Yr Bldg Is On Fire. Pls Lev Qkly.

from the effective? dept

Mon, Dec 4th 2006 9:18am — Mike Masnick

There's no denying that SMS alerts can be useful for some things, but it always seems a bit risky to use them for things that are truly urgent. That's because they're not all that reliable -- plenty of SMS messages tend to disappear into the ether, or sometimes it just takes a while for them to get through. So, it makes you wonder just how effective it will be for hotels in Japan to SMS or email guest's mobile phones if the building is on fire. They say they're looking to do this to help guests with hearing difficulties. It's a nice idea, in theory (and the software is being offered free by a Japanese government agency), but it seems like a solution such as adding flashing lights to the hotel's fire alarm system might be a bit more effective.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

25 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Anonymous Coward, 4 Dec 2006 @ 10:12am

Every hotel I've stayed in in the U.S. (and most corporate buildings) has had a strobe light attached to the alarm in the rooms that were designated for the hearing impaired.

How are they going to know they have a message or email awaiting them unless they happen to be holding the phone when it vibrates? If they can hear the phone ring, they can probably hear the alarm.

Excuse my ignorance ... do cell phones for the hearing impaired have a flashing light or something? Do the severely hearing impaired even use cell phones (for anything other than texting)?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Joel Coehoorn, 4 Dec 2006 @ 10:17am

culture
The Japanese culture is a little different regarding cell phones. Practically everyone has one and it's always on. They are extremely prevalent. It's hard to overstate this. Lost or delayed SMS messages are usually related to a phone that turned off for too long, so the service ought to be fairly reliable.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Cesa, 4 Dec 2006 @ 10:25am

Phones are for hearing impaired too
I live near a school for hearing impaired children, and often see them on the bus. They use cell phones just as much as anyone else. There are video calls as well as text messages, and vibrating signals (and flashing screen on some models) to know when someone calls.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
suckerpunch-TM, 4 Dec 2006 @ 10:29am

Re: culture
Doesn't EVERYONE leave their mobile phone on all the time nowadays?
Who doesn't?? And why wouldn't they???
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Dec 2006 @ 10:33am

Re: Re: culture
Hmmm, oh let's see....when I'm at a movie, when I'm in a meeting, when I'm sleeping, when I want to get away from the fact that we're ALWAYS connected...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Dec 2006 @ 10:33am

Re: Re:
I 'second' that. Ha!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Posterlogo, 4 Dec 2006 @ 11:09am

this is in addition to the other "obvious" things.
Not sure why there's such a dismissive tone about this topic -- they ALREADY do the other things like flashing lights. Why just insult them for trying to do something more?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
wolff000, 4 Dec 2006 @ 11:10am

My Phone Is Never On
I leave my phone off 50% of the time cause I don't want to be bothered. I turn it on every hour or so and check messages and i do that only casue it is a work phone and i have to return calls within an hour. I wish I was born 100 years ago so I wouldn't have to carry the digital leash all the time.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Dave Birch, 4 Dec 2006 @ 11:47am

This works for me
True story: a few years ago I was staying at a hotel in Washington. A friend of mine was there too and was checking out to go to the airport for a late evening flight so we went for a couple of drinks and got into a deep technical discussion. We carried the discussion on back to his room after he had asked at the front desk for someone to come and get his bags. We were so engrossed in the argument we didn't notice the time. Suddenly he remembered that someone was supposed to come and get his bags, so he rang down to the desk (we were on the 10th floor or something like that) and got a message saying "there is a fire emergency please leave". We hadn't heard the alarm. We looked out the window and there were fire tenders around the hotel because a kitchen on the 2nd or 3rd floor had caught fire. We ran for the fire exit and hurtled down 10 flights of stairs to get out.

A text message? Yes please.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Alex, 4 Dec 2006 @ 11:50am

Re: Re:
concurred. It's not even that hard to get first, aside from the complete pointlessness of it
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Matt, 4 Dec 2006 @ 11:57am

Re: My Phone Is Never On
don't you think you should be a little more dedicated to your phone if it's a work phone? or...maybe you're one of those people that are happy about providing the bare minimum...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
C. J., 4 Dec 2006 @ 12:44pm

RE: Txt Msg
Aside from the fact that we are dealing with Japan here - a society grossly married with technology (even moreso than America) - I do not see how this could be a bad thing.

Is this a service that they are demanding that the occupants of the hotel use? I might go so far as to scream, qutie loudly, no. This seems to be one of those things that will do far more good than harm; so where is the problem?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Keybored, 4 Dec 2006 @ 1:21pm

Oh damn the battery is dead
If they want to text me that the building is on fire but I hope that's not their only alert. I agree with the guy above, we got too much electronic crap attached to ourselves these days.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
spoon?!?!, 4 Dec 2006 @ 1:30pm

Al yor bldg ar blong 2 fier.

Cellphones: lifeless nerd + lots of local conventions = ^^
[ link to this | view in thread ]
chris (profile), 4 Dec 2006 @ 1:35pm

the brits use SMS for a lot of stuff too
i read a BBC thing a long while ago about using sms to with taxis... you call for one and the cabbie texts you when he pulls up so you don't have to wait outside in the rain/cold. i think the service was aimed at women who may not feel comfortable waiting alone outside of a pub or restaurant.

sms is way more popular in europe and asia than in the US. it's not got nearly the "whippersnapper" stigma that americans give it.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
|333173|3|_||3, 4 Dec 2006 @ 1:52pm

How about braodcasting a message over all the 'phones in the rooms explaining WTF is going on. Once I was in a hotel in Kitty Hawk, with open balconies, and when the fire alarm went of outside, it sounded like an alarm clock in the room. Spent about five minutes looking for it, then decided to leave it and go to the beach, and saw all the alarms going off, stobes, the whole lot, outside. an automated, looping phone message would help a lot, and shouldn't be too hard to set up.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Chris, 4 Dec 2006 @ 2:07pm

Here's an idea...
Maybe it's just my hatred towards the weakness of humankind to have an independant thought, but if a damn buildings on fire there's a myriad of other indicators that can let you know besides your damn lifeline of a cell phone. People running like mad, fire trucks responding, or even the maids and valets trying to help escort people out of the building. Thankfully I don't have the psychological problem of having to be able to constantly blab on about the most irrleveant crap. If I have something to say I don't need to say it immediately. Unfortunately it seems like anyone under the age of 20 can't retain a thought long enough to recall it at a later time when they're actualy interacting with someone face to face. For all you jackasses out there talking on your cell phone while you drive, getting into wrecks and setting the stereotype that hikes up my insurance, all I have to say to you is I hope you run into a pole and kill yourself, thus making the world a better place. You have a mind for a reason, I highly suggest you use it. To anyone stupid enough to put themselves in such a situation, you deserve the end result.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Dec 2006 @ 2:29pm

Oh dear, somebody thinks thier faeces doesn't have that familiar aroma.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
txjump, 4 Dec 2006 @ 2:30pm

just my thoughts
my dad is hearing impaired (but not deaf) and hes a sound sleeper. so i vote that the more things that are done to get his attention in the event of a fire THE BETTER.

geesh...just because it has to do w/ a cell phone some people want to bash it. forget that it just might save one or two lives.

and as for #17:
"Thankfully I don't have the psychological problem of having to be able to constantly blab on about the most irrleveant crap"

your post was the longest and it was not much more than a rant...interesting.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Dec 2006 @ 4:14pm

Japan also has strobe lighting to warn disabled persons. They are very conscious toward the disabled. Almost all major sidewalks have raised "braille-like" standardized bumps for the blind to follow. I'm pretty sure this cell phone idea is simply redundancy.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Chris, 5 Dec 2006 @ 12:11am

Sorry for going over your heads with a satirical t
IF you read the entire post, you'll see the point I was getting at is that people are entirely too dependant upon their cell phones, and they can even lead to more dangerous situations. If you've ever had a job that requires you to be on the road for a majority of the day, you'll see that about 85 percent of people talking on their cell phones are completely oblvious to their surroundings. Everytime a new feature comes out on a cell phone, people think that the previous methods are now outdated. Tell a kid they need to learn their multiplication tables, and they'll likely respond with "Why waste my time, I can just use my calculator on my cell phone." Give it enough time and people will no longer know north from south, east from west, because everyone has GPS on their cell phone. So if people become accustomed to only responding to a crisis if their text messeged about it, it will probably bring about more harm then benefit. What I didn't say is that it was a bad idea, shoulnd't be available to those who NEED it, or that it couldn't be a benefit. Obviously if you can't hear, and are in a deep sleep, a light probably wont save your life. Having a vibrating device notify you of danger however may.

To txjump, yes my post was the longest, because it had the most content required to finalize the point (much like this post). To try and quote me saying I don't have to blab on about the irrelevant, then hint at I'm doing just that, I suggest you actualy attack that which is irrelevant, maybe like my subject line. To comment on cell phones in a thread about them, and to offer my opinion in a FEEDBACK service, IS relevant.

As for the AC who posted "Oh dear, somebody thinks thier faeces doesn't have that familiar aroma" in saying such a thing you're saying your perceptive abilites trump mine, thus indicating the very thing which you oppose. I have the ability to speak coherant sentances without having to say "like" and "ya know" repeatedly. On average an American high school graduate is less educated than a 6th grader 40years ago. Males between the age of 18 and 24 have higher insurance rates, becuase they lack the judgement to be safe drivers. So to say that I'm better than the stereotype for my age, isn't an act of conceded arrogance.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Chris, 5 Dec 2006 @ 12:13am

cut off subject...
...should read "Sorry for going over your heads with a satirical tirade"
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Beerhunter, 5 Dec 2006 @ 8:20am

Re: Sorry for going over your heads with a satiric
...holy, I hope you are not the one that will be sending the SMS message or the building would've already burnt down ;-)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
txjump, 5 Dec 2006 @ 9:46am

heheheh
amen .. that would be a long sms!

chris, i dont recall saying i was confused about anything in your "expounded thoughts" (aka rant).

an opinion turns into blabbing on the most irrelevant crap when you call everyone under 20 an idiot, people you disagree with jackasses, and must tell everyone that indeed you are better than the stereotype of your age.

sure, the first two or three lines in your first post were about the uselessness of the cell phone as a means to potentially save a life. but the rest of your post and the subsequent post were indeed nothing more than blabbing on about irrelevent topics such as insurance, multiplication, and speaking coherently. oh, and how wonderful you are.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Chris, 5 Dec 2006 @ 2:17pm

again you miss interperate what I'm saying
"Unfortunately it seems like anyone under the age of 20..." Not sure if you've been to a high school lately, (why I mentioned the statistic about the lack of education most of America's youth receives) but it is very apparent that most adolescents have a hard time compiling their thoughts to formulate an accurate depiction of what their intended meaning is. Instead they fall back on the all to common "like, you know."

At no point did I call people who disagree with me a jackass, I said anyone who is stupid enough to get into an accident because they were talking on their cell phone is.

As for "the rest of your post and the subsequent post were indeed nothing more than blabbing on about irrelevant topics such as insurance, multiplication, and speaking coherently" it's pretty clear to see that they're relevant in counteracting the objections those of you arose. Kind of hard to have an argument if I don't have material to support my claims.

For further clarification might I suggest you look up what a "satirical tirade" means. If you haven't noticed already the underlying theme being everything that's been discussed boils down to a matter of personal choice, and in such instances no one conclusion can be derived; aside from agreeing to disagree.
[ link to this | view in thread ]