Metacarta...????

Just came across this on the BBC-found it interesting

QUOTE

It received funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the investment arm of the CIA to develop its MetaCarta Geographic Text Search program.


In three to four years we expect this software to be ubiquitous, something that everybody has to use to do their work

Randy Ridley, MetaCarta
The software automatically extracts geographic references from text documents such as e-mails or webpages.

Millions of documents can be searched using keywords, place names or a time reference.

Search results appear as points on a map instead of as a list of documents. The company says this information can be used, for example, to track patterns of criminal activity and identify spots of intensity.

END OF QUOTE

Link to article here

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3430987.stm


GG

At the surface it seems like a decent idea, but since most terrorist targets are also likely tourist destinations (or else what is the point?), I wonder how they would account for just tourists looking for knowledge? An increase in search traffic may just indicate an ongoing campaign to promote tourism.

I supppose it may help a little.

Quote:

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references from text documents such as e-mails

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This part I have an issue with though. Who is going to be first to yell invasion of privacy? :D

Exactly my thoughts groovicus.

Thats why I posted.

GG

Waste of money? "jobs for the lads"? how would it handle, encryption, slang, images (flags) and so on????

Just to be "seen to be doing something" doesn't mean that what you are doing is constructive :)

Cheers