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As of today many iPhone users can text 911 in an emergency
The four major cellular providers -- AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile -- volunteered to participate in an Federal Communications Commission program that lets people contact their local 911 emergency services via text message. The deadline for getting it all set up and working is today, so the service should be available as of now in places where a 911 call center is technically prepared to receive texts. The experts still recommend that you use voice 911 calls, because they can provide emergency centers with much more information. But people who are deaf, hard of hearing, have a speech disability or may find it otherwise dangerous or impossible to voice call 911 will greatly benefit. The service required upgrades to local 911 centers, but as of today it should work from any iPhone (or any text-capable cellular phone) on any of the four major carrier networks. A big caveat is that while the cellular companies have added the feature, your local public safety officials have to sign on to the service before it can be implemented. Some will opt out due to costs, but it looks like the service is coming up rapidly state by state and locality by locality. In most cases, the 911 center getting your text won't have location information, so that should be in the body of the text. Voice calls to 911 generally provide a call center with your approximate location. Also, users are cautioned that text delivery might incur small delays in delivery, and that voice calls will still be faster. If you have any doubt about the availability of text-to-911 service in your area, check with your cellular provider. Please don't test this, but cellular companies say they have implemented a bounce-back feature notifying senders of 911 text messages if they were not received for any reason. You can find more information in the FCC FAQ.
Hackers harass League of Legends livestreamer with DDoS attacks and police calls
A vendetta against a livestreamer has caused real-world havoc. A user or group identifying itself as DERP has targeted a popular Twitch streamer, calling the police on him and performing DDoS attacks against the games he was playing on December 30th. The streamer's name is James Varga, and according to reports, the games he was broadcasting were shut down by hackers performing distributed denial of service attacks. These games included League of Legends, Dota 2, and those through Battle.net. Varga continued to communicate with DERP during this time, and either DERP or a third party escalated matters by calling 911 and claiming that Varga was holding hostages in his home. Varga was then briefly detained while the police searched his home, but he was released without charges. This is similar to an incident earlier last month when a World of Warcraft livestreamer was arrested after someone called the police on him to interrupt his stream.
Apple working towards new store at One World Trade Center in NYC
ifoAppleStore reports that Apple is negotiating with mall developer Westfield Group on a new New York City store that will be part of a luxury retail mall being built at One World Trade Center. The center is on the site of the 2001 terrorist attacks and is part of the overall redevelopment going on at that location. As noted by ifoAppleStore, "A one-square-block memorial park has already opened at the site, and work is well underway on one of four high-rise office towers that will surround the park. The shopping mall will occupy space under three of the towers, and on the lower floors of two towers." Those three towers were designed by the architectural firm of Foster + Partners, the same company that is working on the new Apple Cupertino "spaceship" headquarters building and the San Francisco 2 retail store. The mall and new One WTC Apple Store should open in 2015.
Google Maps adds images for three historic parts of New York City (video)
While Google has practically blanketed New York City with eye-level imagery, few would doubt that there's still ground left to cover. The search giant is filling in some of those gaps with new Google Maps galleries for a trio of historic areas. A collaboration with Historypin lets the curious glimpse photos and videos of regions affected by Hurricane Sandy; those who want to visit the 9/11 Memorial, meanwhile, can see Street View panoramas of both the North and South pools. Google is also expanding its Street View coverage of Central Park to include its many legendary trails, not just the roadways. If you've been meaning to pay a virtual tribute to any of these three spots, they're waiting for you at the source links.
This is the Modem World: When tech can't save us from road rage
Each week Joshua Fruhlinger contributes This is the Modem World, a column dedicated to exploring the culture of consumer technology. So I'm driving home the other night after a decent day of work, looking forward to a little run, some dinner and maybe a movie. Taking my normal north-south route along Crescent Heights, I listen to Tame Impala to calm the nerves and enter another mental state. I'm at one of those intersections in which two lanes become one because of a parked car in the right lane ahead. I, being in the right lane, gun it a bit at the start in order to get some distance from the guy on my left. He's having none of this, apparently. Turns out my car is faster, though, and I edge him out. I see him wave his arms frantically, shaking them and then applauding.
Under FTC proposal Messages would need to support 911
A new proposal from the FTC would require Apple's Messages tool for iOS and OS X to support texts to 911 call centers. In the United States AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile have all agreed to allow users to contact the 911 emergency line via text message by May 15, 2014 under the regulatory body's call to create "Next Generation 911." The ability to allow users to contact 911 via text message in addition to voice calls offers an additional contact layer for people requiring emergency services. The text option is particularly beneficial for hearing-impaired users or in situations like a home break-in where the user might not be able to speak without giving their location away. The proposal released today would require "over the top" text messaging services to be compatible with 911 as well. Messages falls into the category of "over the top" messaging services as it works using IP-based protocols. From the FTC's proposal: Today's Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking anticipates that all wireless carriers, as well as providers of "over the top" text messaging that use IP-based or SMS protocols to deliver text messages to destinations identified by a telephone number, will be required to deploy text-to-911 and to provide "bounce back" messages where text-to-911 is not yet available. While more than 90 percent of smartphone users currently use SMS as their form of text messaging, we are taking forward-looking action given the growth of Internet-based text messaging. The Further Notice also tees up for resolution key issues including standards deployment and service deployment, location accuracy, cost recovery, carrier liability. Currently the FTC's recommendations are just that -- recommendations -- and not something that is required by law. However, as text message use declines in favor of Messages, Skype texts and Facebook Messenger, one could reasonably expect that all such IP-based services be legally required to connect to 911 one day.
Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile agree to collectively push text-to-911 capabilities by 2014
We've been hearing about new capabilities for emergency 911 services for years, but it looks like the industry is ready to move as one to make text-to-911 a reality across the US. The Big Four wireless carriers, as well as The 911 Association and the Association for Public-Safety Communications Officials International has submitted an agreement to the FCC that outlines plans to work together on standards, procedures and technology deployments that will provide a "seamless introduction" of the tech across the US. They're not guaranteeing it will be available everywhere in two years, but the specific signposts noted are support for bounce-back notifications by June 30th, 2013 that tell texters when the service isn't available in their area and a "commitment" to nationwide rollouts by May 15th, 2014. So far, efforts to make your thumbs more useful in an emergency have been disjointed, but a concerted effort by industry giants should let you avoid busy signals and dropped calls at the worst possible time sooner rather than later. Check out a press release from the group, as well as a word from the FCC (which will consider the proposal on December 12th), after the break or the agreement itself in PDF form at the source link.
AT&T teams up with the state of Tennessee to start text-to-911 trials
Verizon's certainly at the forefront when it comes to involving text-based emergency services with mobile devices in the US, and thus it's natural for rival AT&T to have to keep up in this department -- much like with those Long Term Evolution rollouts. The good news is that AT&T has announced it's partnering with the Tennessee administration in hopes of taking advantage of the state's "next-generation" 911 IP infrastructure; one which has been in the works for a few years now. Naturally, the trials are limited to AT&T subscribers in The Volunteer State, and for those folks the text-to-911 process will be as self-explanatory as it sounds, with the Rethink Possible carrier taking care of all the backend work by sending such messages to emergency call services. While it's indeed only a small chunk of the country, it's definitely a step in the right direction -- that said, only time will tell how efficient this solution can be.
Verizon takes the lead on text to 911 services
The FCC first outlined its intention to allow texting to emergency services back in 2010, and since then despite more talk of accepting photo and video messages, nothing official came to be. This week, however, Verzion has taken the initiative, and announced its own plans to enable text to 911 for its customers. Working with TeleCommunication Systems, the big red hopes that it can facilitate the sending of SMS messages to emergency call-centers as soon as early 2013. Texting isn't just about adding communication options, it also provides a valuable tool to the deaf, hard of hearing and situations where talking is dangerous, or not possible. The service will use existing CDMA and SMS networks, and therefore should be available to all customers once finally rolled out.
Fanatec's Clubsport pedals V2 bring improved brake and clutch feel to the virtual speedway (video)
Around these parts, we're generally suckers for all things related to racing simulators. As such, we're excited to learn that Fanatec has unveiled its next generation of the Clubsport pedals that we reviewed over a year ago. Dubbed as the Clubsport pedals V2, the company refers to the peripheral as an "evolutionary" update to original, offering a trio of improvements. The clutch has been retooled to have a "regressive feel" that's said to be similar to a real automobile, while the brake is now of the hydraulic variety, featuring user replaceable synthetic oil -- naturally, it still has an adjustable spring and load cell pressure sensor for the utmost customizability. The final touch is merely some visual spice in the way of black anodization. Notably, there won't be any tuning kit available initially, and V1 owners might be disappointed to know that the company has opted not to offer an upgrade kit, citing costs and potentially complicated installation. Fanatec is aiming to have the Clubsport pedals V2 out by June, bundled alongside its Clubsport wheel, with pricing set at $250 for the US (€250 in the UK). Pre-orders won't begin until May, so in the meantime, shift over to the source link below and the video past the break for all the details.
FCC rules VoIP providers must report outages in effort to improve 911 service
The FCC has many important things under its jurisdiction, and ensuring a functional 911 service is among the most critical. As such, telephony providers are required to report network outages, so the commission can monitor and maintain a resilient service. Until now, this hasn't included VoIP services, but a new ruling states that interconnected VoIP providers will have to declare outages that meet certain criteria. The move comes after the FCC's most recent Local Competition Report, which reveals that almost one-third of the 87 million residential telephone subscriptions are now provided as VoIP, and therefore carry emergency calls. While public safety is the main driver, the report also states it will "ensure critical communications infrastructure remains available in times of crisis." Check out the lengthy video after the break to see the meeting in its entirety.
Lost hiker saved by iPhone flashlight app
One time when I was day hiking Mount Washington, I took a wrong turn at the top and went down the wrong way. I raced down the mountain, but still had to navigate some rough terrain for a few hours in the dark. This was the late nineties. I had a phone, but it didn't get coverage and phones back then didn't have a flash for light. That was then, and this is now. Today, hiking in the woods is much safer thanks to improved cellular coverage and smartphones with apps. Based on this story from Jonathan Anker of HLNtv, I'm sure Christopher Tkacik of Maryland would agree. Mr Tkacik was out walking his dog on New Years Eve when he got lost in the woods surrounding Catoctin Mountain. After several hours of wandering around, he used his iPhone to call for help. He was instructed to stay where he was and wait for rescue. To help the rescue team find him, he didn't start an old-fashioned fire; he used a flashlight app as a beacon to attract them to his location. Tkacik and his dog made it out of the woods without injury, and he was home in time to keep his New Year's Eve plans.
CyanogenMod team bails on Samsung Vibrant, cites inability to dial '911' as cause
CyanogenMod developers responsible for the Samsung Vibrant have abandoned support for the phone after efforts to enable 911 emergency access turned fruitless. The team suggests the issue can't be overcome without source code from Samsung, as all means to resolve the issue with open source code have failed. While it's no doubt an unfortunate revelation for Vibrant owners, the move is certainly the most responsible route for developers and users alike. Absent any intervention from the Korean manufacturer -- which has previously shown love to the CyanogenMod project -- it appears that the Vibrant has met an impasse for the time being.
How Siri could change the 911 emergency system
Right now, the 911 emergency call system is designed to accept one thing -- phone calls. However, the US is on the verge of moving to Next Generation 911, which is a dramatic upgrade to the system that allows communications to be made via voice, video, and text. GigaOM's John Wilson postulates in a recent post that Apple's Siri could revolutionize emergency calls and home health care. In his post, Wilson describes an all too common scenario -- an elderly woman having a cardiac event who is able to dial 911, but can't speak more than a few words. As a result, she can't let the responders know what's wrong or tell them anything about existing medical conditions or medications. With Siri, he believes that a key phrase could set off a video call to emergency personnel who could use their own eyes and ears to get a better picture of what's going on. As part of Next Generation 911, GPS location information is sent with the call, so responders are able to discern the exact location of a caller even when they can't tell the emergency center where they are. Wilson has the key phrase launching an app, sending either focused information or a patient's entire medical history to the responders. Finally, a Siri-based emergency calling system could even notify next of kin as to what is happening and what hospital the caller is being taken to. Wilson then focuses on home health care, noting that Siri's natural language capabilities could make life better for millions of elderly or homebound. As he notes, there are many specialty devices for this market right now, but they're all expensive and relatively difficult to use. Wilson sees Siri being used to set and vocalize reminders of when to take medications, initiate video checkups with care providers or family members, and "begin a smooth chain reaction of events that would otherwise require far more time and energy to do - two things our elderly, chronically ill population have the least of." This won't happen overnight, of course, but as Wilson notes, "Clearly it won't just be Siri alone in this revolution of health care. Many more services will be created, and many more similar innovations are on the horizon. But every revolution needs its leader, and Siri is undoubtedly it."
FCC wants all cellphones to be GPS-capable by 2018 for improved 911 service (updated)
There's still no real indication of when you'll be able to send text messages, photos and videos to 911, but the FCC has now set a date for another promised enhancement to the service. The agency is aiming to increase the service's location accuracy requirements, and to that end it wants all cellphones and VoIP devices to be GPS-capable by 2018 (A-GPS, specifically). As the FCC notes, it expects 85 percent of all cellphones to have built-in GPS by that point anyway, which it says should "contribute to minimizing subsequent costs" required to meet the cut-off -- it's not, however, adopting a specific sunset date just yet. As you might expect, however, there's not exactly unanimous support for the move in the industry, and the FCC itself notes in its recently-published document that AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Motorola and the CTIA all insist that "a unitary standard is not technically or economically feasible at this time." Update (October 11th): An FCC spokesperson has gotten in touch with us to clarify this situation a bit. Phones won't specifically be required to have GPS, but they will eventually be required to meet the more stringent location accuracy standards previously laid out by the agency either through a handset-based solution or a network-based solution (or a combination of both). The date for that requirement is yet to be determined, but it won't be before 2019. Its statement is as follows: The FCC is not requiring that all mobiles be equipped with GPS in 2018 for purposes of providing E911. Rather, not before 2019, on a date still to be determined, carriers will have to meet the more stringent location accuracy standards that now apply to those carriers using a handset solution for E911, and they may choose which solution to use: handset-based (meaning a GPS-type chip in the phone), network-based (meaning through network software and equipment), or a hybrid (which is how the technology seems to be evolving).
Daily Update for August 24, 2011
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top stories of the day in three to five minutes, which is perfect for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen.
9/11 Memorial app will be iPad exclusive
The 9/11 Memorial: Past, Present and Future app promises to be an immersive experience on the level of the exquisite NYPL Biblion: World's Fair that came out earlier this year from the New York Public Library. 9/11 Memorial is a complete history of the Twin Towers from development to the attacks in 2001 then the recovery. It's reported to have more than 400 photos and hours of video -- and will only be for the iPad. Writer-director Steve Rosenbaum told the New York Observer he went for the iPad because he felt it was the best platform for the presentation. "The nature of the photographs are so powerful, so to render them in anything but full color seemed wrong to me. And I didn't want it to be viewed on a phone. I wanted it to be big and glossy," he said. The app will launch September 1. Rosenbaum told the Observer that the app will be free until September 12, then will cost $9.95 after that. A demo video is online now.
FCC details plans to bring texting, photos and video to 911 service
The FCC started talking about its intention to allow for 911 texting (and even photos and videos) last year, and now Chairman Julius Genachowski is out with a detailed plan for a "next generation" 911 service. The standout feature of it is just that -- the ability to send a text, photo or video in the event of an emergency -- but that also brings with it a complete overhaul of the backend of the service, and a switch to an IP-based architecture from the current circuit-switched system. That, the FCC says, should provide more flexibility and resiliency, and the agency has a number of other improvements in mind as well, including increased accessibility for people with disabilities, and new measures to improve the accuracy of location gathering (including new rules for wireless carriers). Of course, it all still is just a plan at the moment, but the FCC says it will consider a move to accelerate adoption of the plan next month.
FBI's Child ID app helps iPhone users find their missing children
The FBI has just released its very first mobile app, aimed at helping parents deal with their worst nightmare -- a missing child. Known as Child ID, the application allows users to store their kid's photos and identifying information directly on their handsets, making it easier to provide authorities with vital data whenever the little one disappears. Parents can also use the tool to dial 911 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children with the tap of a button, and can instantly e-mail their child's details to law enforcement officials, thanks to a dedicated tab. Of course, some may feel uncomfortable with keeping such personal information stored on a smartphone, but the Bureau insists that none of the data will be collected or shared without authorization -- and they're pretty good at keeping secrets. For now, Child ID is available only for iPhone, though the FBI plans to expand it to other mobile devices in the near future. Interested iOS users can download it for themselves, at the iTunes link below.
LightSquared's LTE breaks GPS in New Mexico trial, angers John Deere
With Best Buy, Cricket, and Leap already signed on as partners, LightSquared has a lot riding on the success of its nationwide LTE network. Unfortunately, the Airforce's concerns about it interfering with GPS have been born by a test run in New Mexico. Officials in charge of the state's 911 systems as well as trucker hat kings Deere & Co. reported loss of service up to 22 miles away from LightSquared's cell tower. The company believes it has a solution to the interference problem, but hasn't specified exactly what the fix might be. Now the 4G wholesaler's future rests on a June 15th report to the FCC detailing the potential issues for both consumer navigators and the precision GPS systems used by the military and airlines -- but when even John Deere is lobbying against you things start to look a little bleak.
