A couple French websites talked about Where's Tim today. After translating them to English, I was a bit surprised to read the negative/paranoid connotation of the comments. Maybe the intent was lost in translation, but one guy mentioned radio controlled missiles and burglary. Translations here, here and here to see comments.
I have not been to France or hung out with anyone that has spent an extended time in France. That being said, I wonder if something about the French culture or government spawns a worst-case-scenario mindset.
Generally, an American's reaction to Where's Tim is "hey, that's cool" or "I could use GPS like..." or "You could really make some money using GPS like..." I never really thought about it before, but a reaction to new technology might be a type of cultural indicator. As an American, I am always looking for the next thing to impress me, or a new profitable opportunity. That is why I read Digg and all the smart geeks here on GeeksWithBlogs.
Am I completely off base here? Like I said, I don't know anything about the French culture and I would be very interested to hear from anyone that knows more about France or has an observation about cultural reactions to new technology.
If you want to see other people comments, I generate a RSS feed for all the cool people that link to Where's Tim.