Coke uses GPS to track prizewinners

1 Oct 2003

It looks like UbiComp-like location aware technologies are making their way into the mainstream. Apparently Coke are planning to use GPS receivers in winning cans to seek out people and present them with HumVees or large amounts of gold. I'm not they've really thought this through - aside from the technical issues of putting a GPS recevier in a can (what happens if you open the can underground? Or on the wrong side of a tall building? Or in a reasonably thick tent?) , I don't really think that buying a can of carbonated beverage with vegetable extract can reasonably be taken to imply that you give your consent for a multinational corperation to track your movements. Maybe there's a shrink-wrap EULA on the ringpull, but even then it's probably a case for Lord Denning's Big Red Hand.

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