That actually sounds like a good idea. Just give me a little notification like when I get a message or when a friends comes online and I'd be happy with that.
This is seriously a good idea and I wish to see this implemented across the U.S.... Why hasn't this been thought of before? Everyone playing MW2 too much?
I like the idea of more people being informed of an emergency, but there are going to be thousands of disgruntled kids out there if they miss their chance to beat the boss for… "This is a test of the emergency broadcast system". This could be catastrophic!
As cliché as it may be for how to "connect" with this generation, text messaging seems like it would be a great logical step.
One of the few things my university did right was allow students to opt-in to alerts after Virginia Tech went down. When a student brought a gun on campus and fired, everyone was immediately notified. Luckily (or unluckily) the student only intended to kill himself, but it was comforting to know that I was finding out about this in real time rather than waiting to hear about it on/through the news.
@Poop Cooper: my city, New Haven, has a website you can register with and the police then send out security alerts. For instance there was a particular area and date-range they were expecting gang violence and they alerted people to stay away via text, it is potentially very helpful.
@UltimateIdiot - Imperfection at Best: "This is an official warning: Laramer County is under severe hurricane warning. Residents are advised to evacuate the state immediately."
"While evacuating, will you be heading north on the 51? Then make sure you remember Exit 265 and try a taste of the new Cajun Chicken at KFC! Take this one last piece of home with you: it'll blow your socks off faster than a 12 on the Beaufort Scale!"
@Poop Cooper: I agree with this. When I lived in Texas I went to a local community college - there were a few abductions happening on/near campus. We were sent text messages warning us about the suspicious person - what he looked like, how tall he was, clothes he was last seen wearing, and the two places he was seen on campus. We were warned not to go on campus grounds alone after nightfall (use the buddy system if you absolutely have to be on campus after dark), and to park as close to our evening classes as possible. They ended up catching the guy, and it was a great use of the text messaging system.
I'd love to see the study that told them they should focus on gamers because they are at higher risk than, say, the elderly, people that couldn't afford DTV tuners, no siren areas, etc.
@Andinator: The elderly people that couldn't afford nearly free and continuously delayed converter boxes?
The elderly and confused part of that whole debacle was greatly over exaggerated. It was a small part of the population to begin with and almost all of the people in it said that they knew all about the change, they were just to lazy to do anything about it.
The elderly were actually some of the most ready for it.
If by don't watch "live TV" you just mean time shifted on a DVR I'm pretty sure the current system already breaks through that. I remember the first time I saw it on my DVR. It was a shock but made perfect sense in the end.
@tande04: Unless your DVR offers some special networked functionality, the current system won't show you the warning until you watch it several days/weeks/months later, at which point you get pissed off because you're getting a flood warning from back in March.
@wagnerrp: They all offer networked functionality, thats kinda what they are.
That was the best part with my DVR. It didn't record the emergency warning. The emergency warning just went over the top so you could rewind and get what you missed.
11/20/09
How, exactly do they do that if you have decent privacy settings enabled?
11/20/09
11/20/09
11/20/09
11/19/09
Rosa? Hello Rosa! This is an extreme weather warning.
11/20/09
11/19/09
11/20/09
11/20/09
Jesus, can't I even play video games in peace? Just when escapism was gettin good these self rightious bastards have to fuck that up now, too.
11/19/09
One of the few things my university did right was allow students to opt-in to alerts after Virginia Tech went down. When a student brought a gun on campus and fired, everyone was immediately notified. Luckily (or unluckily) the student only intended to kill himself, but it was comforting to know that I was finding out about this in real time rather than waiting to hear about it on/through the news.
11/19/09
11/19/09
11/20/09
"While evacuating, will you be heading north on the 51? Then make sure you remember Exit 265 and try a taste of the new Cajun Chicken at KFC! Take this one last piece of home with you: it'll blow your socks off faster than a 12 on the Beaufort Scale!"
11/20/09
11/19/09
11/19/09
The elderly and confused part of that whole debacle was greatly over exaggerated. It was a small part of the population to begin with and almost all of the people in it said that they knew all about the change, they were just to lazy to do anything about it.
The elderly were actually some of the most ready for it.
11/19/09
11/20/09
11/19/09
11/19/09
11/19/09
That was the best part with my DVR. It didn't record the emergency warning. The emergency warning just went over the top so you could rewind and get what you missed.
According to TiVo's site they work the same way.
10/31/08
10/31/08
10/31/08
10/31/08
10/31/08
Is she "tinkling" while in that tub?
(Voice of Apu)
"What is being implied here?"