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Show HN: Deaf? My iPhone app wakes you up if it hears an alarm

itunes.apple.com

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Re: Show HN: Deaf? My iPhone app wakes you up if it hears an alarm

#41

Post by marpalmin »

alexvr wrote: post #37
marpalmin wrote: post #35

Hi alexvr, a bit out of topic question: How did you manage to get the background sound analysis approved? I have an app that does also sound analysis in the background for a different purpose and it gets constantly rejected because of that. Thanks!

I think audio recording is one of the few things you're allowed to do in the background. I didn't do anything special. Did they give you any specific reasons?

This was the message after the appeal: "We still found the app is inappropriately using background audio because it is recording audio in the background for an indefinite period of time, which is not appropriate."

Re: Show HN: Deaf? My iPhone app wakes you up if it hears an alarm

#42

Post by evan_ »

MrMeker wrote: post #38
sbjustin wrote: post #15

This sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen. I think it's a great idea, but at 2.99 I don't think it's going to be profitable enough to take on the lawsuit risk.

What exactly would the author be sued about? I can't see anything obviously inviting a user to sue. EDIT: I think it would be a good idea to remove the language about fire alarms etc. and only mention alarm clocks and the like. It would be much harder to sue if the app didn't claim to respond to fire alarms.

If it doesn't work and someone is injured or killed.

Re: Show HN: Deaf? My iPhone app wakes you up if it hears an alarm

#43

Post by [deleted] »

MrMeker wrote: post #38
sbjustin wrote: post #15

This sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen. I think it's a great idea, but at 2.99 I don't think it's going to be profitable enough to take on the lawsuit risk.

What exactly would the author be sued about? I can't see anything obviously inviting a user to sue. EDIT: I think it would be a good idea to remove the language about fire alarms etc. and only mention alarm clocks and the like. It would be much harder to sue if the app didn't claim to respond to fire alarms.

[deleted]

Re: Show HN: Deaf? My iPhone app wakes you up if it hears an alarm

#44

Post by dkrich »

evan_ wrote: post #42
MrMeker wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What exactly would the author be sued about? I can't see anything obviously inviting a user to sue. EDIT: I think it would be a good idea to remove the language about fire alarms etc. and only mention alarm clocks and the like. It would be much harder to sue if the app didn't claim to respond to fire alarms.

If it doesn't work and someone is injured or killed.

How exactly would you prove this? And even if you could, would suing the maker of a $2.99 game be worth your while?

Re: Show HN: Deaf? My iPhone app wakes you up if it hears an alarm

#45

Post by alexvr »

davb wrote: post #27
QuantumChaos wrote: post #3

Great idea. I just hope this sort of thing isn't over-regulated.

I had a similar thought. Less about the regulation, more about liability. If I'm deaf and I pay for an app to tell me when an alarm is sounding, I have a certain expectation that it has been rigorously tested and will work without fail. And I'm a software engineer who understands the limitations and failure modes of such applications on non-real-time, commodity kit. Please be extra careful about how you market this.…

Thanks for the great comment. It's rigged to err on the false positive side, to be safe. I didn't expect this sort of interest, honestly, so I'll probably need to improve the app and make it as safe as possible if I find that people are actually using it.

Re: Show HN: Deaf? My iPhone app wakes you up if it hears an alarm

#46

Post by scott_s »

devanti wrote: post #34
DangerousPie wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would really like to see a citation for that!

Google it. It's all over the internet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone_radiation_and_heal...

There is no evidence of increased cancer risk from cell phones. Steven Novella has good posts on it. "Warning Labels on Cell Phones": http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/warning-labels-... and "Another Cell Phone – Cancer Review": http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/another-cell-ph...

Re: Show HN: Deaf? My iPhone app wakes you up if it hears an alarm

#47

Post by alexvr »

herokusaki wrote: post #30
alexvr wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you! I'm a college student with an early class (so I have to go to bed earlier than most people), and my dorm can be pretty loud, so I often sleep with earplugs. I didn't like the idea of possibly not waking up in a fire, so I made this to cure my paranoia :p I don't know how many people will find it useful, but it seemed like something that should exist.

Great idea for an app! I sleep with earplugs occasionally and I can see myself using your app in that situation. That said, I've been wondering lately if using earplugs often is a healthy thing to do in the long run. I couldn't find any pertinent research about non-professional users. Edit: phrasing.

I wonder the same thing. I find that I dream more when I can hear rain on the roof, so maybe ambient sounds (or a lack thereof) have a real effect on sleep

Re: Show HN: Deaf? My iPhone app wakes you up if it hears an alarm

#48

Post by alexvr »

marpalmin wrote: post #41
alexvr wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think audio recording is one of the few things you're allowed to do in the background. I didn't do anything special. Did they give you any specific reasons?

This was the message after the appeal: "We still found the app is inappropriately using background audio because it is recording audio in the background for an indefinite period of time, which is not appropriate."

Maybe they don't think it's necessary or appropriate to what you're doing with the sound?

Re: Show HN: Deaf? My iPhone app wakes you up if it hears an alarm

#50

Post by larrik »

Aardwolf wrote: post #49

Am I the only one who can't view the website? It is briefly visible for a second, then redirects to a "itmss://" URL and says "The address wasn't understood".

It's an iTunes link, if you don't have iTunes installed it doesn't really work.
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