Replying to various points here... > This statement is self-contradictory. Comparing a "turned off > flashlight" to a "turned off cellphone" is equal. Both are disabled > circuits.
Not at all. A turned off cellphone is in standby mode in 99.99% of all cases, because the power "switch" is a soft-button, not a open-gate. Many cell phones, you might note, even have a red LED to indicate "they're off". > As Mike K pointed out, we wouldn't > be allowed to bring a cellphone on board a plane at all if it were able to > transmit while turned off. I didn't see Kershaw's original post that said this, but "RF Interference" has never been why cell phones aren't allowed to be enabled on planes. It has to do with the fact that the older, more primitive, cell phone system, would get VERY confused when a cell-phone at 33000' had line-of-sight to a couple dozen towers, when the system would only expect you to be able to see three or maybe four. That's why that's an FCC restriction, you'll note, and not an FAA restriction. >> Could you ask them how? I'd be very surprised if it's by virtue of some >> communication feature of the cell phone. As Mike K pointed out, we >> wouldn't >> be allowed to bring a cellphone on board a plane at all if it were able to >> transmit while turned off. > > I agree. This sounds bogus. Evidence, please. http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/12/can_you_hear_me.html You have the right to retract your position, because it can -- and has -- been done, and I suppose if I felt strongly enough about it, we could try to dig up the unclassified parts of the court case mentioned in that article, but here's the executive summary: - The FBI can remotely use your cell phone as a listening device, even while it's turned off, without ever having to physically touch it, and - The court has ruled, as part of what appear to be evidentiary proceedings based on evidence gathered in that fashion, that this is an acceptable practice. So, there's your evidence. It seems trivial to me to extrapolate that if the FBI can remotely use the cellular network to use your turned-off-phone's microphone as a roving bug, that it could easily grab the GPS information on the backchannel. Cheers, D
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