Emergency Alerts on your phone - what’s the point?!
Discussion
Whilst waiting for my Uber at Seoul Incheon this afternoon, both my phones started chirping away with emergency alerts.
Wondering whether the little fat Dictator to the North had finally given up on the West after supporting the big fat Dictator’s to the West’s jolly to Hà Nội, and decided to log some rockets over over the border, I checked my phones, only to be met with the warning in Korean, with no way of copying and pasting it into Google translate to figure out whether I should get under something solid, or on top of something tall.
For something as important as emergency warnings, surely there’s a way of the warning being tranates into the phone’s set language?!?!?
Same happened a couple of months ago in Tokyo when there was a minor earthquake. That time, I was drunk and slept through the lot
Wondering whether the little fat Dictator to the North had finally given up on the West after supporting the big fat Dictator’s to the West’s jolly to Hà Nội, and decided to log some rockets over over the border, I checked my phones, only to be met with the warning in Korean, with no way of copying and pasting it into Google translate to figure out whether I should get under something solid, or on top of something tall.
For something as important as emergency warnings, surely there’s a way of the warning being tranates into the phone’s set language?!?!?
Same happened a couple of months ago in Tokyo when there was a minor earthquake. That time, I was drunk and slept through the lot
Last Visit said:
Forgive the stupid question, but what are the alerts? Are they an app is something?
No, not an app.Broadcast on the common channel (System Information - same place the phone reads the information about the cell - such as which network it belongs to) and typically used to notify people about natural disasters - earthquakes, tsunami etc, etc. You don't need an app to display them, it's automatic.
When I was there they used to have regular practice air raid drills with shouted instructions over the office tannoy to go down to the shelters in the basement (all office blocks had them). The Air Force used to fly screaming over the ciry for added realism.
We just carried on working & they left us to it.
We just carried on working & they left us to it.
In a past life, I worked on some of this.
What are the options?
1) insist that every phone must be able to reliably translate from any language to any other language on the device with no access to the internet reliably
2) spec some form of protocol that defines how every phone connects to the relevant emergency msg server when it enters coverage and indicates what language to use
3) define a set of emergency messages that can be sent, and have them hard coded into the phone in the relevant languages.
4) other
1) is a big ask for current smartphones. It’s impossible on simple devices.
2) is possible, but the emergency msg is a broadcast. Sending specific messages to handsets tailored to the correct language would introduce delay. Delay is probably a bad thing in this instance.
3) not a bad idea, a code that tells the phone which message to display is significantly smaller, so good news. Limits the message to the pre defined set, which will be a problem if there’s not one appropriate for “Godzilla attack”
The current system is probably the best compromise to reach the vast majority of those affected reliably and fast. If you can’t read it, someone near you probably can.
If they’re running away, follow them?
What are the options?
1) insist that every phone must be able to reliably translate from any language to any other language on the device with no access to the internet reliably
2) spec some form of protocol that defines how every phone connects to the relevant emergency msg server when it enters coverage and indicates what language to use
3) define a set of emergency messages that can be sent, and have them hard coded into the phone in the relevant languages.
4) other
1) is a big ask for current smartphones. It’s impossible on simple devices.
2) is possible, but the emergency msg is a broadcast. Sending specific messages to handsets tailored to the correct language would introduce delay. Delay is probably a bad thing in this instance.
3) not a bad idea, a code that tells the phone which message to display is significantly smaller, so good news. Limits the message to the pre defined set, which will be a problem if there’s not one appropriate for “Godzilla attack”
The current system is probably the best compromise to reach the vast majority of those affected reliably and fast. If you can’t read it, someone near you probably can.
If they’re running away, follow them?
These are used in the USA extensively by police when there is a missing vulnerable person or someone who is in an immediate risk of death - seen these many times when in the New York area.
Also, we were in Florida when the worst of Hurricane Irma came through and they were extemely useful for updates in terms of what the current situation was, when the curfew hours were enacted, when the immediate threat to life was present etc...
it is absolutely a system that should be used more in the UK imho
Also, we were in Florida when the worst of Hurricane Irma came through and they were extemely useful for updates in terms of what the current situation was, when the curfew hours were enacted, when the immediate threat to life was present etc...
it is absolutely a system that should be used more in the UK imho
Slackline said:
It's from the Ministry of the Environment. Tomorrow there will be fine dust pollution in the Metropolitan area. Don't go out, or wear a dust mask if you do.
So, although you aren't dead at the moment, you will be tomorrow. Sorry about that.
So you can understand Korean? So, although you aren't dead at the moment, you will be tomorrow. Sorry about that.
t out of me. Every time I get a new handset, I never remember to disable them and it typically goes off at the most inopportune moment!
Its a good system, but sometimes the inevitable happens!
https://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/us-mis...
Probably about the worst mistake text ever sent.
https://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/us-mis...
Probably about the worst mistake text ever sent.
Just google lens it....
Vehicle at the time of the measure of the fine dust emergency reduction tomorrow Without intervention). Do not go outside, wear a mask, etc.
That's the first one
Second one
Ministry of Environment Metropolitan area tomorrow fine dust emergency low-level measures enforcement (vehicle Carelessness), outdoors, wearing a mask, etc. It is.
Vehicle at the time of the measure of the fine dust emergency reduction tomorrow Without intervention). Do not go outside, wear a mask, etc.
That's the first one
Second one
Ministry of Environment Metropolitan area tomorrow fine dust emergency low-level measures enforcement (vehicle Carelessness), outdoors, wearing a mask, etc. It is.
Shiv_P said:
Just google lens it....
Vehicle at the time of the measure of the fine dust emergency reduction tomorrow Without intervention). Do not go outside, wear a mask, etc.
That's the first one
Second one
Ministry of Environment Metropolitan area tomorrow fine dust emergency low-level measures enforcement (vehicle Carelessness), outdoors, wearing a mask, etc. It is.
Anyone else read this in Yoda's voice?Vehicle at the time of the measure of the fine dust emergency reduction tomorrow Without intervention). Do not go outside, wear a mask, etc.
That's the first one
Second one
Ministry of Environment Metropolitan area tomorrow fine dust emergency low-level measures enforcement (vehicle Carelessness), outdoors, wearing a mask, etc. It is.
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