From the February 2005 Scientific American Magazine | 1 comments

Seeking Better Web Searches ( Preview )

Deluged with superfluous responses to online queries, users will soon benefit from improved search engines that deliver customized results

Unfortunately, the positional error of GPS-based systems (from three to four meters) is still rather large. Even though this resolution can be enhanced by indoor sensor and outdoor beacon systems, these technologies are relatively expensive to implement. Further, the distribution of nontext information, especially images, audio and video, would require higher bandwidth capacities than those currently available from handheld devices or provided by today's wireless networks. The IEEE 802.11b wireless local-area network protocol, which offers bandwidths of up to 11 megabits per second, has been tested successfully in providing location-aware search services but is not yet widely available.

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