New York, Bloomberg and the Cell Phone

The Institute for the Future quotes Mayor Bloomberg's plan to allow 911 and other city services to accept video and pictures taken and sent via cell phone:

This year, we'll begin a revolutionary innovation in crime-fighting: Equipping "911" call centers to receive digital images and videos New Yorkers send from cell phones and computers something no other city in the world is doing.

If you see a crime in progress or a dangerous building condition you'll be able to transmit images to 911, or online to NYC.GOV. And we'll start extending the same technology to 311 to allow New Yorkers to step forward and document non-emergency quality of life concerns holding City agencies accountable for correcting them quickly and efficiently.

So, next time you are being mugged the Big Apple, don't forget to strike a pose.

NYC Launches Mass "Sousveillance"

NYC Cabs to Flesh Out Cell Phone Drop Zones

From Fox News:

NEW YORK — Ever wanted to stuff that "Can you hear me now?" guy into the trunk of your car and take him on a tour of those maddening spots where your cell phone won't work?

One telecommunications company has a plan to do the mechanical equivalent.

The Stockholm-based firm Ericsson recently got approval from New York's taxi commission to place mobile sensors in the trunks of at least 50 cabs in an attempt to better map dead zones in mobile phone networks.

The small devices, about the size of a computer modem, will automatically feed information about signal strength and clarity to engineers.

Because taxis in New York are on the road all day and all night, and ostensibly travel into every corner of the city, company executives said they are a cheap way of covering vast amounts of territory with limited effort.

Read the Full Story in Fox News: Technology