Data Center
Mozilla adds geographic tagging to Firefox
Mozilla has released an add-on to Firefox that enables the browser to automatically pinpoint a user's location by communicating with Wi-Fi signals so Web sites can provide customized content to users.
Related links
No results were found for your search.
Your query is too restrictive.
You might want to try: data center
Story tools
Sponsored by:
E-Mail article
|
|
Print article
|
|
Contact author
|
|
AIM article
|
del.icio.us |
Reddit
|
Digg
|
Stumble
|
Slashdot It!
|
The add-on is now available through the Geode project from Mozilla Labs, according to a blog posting about the technology.
Geode is based on a W3C specification called Geolocation API, which provides "a set of verbs and commands that a Web site can use and a browser can understand" to exchange geographic information, said Mike Beltzner, director of Firefox development at Mozilla.
Once Geode is installed, users will be asked to provide location information when they browse to a site that can communicate with the Geolocation API. They can choose to provide an exact location, a neighborhood, a city or no location at all, depending on their preference, Beltzner said.
A Web site can then use that information to provide customized local content, such as a list of local restaurants or other relevant businesses. Eventually, Mozilla hopes to expand this capability to allow, for example, an RSS feed to determine whether a person is at home or at the office so it can deliver the appropriate feed.
Geode is an early version of support for the Geolocation API that Mozilla plans to support natively in Firefox 3.1, Beltzner said. The company will preview Firefox 3.1 in a beta that will be available next week. The final version of Firefox 3.1 is scheduled to be available in early 2009.
There will be some differences between how Geode works and how the implementation of the geo-tagging technology in Firefox 3.1 will work, he said.
For one, Geode uses location information only from a company called Skyhook Wireless. Skyhook provides a location system that allows any mobile device with Wi-Fi, GPS (Global Positioning System) or a cellular radio (GSM/CDMA) to determine its position.
In the case of Geode, Firefox communications via Wi-Fi signals with Skyhook, which then determines a user's position. This means people must be using a Wi-Fi network from a wireless device or notebook computer for the position to be located by the service.
| Use this form to start a public discussion with other Linux World users on this article. Log In | Register for an account (Why you should) |
Note: Register to have your user name appear; otherwise your comment will show up as "Anonymous."
*Anonymous comments will only appear once they are approved by the moderator.
• Dell puts Linux and Atom in Vostro PCs
• Mozilla names best Firefox 3 add-ons
• Torvalds: Fed up with the 'security circus'
• Dell Latitude ON - big win for Linux
• Open source advocates hail appeals court ruling
LinuxWorld Conference and Expo San Francisco, August 4-7, 2008.
Linux Plumbers Conference Portland, OR, Sept. 16-19, 2008.
FreedomHEC Santa Monica, November 8-9, 2008.