Tag: ’emergency’
iPhone 14’s Emergency SOS via Satellite Feature Now Available in Australia and New Zealand
Emergency SOS via satellite is enabled by default on iPhones running iOS 16.4 or later in Australia and New Zealand. An option to send a text message via satellite will appear after dialing 000 in Australia or 111 in New Zealand outside the range of cellular and Wi-Fi coverage. There is also a demo mode in the Settings app under Emergency SOS that allows users to familiarize themselves with the service without contacting emergency responders.
With the service, Apple says users can send and receive messages in as little as 15 seconds in clear conditions. Users are prompted to complete a short questionnaire with vital information, and the interface then shows users where in the sky to point their iPhone to connect and send the initial message. This message includes the user’s questionnaire responses, location, altitude, iPhone battery level, and Medical ID info if set.
Apple says the service is designed to work outdoors with a clear view of the sky. Apple warns that foliage or other obstructions can result in emergency messages taking longer to send or failing to send, and satellite connectivity might not work in places above 62° latitude, such as northern parts of Canada and Alaska.
In Australia and New Zealand, Emergency SOS via satellite is free for two years starting today or at the time of activation of any iPhone 14 model. The service is also available in Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
This article, “iPhone 14’s Emergency SOS via Satellite Feature Now Available in Australia and New Zealand” first appeared on MacRumors.com
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‘No good options,’ but Yellen doesn’t rule out emergency measures to avoid U.S. default
Twitter backtracks, lets emergency and traffic alert accounts keep free API access
After putting its API behind a paywall, Twitter is now reversing course and making an exception for emergency and transportation agencies — some of which have already left the platform.
In a tweet sent out from the Twitter Dev account on Tuesday, the platform says “verified gov or publicly owned services who tweet weather alerts, transport updates and emergency notifications” can continue to use the API free of charge. Exactly what the company means by “verified” is unclear. Does it only apply if the agency has enabled a new “verified” account, and do they have to pay to get checkmarks on any sub accounts that may require API access?
We already started seeing the effects of these API changes last month when several emergency and…
Twitter restores free API access for emergency, weather and transportation alerts
Twitter’s decision to shut off its free API caused more than a few problems for public institutions that depend on the functionality, and the company is clearly ready to backtrack. The social network has restored free access to the app programming framework for verified government and publicly-owned services that use the tool for “critical purposes” such as emergency notifications, transportation updates and weather alerts.
The social media giant outlined a three-tier pricing strategy for its API in March. Normally, free access is limited to bots and testers that only need to write posts. It allows just 1,500 tweets per month and one app ID, which can be limiting for creators that need frequent updates. Basic access costs $100 per month with fixed caps on tweets, while businesses have to use multiple enterprise-level tiers to meet their needs. These can cost tens of thousands of dollars per month.
One of the most important use cases for the Twitter API has always been public utility. Verified gov or publicly owned services who tweet weather alerts, transport updates and emergency notifications may use the API, for these critical purposes, for free.
— Twitter Dev (@TwitterDev) May 2, 2023
The shutoff broke numerous apps and services that relied on the free API for sharing and content streams, such as Flipboard’s reader. It also created issues for developers willing to pay for access, including Echobox. While Twitter had warned that a cutoff was coming at some point, it didn’t notify customers of the exact timing and did little to explain the impact.
Government services faced extra pain. New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority said it would stop posting service alerts on Twitter after it faced a $50,000 per month fee for access. Microsoft also pulled Twitter from its social media tool for advertisers, and disabled Twitter screenshot sharing for Windows and Xbox gamers.
Twitter under Elon Musk’s leadership has clamped down on previously free functionality in a bid to both control more of the experience and shift more of its revenue to subscriptions. It banned third-party clients, for example, and required a Blue membership for some verified checkmarks. This latest move is an acknowledgment that the strategy creates problems, particularly for governments eager to provide vital information through as many channels as possible.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/twitter-restores-free-api-access-for-emergency-weather-and-transportation-alerts-204519574.html?src=rss
‘Pressure cooker’ crisis as emergency parcels distributed by food banks hit record high
Emergency SOS via Satellite Saves Students Trapped in Utah Canyon
The students who were involved spoke to Utah’s KUTV (via AppleInsider) and described their dangerous ordeal. One of the students, Bridger Woods, said that the three had heard about a “pretty cool canyon” that they decided to check out because they had been canyoneering for approximately a year.
Inside the canyon, they encountered an area that had unexpectedly deep water, potentially caused by a wet winter in Utah. Woods and another student, Jeremy Mumford, were stuck in the pool for over an hour, but they ultimately were able to get out and continue deeper. They encountered another pool where the water was chest deep, and they could not get out.
Two of the students were experiencing symptoms of hypothermia, and because of the location of the canyon, there was no cellular signal, but the third student, Stephen Watts, had an iPhone 14. According to Mumford, every 20 minutes, a “satellite would line up” to their location, and holding the phone up, they were able to get enough satellite signal to text 911.
While waiting for emergency services, the trio were able to leverage themselves out of the deep pool using rope and carabiners. With Woods going into hypothermic shock, they were still unable to get out of the 10 to 15 foot hole that they were in. Instead, they located driftwood and began a fire to warm up while emergency crews came to their rescue.
A helicopter crew from Salt Lake City arrived, as did paramedics from Arizona, and all three students were ultimately unharmed. The group told KUTV that they recommend taking a satellite phone on adventures in case of an emergency situation.
Emergency SOS via Satellite has already been used in several other life-threatening situations, including when an Alaskan man was stranded in the wilderness and when people were involved in a serious crash in the Angeles National Forest in California.
Emergency Satellite via SOS is available to all iPhone 14 users in select countries, and it can be activated when an emergency situation occurs and there is no WiFi or cellular connection available. The feature is free to use for two years, and Apple has not yet provided detail on how much it will cost going forward.
This article, “Emergency SOS via Satellite Saves Students Trapped in Utah Canyon” first appeared on MacRumors.com
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