kayaks had been stolen, the owner became very frustrated. He decided to take control of the situation and purchased two inconspicuous GPS tracking systems. According to the Metro West Daily News, owner Michael Aghajanian said, “We tried locking things up tighter and what not but the person got into everything. I felt defeated. I’m pretty persistent so I brainstormed. I didn’t care if we lost more boats. My goal was to catch him.”

Aghajanian installed a GPS tracking system on two brand new kayaks and left them out as bait for the thief. After the GPS tracking systems were installed, the kayak thief struck again. Only this time, he ended up getting caught.

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FieldLogix’s Fuel Efficient Driver Training Program A Success

This year FieldLogix, an eco-friendly fleet tracking system, launched an online Fuel Efficiency Driver Training Program. The program has been quite a success. Drivers, fleet managers and business owners have all found the driver training program to be quite valuable.

Companies using the FieldLogix fleet tracking system have access to their proprietary Green Fleet Reports to monitor driver performance and improvements over time.

Driver training that targets fuel efficiency can help recognize and change driving habits that waste fuel. Even drivers with years behind the wheel can improve their skills and driving performance through fuel efficiency driver training programs.

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Cyclist Uses Garmin GPS Tracking Data to Settle Car Accident Dispute

The driver told the police she didn’t think she had hit Sabga. Though her car had a telltale dent, the officer said that without proof of where the cyclist had entered the intersection, he would not be able to write a citation against the driver. That meant Mr. Sabga, who was relatively unscathed, would not be able to get her insurance company to cover the damage to his bike, which was now in pieces.

Later that day it dawned on Mr. Sabga that he might have the proof he needed in the data stored in the Garmin (NASDAQ: GRMN) GPS tracking device he used for training.

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GPS Fleet Tracking System Helps New Jersey Save Time and Money

Over 100 GPS fleet tracking systems have been installed in Bergen County-owned vehicles. County officials decided to purchase and install the tracking systems to cut the county”s operating expenses. They predict the system, which has so far cost about $56,000, will save taxpayers in several ways, including fuel, maintenance and man-hour costs.

The $56,000 cost for the tracking system includes the software and installation, plus a $22-per-month, per-vehicle fee. Jo Marie Sacchinelli, coordinator of monitoring and evaluation for the county Department of Public Works, said she didn’t know exactly how much the county would save, but described the system as a “very good return.”

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Garmin, Navigon Bring GPS Navigation To Windows Phones

Need driving directions but don’t have an internet connection? No problem. According to recent press releases from Garmin (NASDAQ: GRMN) Navigon, Navigon has just launched a new GPS navigation system for mobile phones operating Windows software.

The new GPS will system can provide an excellent navigation experience, with offline mapping support. According to ZDNet, “There are times when you need to use GPS navigation without a connection and Navigon will be launching their latest software on Windows Phone soon.”

New map management and update capabilities will enable users to pre-load only portion of the maps they’ll actually use, freeing-up the space for other things. In addition, NAVIGON FreshMaps offers quarterly map updates.

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FieldLogix Fleet Tracking System Helps To Recover Stolen Truck

When Interwest Construction Inc. realized one of their trucks had been stolen, they immediately activated the FieldLogix tracking system, which was installed inside the vehicle. Next thing you know, the chase was on

FieldLogix, an industry-leading eco-friendly fleet tracking system, was successfully utilized to recover the missing truck in just a few hours.

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FieldLogix Lite – A New Entry-Level GPS Tracking System

In April FieldLogix launched a new version of its fleet GPS tracking system called FieldLogix Lite – an entry-level, real-time GPS vehicle tracking system. You can track one vehicle or manage your entire fleet with FieldLogix Lite at a lower monthly cost than the standard plan. The new fleet GPS plan has been well received and users have reported to be getting “more than their money’s worth” out of the tracking system.

FieldLogix Lite is an entry-level GPS vehicle tracking system that offers a perfect set of features for those who just want basic GPS tracking information at a lower cost. FieldLogix Lite has a basic set of GPS tracking features for companies that want to experience FieldLogix, but are not ready to commit to the full-featured offering. Best of all, FieldLogix Lite users can upgrade the more advanced versions of FieldLogix without having to replace the GPS vehicle tracking devices.

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