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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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GPS Rescues $600K Violin Left in NYC Cab

Technology 'cut the driver out of the picture,' says taxi boss

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(Newser) – GPS technology reunited a violinist with the $600,000 instrument he left in a New York cab yesterday, the Times reports. After Korean musician Hanh-Bin left a vehicle without his 18th-century instrument, the Taxi and Limousine Commission was able to find it in less than an hour, using the cab’s GPS transmitters and Hanh-Bin’s route to figure out which car the musician took.

The driver hadn’t even realized the violin was in his trunk when he was contacted by officials. “We cut the driver out of the picture,” said the commission’s chairman. “This is kind of a first in that respect.”

Hahn-Bin left his violin in a New York cab.
Hahn-Bin left his violin in a New York cab.   (Hahn-Bin.com)
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12 comments
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Observer
Aug 18, 09 12:18 PM CDT
Good result here but bad for everyone's privacy. The Feds can track anyone now very easily without one's knowledge or agreement. Reply
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Mad
Aug 18, 09 12:35 PM CDT
Depends on how much privacy you expected from a cab ride
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IN RESPONSE:
shonangreg
Aug 18, 09 7:34 PM CDT
If you use cash and on't show your ID to your cab driver, no one knows who's riding with that GPS-tracked taxi. Carry a cell phone, and the cops already know where you are and even what you're saying and who else is with you if they want to (see "roaming bug").
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radnip
Oct 2, 09 2:52 AM CDT
Govt? Lots of companies already track their vehicles. That's ok, right?
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Mad
Aug 18, 09 12:34 PM CDT
For a second I thought the transmitter was in the violin >snort< ! Reply
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