The idea of real-time maps is exciting, but really expensive. At the cost of privacy, you could see webcams from any part of the Earth. You'll become ubiquitous: you won't need news channels that report from conflict areas, forensic detectives for criminal investigations, Discovery documentaries to show you wildlife or real estate agents to track hot properties.
But Microsoft doesn't think that far: they just want to track information about traffic, status of public transportation, weather condition. They could also develop an application for traffic management at a global scale.
"SenseWeb is composed of three basic parts: sensors (or data-collecting units), Microsoft's database indexing scheme that sorts through the information, and the online map that lets users interact with the data. The sensors used in the project can vary in form and function, and can include thermometers, light sensors, cameras, and restaurant computers. SenseWeb puts baseline sensor information, such as location and function, into a database that's searchable by location and type of sensor information."
While the customers will be happy to find out which restaurant has the smallest waiting time, I wonder if the restaurant owners will think the same. Sometimes too much information doesn't make sense to business.
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