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Location Frustration

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kg5ie

New Member
I don't know. In fact, I've no idea how the surface finds where you are. But the issue seems kinda... pointless to me. But if you think this is important, by all means go on.

Well, it's kinda important on apps like maps (getting directions), weather, around me, etc. when the damn thing thinks I am in another state!
 

ChemCat

New Member
Well, it's kinda important on apps like maps (getting directions), weather, around me, etc. when the damn thing thinks I am in another state!

That's what phones are for. Most phones nowadays have gps. I'm sorry, I just don't see this as a big deal. But if it's important to you, then I guess it's important. The ipad has a gps... I think...
 
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kg5ie

New Member
That's what phones are for. Most phones nowadays have gps. I'm sorry, I just don't see this as a big deal. But if it's important to you, then I guess it's important. The ipad has a gps... I think...


I guess the bigger question is why they offer apps that they know will not work without a GPS or at least the device allowing you to manually set your location???? And why there is a setting under "location" to allow apps to use my location??? What is that supposed to do?
 
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jnjroach

Administrator
Staff member
The location can be translated using your ISP Point of Presence (POP) if your ISP lets the App see that far into their network, which typically is in or near your residence, but for many ISPs they don't want to expose that much of their infrastructure so your Apps get upstream POPs where their network connects to the Internet Backbone. With large national or even regional ISPs that upstream POP can be anywhere on their network.

I'm on Comcast in Bothell, WA which is a suburb of Seattle, the West Coast OC48 Trunk has POPs for all of the major ISPs, Microsoft, Google, Disney and the Federal government in the basement of the Westin Hotel (all of the listed have data centers down there). Yet my traffic is routed all over the western US as far west as Salt Lake City and as far south as San Diego. Comcast doesn't seem to expose their POPs at the neighborhood level like they did just a couple of years ago.
 

ChemCat

New Member
I guess the bigger question is why they offer apps that they know will not work without a GPS or at least the device allowing you to manually set your location???? And why there is a setting under "location" to allow apps to use my location??? What is that supposed to do?

For tablets that do have gps.
 
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