The latest Firefox 3.1 (code name Shiretoko) nightlies include support for the W3C draft specification of Geolocation API, opening the way for yet richer web applications that can offer content customized to a user’s current location.

The API implementation enables the browser to act as a position broker communicating with the computer’s positioning API (probably connected to a GPS device or similar), and providing programmable objects web developers can access to retrieve this information. Due to the obvious privacy issues involved, the browser should always require explicit user consent to enable this interface, but the exact privacy and security considerations are to be defined.

Read the rest of this entry »