GPS device helps jail killer
The electronic eyes of a Calgary-based CSI Wireless GPS tracking device may
not have witnessed the murder, but they helped put an American killer behind
bars last week.
The tracking technology in a rented Lincoln Navigator was a crucial element
that placed a New York City man at the scene of the crime in Wilkes-Barre,
Pa.
The SUV's global positioning system allowed police to retrace Jimmy (Crush)
Davis's path, punching holes in his story along the way.
Davis, 30, pleaded guilty in Pennsylvania's Luzerne County Court on Sept. 19
to third-degree homicide and other charges in the shooting death of
42-year-old Sheryl Spiros in February 2004 in her apartment.
He was sentenced to 19 to 40 years in jail.
"When we started, we had no leads," first assistant district attorney
Jacqueline Carroll told the Herald.
"GPS played a very big role here, placing this person at the scene. It was
going to lend a lot of corroboration and credibility to our witnesses who
otherwise may not have been accepted as readily.
"The crux of it was really the GPS system. We started calling it 'the black
box,' " Carroll said Wednesday.
CSI Wireless manufactures tracking devices that help businesses keep tabs on
vehicle fleets. The device tracked the movements of the SUV that Davis drove
back and forth across three states before he was arrested in July.
The company sent one of its experts to help the Luzerne County district
attorney's office put the case together in May.
"It's just like that show CSI. You can merge all the technologies together
and use it as a crime-fighting tool," said Ramsaran, an admitted crime
television show fan.
The real-life crime drama took place on Feb. 12, 2004, when Davis shot
Spiros to death and started a small fire in her apartment, police say.
GPS points on a map showed investigators that the ignition in the Lincoln
Navigator parked outside Spiros's home was started one minute before
Wilkes-Barre firefighters responded to the fire. The tracker data recorded
the SUV leaving the scene of the crime, travelling along the Pennsylvania
Turnpike and Interstate 80 into New Jersey.
Police were able to pinpoint hotels he had checked into along the way and
stops at convenience stores.
"We pulled the surveillance tapes, and, lo and behold, there he was walking
inside," said Carroll.
Kodak ships computer-free wireless camera
After a summer-long delay, Eastman Kodak Co. has begun shipping the first digital camera with Wi-Fi
wireless technology to e-mail photos directly to friends and family without a computer. Users of the new
EasyShare-One, priced at $599, can send photos directly through a Wi-Fi transmitter at home or work, or
pay $4.99 per month to connect the camera with any of T-Mobile USA's 6,000 hot spots at stores, airports,
hotels and other establishments. However, subscribers to other Wi-Fi services will not be able to connect
an EasyShare-One to those wireless accounts. The EasyShare-One's liquid-crystal screen contains an
easy-to-use instruction menu: Shutterbugs can either e-mail pictures and video clips or post them on
Kodak's online photography site. Though the photos are actually routed through the Kodak site, users
can set up their accounts so that the messages appear to arrive from a personal e-mail address. Camera-
equipped cellphones already offer photo-sharing capabilities but typically produce low-resolution images.
The new Kodak camera boasts 4 megapixels of resolution, 3x optical zoom, storage room for up to 1,500
photos and a 3-inch touch screen — big enough for the camera to double as a portable album. The
EasyShare-One, first unveiled in January, was supposed to hit the market in June but ran into engineering,
marketing and other logistical glitches. In the meantime, Japan's Nikon Corp. looked like it might steal
Kodak's thunder by shipping its own Wi-Fi camera to stores last month. But while the Nikon P1 can
wirelessly transfer pictures to a computer, the Kodak model remains unique in its potential to bypass
the hassle of downloading. "It's the next step forward in cameras. No more worrying about plugging in the
cable," said hotography analyst Ed Lee of InfoTrends, a research firm in Weymouth, Mass.
Singapore Amateurs Have
Immediate Access to 7.1-7.2 MHz
Effective October 3, 2005, the Singapore
licensing authority has approved the allocation
for the 7.1 - 7.2 MHz band for Singapore
amateurs with immediate effect. ( WIA News)
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