Hi all,
I was curious to know if any of you know how the tracker works and how does it know which packages are for the laptop. I was wondering too how many, if any, false-positives it gets.

I haven't gotten one yet and obviously check the shipping tracker all the time and made me think if I was wasting my time. Just curious!

Edit: Here's the Cr-48 tracker. Thanks A. Gamer!

I am not sure how it works but i can tell you that it shows the one and only shipment to my zip.. And well i got the cr-48 to prove it. I would like a list of all these zip so i can make a map showing how many and where they where shipped.

^ this much is true. a search of my zipcode shows 3. one of them to me, and the delivery date matches the date that i received mine. as to the rest, i am also unsure and curious.

rl

I sent the guy a donation for making the tracker and asked for his data source.. Dont blame him if he dont give it up but hey you never know. I would not be surprised if a map spelled out Google across the country or something crazy like that.

When I search my zip code it says two have been delivered one on the 10th which is my friends and one that was for the 20th and i think im the only one besides my friend who applied and its 2nd air shipping and it has been raining hard so is ups slow or did someone else in my area get one?

Originally Posted by JustinTheeDude

When I search my zip code it says two have been delivered one on the 10th which is my friends and one that was for the 20th and i think im the only one besides my friend who applied and its 2nd air shipping and it has been raining hard so is ups slow or did someone else in my area get one?

with all due respect, how are you sure that you are the only two that applied for the program? there's really no way for any of us to know the specifics of cr48 shipments and/or ups issues in your zip code.

-rl

Then I'm really bummed because all units that were shipped to my ZIP have been delivered (last one on the 17th). I hope this doesn't mean they are done sending units to my ZIP. Man...

Does the UPS / FedEx / USPS have an API that allows people to search their databases? It would be pretty easy to look for packages that come from google that are 6lbs total, and then just return their tracking numbers.

I don't know actually. There was one for my zipcode, and it was delayed. I was positive it was for me, but its not . I put out 3 apps for myself, so I hope they accept one, or don't DQ me for applying more than once. I accidentally put the wrong zipcode on one of them :\

Originally Posted by andros69

Hi all,
I was curious to know if any of you know how the tracker works and how does it know which packages are for the laptop. I was wondering too how many, if any, false-positives it gets.

I haven't gotten one yet and obviously check the shipping tracker all the time and made me think if I was wasting my time. Just curious!

The tracker works based on the specific shippers and the reference numbers used for the Cr-48 packages. The initial batch was easy to back-track because all of the reference numbers were in sequential order. Since then, the reference number is not as easy to predict, although the pattern itself if quite distinct. So, when looking at all of the packages from a shipper, one only has to look for the reference numbers that fit that pattern to determine which are the Cr-48 packages.

However, due to the way that the shippers changed their methods and reference format, it is difficult to be certain that all of the units that have shipped are currently included in the tracker. The only way to know is if someone that gets a notebook not in the tracker provides the tracking/reference number so that the tracker can be adjusted accordingly.

Basically, all of the packages in the tracker are Cr-48 units, but it is not known if the tracker includes all of the Cr-48 units that have shipped to date.

Originally Posted by jestexman

I am not sure how it works but i can tell you that it shows the one and only shipment to my zip.. And well i got the cr-48 to prove it. I would like a list of all these zip so i can make a map showing how many and where they where shipped.

Statistics (as of 12/17):

• there are over 40,000 unique and valid ZIP codes in the US.
• over 6,000 different ZIP codes received Cr-48 notebooks (too many to list here).
• close to 4,000 different cities received Cr-48 notebooks (too many to list here).

Originally Posted by jestexman

I sent the guy a donation for making the tracker and asked for his data source.. Dont blame him if he dont give it up but hey you never know. I would not be surprised if a map spelled out Google across the country or something crazy like that.

Thanks for the donation. Although, to be honest, I cannot provide the source since it is privileged (as in not accessible by the public). The trick is how to see all of the packages from a specific shipper, which is not something one can do using the web site or the API.

In order to avoid any load issues, the tracker uses a local cache to store the current data set. This data is then 'synced' from time to time. Previous trackers were setup to track and sync automatically, but due to the lack of address validation/verification on the submittal form, and some other quirks specific to this tracker, we have decided it is best to manually sync after having checked all of the 'flagged' records (things like 'CHATSWORTH, CA 91311' spelled as '1HAT9WO8TH, CA 91311' on the form/shipping label).

Also, the web server that is showing the current tracker data does NOT have any tracking or reference numbers in it. The only data in on the web site is the data that you see (city, state, zip, dates, service level). I suspect that the assault on the server was an attempt to gain access to the tracking/reference numbers they assumed were on the server, and not an intentional DoS.

EDIT: also, for those of you that don't understand how the package to your ZIP in the tracker wasn't yours... The tracker has been visited by over 140,000 unique IP addresses... And, my guess is that is a relatively small number compared to the number of people that applied. So, only 1 in 9 people checking the tracker is getting one. Yikes!