Cops, Wifi, Treasure Hunts, And More! 109
Rob Flickenger writes "This month's SeattleWireless TV
show reveals how the Yakima County Police have built a wireless infrastructure using Cisco Aironet products. Utilizing omni and directional antennas, they cover 650 sq miles with just 8 access points. There is also a segment on the NzWireless group's wireless treasure hunt, where users roamed around the city plotting hidden access points set up for the hunt." Note the bittorrent link.
I want to kill myself. (Score:-1, Redundant)
Re:I want to kill myself. (Score:-1, Offtopic)
Re:I want to kill myself. (Score:-1, Offtopic)
3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693993 75 1058209749445923078164062862
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Life *can* suck, but... (Score:2)
The ball's in your court. It always is. Hit a few more practice shots and see what happens. You can never say you've truly failed unless there is no hope of ever trying again.
tkfp (Score:-1, Redundant)
Re:tkfp (Score:-1, Offtopic)
GNAA sucks (Score:-1, Flamebait)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Offtopic)
question.. (Score:-1)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Offtopic)
A treasure hunt with Wireless points as the target (Score:2)
Only teh geeks...
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Offtopic)
Netrunner?..... hardly.. (Score:1)
mynuts won, signull corepirate nazi hypenosys (Score:-1, Offtopic)
making the case that the won-eyed girl is a phonIE (mynuts won, beating a lame won to debt?)
by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 31, @06:48AM (#7844071)
will corepirate nazi felon ?pr? ?firm? scriptdead execrable (mynuts won, it's ok if you do it for monIE?)
by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 31, @06:44AM (#7844061)
skew/FUDge survey results/EVERYTHING?
you can bet your
&, failing that, we have the:
pateNTdead eyecon0meter used to
by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 30, @02:38PM (#7837849)
that's right. this stuff is unbreakable, & wwworks on several (more than 3) dimensions.
morons build vessel that floats on any suBStance? (mynuts won, no need to be suspicious?)
by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 29, @02:53PM (#7829639)
you can bet your
creators/humankind converge to repel unprecedented evile? (mynuts won, who run our 'banks'?)
by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 29, @02:51PM (#7829610)
& why not? what other options are there for us?
eyecon0meter: survival most sought after feature? (mynuts won, get yOUR freedumb here?)
by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 29, @02:48PM (#7829586)
creators' badtoll over corepirate nazi execrable (mynuts won, many think hangin's way too good for the skalywags?)
by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 29, @02:46PM (#7829567)
disposal?
newclear power dissed/cussed? (mynuts won, no animals killed buy MiStake in newclear power generation)
by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 29, @02:41PM (#7829536)
&, it's free as in free.
newclear powered blips explore corepirate nazi (mynuts won, no lowrating robbIE's sponsors?)
by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 29, @07:53AM (#7826913)
cesspool?
pheWWW.
lookout bullow. the daze of the phonIE payper liesense ?pr? ?firm? hypenosys stock markup FraUD softwar gangster execrable, is WANing into coolapps/the abyss, at the increasing speed of right.
consult with/trust in yOUR creators.... get ready to brighten up?
mynuts won: solar(is) power included?
won-eyed girl takes early retiremeNT? (Score:-1, Offtopic)
first, there was the won-eyed girl, with
why are they doing this? 'gnu' dating 'service'? that's cruel?
hmmmm, where's the info... (Score:4, Informative)
Re:hmmmm, where's the info... (Score:0)
http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/cc/pd/witc/ao3
"Wireless Network Helps Yakima County Protect Community"
chali is a whore (Score:-1)
Instant mod up (Score:1)
Our media player here at work is out of date apparently, as well is Real Player and the firewall blocks the bittorrent ports so no downloading there.
Is there no justice in the world? I need to at least kill >1 hour when I first get to work!
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Redundant)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Redundant)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Redundant)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Redundant)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Redundant)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Offtopic)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Offtopic)
Oh, i forgot, bring the phone! (Score:3, Funny)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Troll)
Re:chali is a whore (Score:-1, Offtopic)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Flamebait)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Troll)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Troll)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Troll)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Offtopic)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Troll)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Troll)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Troll)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Troll)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Offtopic)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Offtopic)
Yes... (Score:-1)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Offtopic)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Offtopic)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Offtopic)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Offtopic)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Offtopic)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Offtopic)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Offtopic)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Offtopic)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Troll)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Troll)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Troll)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Troll)
Chali pictures? (Score:-1, Offtopic)
donuts? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:donuts? (Score:1)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Troll)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Troll)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Troll)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Troll)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Troll)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Troll)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Troll)
For use in catching criminals? (Score:1)
Re:For use in catching criminals? (Score:3, Informative)
if half of us slashdot readers knew exactly what cops go through day in and day out, we might respect them a little more. i've got two friends who are cops and the shit they have gone through while on their 12 hour shifts that rotate on a determined cycle. dont attack the enforcers, attack the lawmakers. they're just doing their job.
and to answer your question, its a communications system. its my understanding that most police offices use cell networks to transmit and receive information to their in-car laptops, which costs money. this wifi setup is a major money saver. my only concern is network sniffing. very sensitive data is transmitted across those airwaves. i imagine its much harder to sniff out cell signals than wifi, as you can purchase wifi recievers very very cheap.
if i have misinterpreted your comment, as it is easily done on message boards, my apologies. it's just that some people act like all cops are crooked and dishonest, and they are entirely mistaken.
Re:For use in catching criminals? (Score:2)
However, there are a significant number of cops who are crooked, dishonest, and/or lazy. Police Officers are given a huge amount of trust, power, and leeway. Some of them abuse thier position. Even otherwise honest and competent cops often feel as though they are above the law, and not without a certian amount of justification. Even when cops are caught breaking the law, they often get no more than a formal reprimand, whereas an average citizen who committed the same offense would go to jail. The concequences for abusing their power are miniscule compared to the amount of damage they can do. The police need to be held to a higher standard of conduc than the general public, and the concequences for misusing their power need to be severe and applied without exception. Until this happens, the police are like a half-wild guard dog: a useful protector, but all too likely to turn and bite those who they are supposed to protect.
Re:For use in catching criminals? (Score:1)
The last truly honest policeman that I personally knew got railroaded out of town.
There may be others who aren't dirty, but I've yet to meet any of them.
Re:For use in catching criminals? (Score:1)
Should mention that it's the city police I've developed a poor attitude about. Not enough contact with county to develop an opinion as of yet.
Re:For use in catching criminals? (Score:1)
I've seen cops lie to avoid being punished for doing illegal things.
I've seen cops treat women badly; and non-white cops are often racist against white people.
I've seen cops gleefully follow orders when the local power structure decides it's going to do unethical things in the open.
Cops are not to be admired. They lie, they cheat, they victimize the powerless and they love, oh how they love, to serve whoever has power.
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Troll)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Troll)
chali is a whore (Score:-1, Troll)
Where is everyone this morning? (Score:1)
A Proper Link? (Score:1)
Quick! (Score:2, Funny)
one section (Score:1)
If my memory serves correctly here, 650 acres is just over a one square mile area. (640 acres is one section = square mile). That should give some frame of reference here- pretty impressive amount of coverage. (maybe they say this in the movie- BitTorrent is still doing its thing right now, so I can't tell just yet...)
Re:one section (Score:0)
nevermind- I'm an idiot- please ignore my previous post.
Re:one section (Score:0)
Re:one section (Score:0)
Re:one section (Score:0)
Phased arrays for better range, density, security (Score:4, Informative)
We've discussed this before here [slashdot.org] and here [slashdot.org] about products from Vivato [vivato.net].
Re:Phased arrays for better range, density, securi (Score:0)
Check out the Wireless network they are installing at Anderson School of Business on UCLA campus... http://www.5gwireless.com/company/pr_12_03_03.htm
Details? (Score:3, Insightful)
Assuming no overlap between the 8 base stations (i.e., maximal coverage), this works out to each AP having a range of 5 miles. That is a heck of a lot in an urban setting.
I, for one, welc^H^H^H^H would love to know the technical details behind this.
Re:Details? (Score:2)
Re:Details? (Score:0)
A cop.. (Score:1)
Easy (Score:2)
Re:Easy (Score:1)
Re:Easy (Score:2)
Cisco Press Release (Score:4, Informative)
Company Profile
Wireless Network Helps
Yakima County Protect Community
The Lower Valley Wireless Public Safety Network, employing Cisco Aironet(R) technology, is giving law-enforcement agencies in Yakima County, Washington, a high-tech edge in crime prevention and resolution.
Yakima County is the second-largest land area and the seventh-largest population area in Washington state. It ranks first in the nation in the number of fruit trees, was recently ranked the 25th most-livable city in the United States and has also been designated a high-impact drug trafficking area. That inauspicious development was, in part, behind the creation in 2000 of the Lower Valley Wireless Public Safety Network.
The network consists of a series of antennas and radios arranged in a line-of-sight pattern that transmits and receives encrypted signals. These signals travel from the county courthouse in the city of Yakima southward through the Yakima Valley. The radio signals contain data from a central location that law-enforcement and public-safety agencies can access. This allows the agencies to share information and track lawbreakers throughout the lower valley in real time. The upper valley will be added to the network in the near future.
With five backbone sites in place overlooking the valley, the network reaches police departments in six lower valley communities: Wapato, Toppenish, Zillah, Grandview, Sunnyside, and Granger. County offices of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) are also on the wireless network, and the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are among several other law-enforcement agencies that have expressed interest.
The network's nodes are linked via nearly 30 Cisco Aironet 340 Series wireless bridges. Designed to ensure high-speed, long-range point-to-point and point-to-multipoint wireless connections between Ethernet networks, these bridges are not deterred by physical barriers or inclement weather, making them ideal for the Pacific Northwest's weather and terrain. Direct sequence spread spectrum technology enables a data rate of 11 Mbps, comparable to that of Category 3 cable.
High Costs Deflated Original Plan
Yakima County Technology Services originally designed a frame-relay-based solution but found it would cost thousands of dollars per month, according to George Helton, Director of Technology Services. "Then we came up with a design operating in the 2.4 GHz band. We engineered a wireless network emanating from the Yakima courthouse and using point-to-point aerials and radios to reach 80 miles down the valley. This lets us deliver data to police and other law-enforcement agencies, and it preserves all those thousands of dollars we would otherwise be spending for data circuits," he said.
"As we were implementing this, our radio engineer suggested that we could possibly make our data available to mobile users if we used an omni-antenna at each major backbone site. We did so and have created a wireless network where you can drive at 70 mph while still communicating on the network at 11 Mbps," Helton said. Officers can rapidly access traffic records, police files and other data through links with state and federal agencies. "We also are able to conduct video surveillance, hold network meetings, train Web cameras on officers during stops, and handle all sorts of data applications. The sky's the limit: Anything you can do in your office, you can do at your car."
Access for Mobile Officers
Not all law-enforcement agencies on the Lower Valley Wireless Public Safety Network have extended the wireless network to their vehicles. For some, the network is used exclusively for office work, but most plan to add vehicular capability eventually. Those who have made the network mobile did so by installing Cisco Aironet 340 Series wireless bridges in their patrol cars. The bridges allow officers to ac
Re:Cisco Press Release (Score:0)
Unfortunately this new wireless network, while helping the police in some of their work, does not bode well for the privacy and freedom of the local citizens. The local Yakima governmental agencies, elected officials and police department have not been shining examples of protectors of freedom or individual rights in the past few years. In fact there have been quite a few egregious violations of rights coming from various elected officials and agencies abusing their power and using the local police department, among others, to infringe upon the rights of individual citizens who they have a personal or departmental agenda against.
A previous poster brought up the traffic light issue which is a good one to look at. At the beginning it was proported to be only at main intersections as some kind of deterrent against red light runners, which made it an issue about safety. But instead, now you can find the traffic light cameras at just about every single intersection with traffic lights. This along with the police and their evergrowing interest in traffic violations to rack up fines and increase funding coming in, are just a couple of examples of misuse of technology and power for agendas which do not best serve the public. But who paid for the new traffic light camera system again? That's right, the taxpayer.
This new wireless network shouldn't be viewed as a positive thing, but with skepticism and mistrust. I don't see why this technology should be any different than any other when they place new power or possible avenues of abuse in the hands of governmental power.
The city of Yakima would be far better served if Yakima Mayor Mary Place and her cronies were run out of office (or sent to prison), and some truly honest elected officials who respect the rights of the citizens were elected.
this is not good (Score:3, Insightful)
Let's hope that this will cause the US government to release much larger chunks of spectrum for WiFi-like use, some regulated and some unregulated. And some bands should really be reserved for private use only--no businesses or government entities should be allowed to touch such parts of the spectrum for any purpose.
Re:this is not good (Score:1)
I live in Yakima... (Score:1, Interesting)
I have played with these. First of all, they are simply locked down so they will work with almost any [coffer.com] Cisco MAC address. Other than that they are completely open.
Once you connect to the AP, you can either telnet directly to the DB server and pull any records you wany, or you can connect to any other PD in Washington State (AFAIK). Atleast all the ones around here. It's basicly a huge private IP network using T1s, fractional T1s, and ISDN lines, all linking back to Olympia.
Funniest part was when I got a call from the main office asking me to scan everything for viruses ASAP, since the windows-worm-of-the-week was making its rounds on the secure network.
Re:I live in Yakima... (Score:1)
Be Nice! Don't go to the yakima county website! (Score:2, Funny)
Sincerly,
The poor little sysadmin from their ISP.
Mad Cow? (Score:0, Troll)
Yakima police. (Score:1, Informative)
Conspiracy theorists, don't fear (Score:1)
treasure hunts (Score:1)