The Importance of Robust Testing - iPhone Edition
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This crossed my desk today: A significant testing omission for a new iPhone feature: the rollercoaster test[^].
It may sound funny, but false calls to emergency services are not a joking matter. Responding to calls for help, real or false, places the responder at risk of collisions due to careless and distracted drivers.
__________________ Lord, grant me the serenity to accept that there are some things I just can’t keep up with, the determination to keep up with the things I must keep up with, and the wisdom to find a good RSS feed from someone who keeps up with what I’d like to, but just don’t have the damn bandwidth to handle right now. © 2009, Rex Hammock
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This crossed my desk today: A significant testing omission for a new iPhone feature: the rollercoaster test[^].
It may sound funny, but false calls to emergency services are not a joking matter. Responding to calls for help, real or false, places the responder at risk of collisions due to careless and distracted drivers.
__________________ Lord, grant me the serenity to accept that there are some things I just can’t keep up with, the determination to keep up with the things I must keep up with, and the wisdom to find a good RSS feed from someone who keeps up with what I’d like to, but just don’t have the damn bandwidth to handle right now. © 2009, Rex Hammock
Yep. That tech should be left as part of the vehicle, not the occupant. From 2018, an EU directive required all new passenger cars to be fitted with eCall system : eCall 112-based emergency assistance from your vehicle[^] But Mercedes had it as standard since 2012: Faster help at the scene of an accident: Mercedes-Benz emergency call system[^] Don't know what the situation is in the US ...
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Yep. That tech should be left as part of the vehicle, not the occupant. From 2018, an EU directive required all new passenger cars to be fitted with eCall system : eCall 112-based emergency assistance from your vehicle[^] But Mercedes had it as standard since 2012: Faster help at the scene of an accident: Mercedes-Benz emergency call system[^] Don't know what the situation is in the US ...
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Yep. That tech should be left as part of the vehicle, not the occupant. From 2018, an EU directive required all new passenger cars to be fitted with eCall system : eCall 112-based emergency assistance from your vehicle[^] But Mercedes had it as standard since 2012: Faster help at the scene of an accident: Mercedes-Benz emergency call system[^] Don't know what the situation is in the US ...
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
OriginalGriff wrote:
Don't know what the situation is in the US ...
It's mandatory in many states. Source: I worked on a eCall/Networking ECU for the NAFTA market.
GCS/GE d--(d) s-/+ a C+++ U+++ P-- L+@ E-- W+++ N+ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE Y+ PGP t+ 5? X R+++ tv-- b+(+++) DI+++ D++ G e++ h--- r+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X
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This crossed my desk today: A significant testing omission for a new iPhone feature: the rollercoaster test[^].
It may sound funny, but false calls to emergency services are not a joking matter. Responding to calls for help, real or false, places the responder at risk of collisions due to careless and distracted drivers.
__________________ Lord, grant me the serenity to accept that there are some things I just can’t keep up with, the determination to keep up with the things I must keep up with, and the wisdom to find a good RSS feed from someone who keeps up with what I’d like to, but just don’t have the damn bandwidth to handle right now. © 2009, Rex Hammock
Never been on a roller-coaster, never wanted to. However if the experience is similar to being in a car crash, I seriously wonder why anyone would want to. I wonder how Kings Island feel about this news? [Fortunately, I wasn't drinking coffee when reading that the iPhone was in the fanny pack of dentist Sara White. It's a term I'm aware of but wasn't expecting at that moment :wtf: ]
Telegraph marker posts ... nothing to do with IT Phasmid email discussion group ... also nothing to do with IT Beekeeping and honey site ... still nothing to do with IT
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This crossed my desk today: A significant testing omission for a new iPhone feature: the rollercoaster test[^].
It may sound funny, but false calls to emergency services are not a joking matter. Responding to calls for help, real or false, places the responder at risk of collisions due to careless and distracted drivers.
__________________ Lord, grant me the serenity to accept that there are some things I just can’t keep up with, the determination to keep up with the things I must keep up with, and the wisdom to find a good RSS feed from someone who keeps up with what I’d like to, but just don’t have the damn bandwidth to handle right now. © 2009, Rex Hammock
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A 2.87 trillion dollar company releases a feature that they forgot to write a use case for and test.
Caveat Emptor. "Progress doesn't come from early risers – progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things." Lazarus Long
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Yep. That tech should be left as part of the vehicle, not the occupant. From 2018, an EU directive required all new passenger cars to be fitted with eCall system : eCall 112-based emergency assistance from your vehicle[^] But Mercedes had it as standard since 2012: Faster help at the scene of an accident: Mercedes-Benz emergency call system[^] Don't know what the situation is in the US ...
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
OriginalGriff wrote:
But Mercedes had it as standard since 2012: Faster help at the scene of an accident: Mercedes-Benz emergency call system[^]
AFAIK GM Onstar has been doing something similar since it was released in 96.
OriginalGriff wrote:
Don't know what the situation is in the US ...
After a just severe enough to trigger the air-bags accident a few years ago my '17 Honda refused to power off until the tow person disconnected the battery. Apparently because it was desperately trying to connect to a - since replaced - phone that the sales droid at the stealership talked me into pairing over BT. I found no value in having done so, and never bothered to setup my replacement phone.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius
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OriginalGriff wrote:
But Mercedes had it as standard since 2012: Faster help at the scene of an accident: Mercedes-Benz emergency call system[^]
AFAIK GM Onstar has been doing something similar since it was released in 96.
OriginalGriff wrote:
Don't know what the situation is in the US ...
After a just severe enough to trigger the air-bags accident a few years ago my '17 Honda refused to power off until the tow person disconnected the battery. Apparently because it was desperately trying to connect to a - since replaced - phone that the sales droid at the stealership talked me into pairing over BT. I found no value in having done so, and never bothered to setup my replacement phone.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius
Pairing my phone is about the first thing I do with a new car, if only to get handsfree. Over here, touching your phone while driving (i.e. not parked with the engine off) is 6 points on your licence and £200. A full licence is taken away when you reach 12 points, except in the first two years after passing the test when it goes away at 6 points. I currently have a clean licence, and want it to stay that way - as well as the safety considerations!
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Pairing my phone is about the first thing I do with a new car, if only to get handsfree. Over here, touching your phone while driving (i.e. not parked with the engine off) is 6 points on your licence and £200. A full licence is taken away when you reach 12 points, except in the first two years after passing the test when it goes away at 6 points. I currently have a clean licence, and want it to stay that way - as well as the safety considerations!
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
Despite the huckstering when it first became available making a call or listening to and dictating texts proved to have equivalent safety penalties, thinking about something other than driving not fondling a slab of glass is the real danger. Most of the time (probably 98-99% pre-covid, ~90-95% now with my work commute permanently gone) I'm driving my phone is in one of the two safest modes: at home on the desk or in pocket and on silent + no vibrate. The remainder, it's suction cupped to the glass far enough away I couldn't touch it from a normal seated position if I wanted and running a nav app while notifications pile up ignored until I stop.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius
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Easy to do. Those insurance company "safe driving" software packages missed the fact that most EVs can use engine regeneration to decelerate so fast that the software would record a harsh braking event when the driver had no feet on the pedals.
obermd wrote:
Easy to do. Those insurance company "safe driving" software packages missed the fact that most EVs can use engine regeneration to decelerate so fast that the software would record a harsh braking event when the driver had no feet on the pedals.
And they would be right to do so to the same extent that they're right to do so when you stomp on the brake yourself. Why the car is slowing fast enough to increase it's risk of being rearended doesn't make getting crunched any less likely.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius
-
Despite the huckstering when it first became available making a call or listening to and dictating texts proved to have equivalent safety penalties, thinking about something other than driving not fondling a slab of glass is the real danger. Most of the time (probably 98-99% pre-covid, ~90-95% now with my work commute permanently gone) I'm driving my phone is in one of the two safest modes: at home on the desk or in pocket and on silent + no vibrate. The remainder, it's suction cupped to the glass far enough away I couldn't touch it from a normal seated position if I wanted and running a nav app while notifications pile up ignored until I stop.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius
Dan Neely wrote:
two safest modes: at home on the desk or in pocket and on silent + no vibrate
Same here. :thumbsup:
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment "Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst "I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle
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This crossed my desk today: A significant testing omission for a new iPhone feature: the rollercoaster test[^].
It may sound funny, but false calls to emergency services are not a joking matter. Responding to calls for help, real or false, places the responder at risk of collisions due to careless and distracted drivers.
__________________ Lord, grant me the serenity to accept that there are some things I just can’t keep up with, the determination to keep up with the things I must keep up with, and the wisdom to find a good RSS feed from someone who keeps up with what I’d like to, but just don’t have the damn bandwidth to handle right now. © 2009, Rex Hammock
Shame on the developers for not questioning the spec, ditto on the testers for not testing outside the box, ditto the product managers for not properly thinking through their bright idea! But there is a simple solution - disable the feature by default and auto-enable it when the phone connects to a paired HFT over Bluetooth. Possibly with a user opt-out at the point of enabling.
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Yep. That tech should be left as part of the vehicle, not the occupant. From 2018, an EU directive required all new passenger cars to be fitted with eCall system : eCall 112-based emergency assistance from your vehicle[^] But Mercedes had it as standard since 2012: Faster help at the scene of an accident: Mercedes-Benz emergency call system[^] Don't know what the situation is in the US ...
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
Well, we should also note that geo-fencing an amusement park is NOT that expensive. But don't worry, in the end 911 will request "remote access to camera and audio", so they can validate the situation for the safety of the phone owner... And like e911 in the states, they will add a monthly fee that pays for it to be developed, and never goes away, so they can continue...
