Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911 • Hacker News Board

Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#531

Post by microtherion » Wed, Sep 25, 2019, 11:19 AM UTC

acqq wrote: post #488

WA wrote: post #485

I bet this is a great feature (and I do have an Apple Watch), but can we please hold for a sec here? This piece reads like an Ad. Furthermore, many comments here are about "I want to see my kids grow up". Now please, calculate the odds of: - you are in a terrible accident - there is no one around you to call an ambulance - you can’t call an ambulance yourself, because you are knocked out or can’t move I think the odd…

> I think the odds for such an event are rather low. And I guess you are writing just to the young users. There are a lot of old people living alone (in the part of the world where such watches are affordable). Falling, even in their own house, then remaining immobile and unable to call for help is a common cause of huge problems (1) (2). The specialized devices already exist too, but a lot of people don't carry them…

And even among young users, I know a sizable number who were involved in rather gruesome falls.

Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#532

Post by opless » Wed, Sep 25, 2019, 11:20 AM UTC

versk wrote: post #520

mirthflat83 wrote: post #518

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By your logic, no one would have to buy life insurance.

But your risk profile for death is extremely high.

On a long enough time line, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.

Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#533

Post by DoreenMichele » Wed, Sep 25, 2019, 11:23 AM UTC

mensetmanusman wrote: post #526

DoreenMichele wrote: post #493

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Years ago, I joined a health list for parents of children with a very serious medical condition. When I joined, the discussion involved a lot of "Our child is facing X surgery. Please pray for us." The longer I was there, the more the discussion became "Our child is facing X surgery. Have you or your child had this surgery? Pros? Cons? Any good tips?" Prayer very often means "It's hopeless. Humans can't fix this. Our…

Prayer is a human act of connection that has been going on longer than recorded history. Evolutionarily, if most people felt it was hopelessness, it wouldn’t have lasted so long. Modern feelings of hopelessness and nihilism extremely common in the western world, many people are dealing with these feelings through medication. The effectiveness of regular prayer on mental health is surprising according to studies and d…

I actually believe in the power of prayer and considered commenting on that specifically to try to avoid someone replying in this fashion. I didn't because this is HN and saying something like that can be a convenient excuse for a bunch of people to accuse you of being "woo," irrational, etc.

Let me rephrase that: When the people around you offer nothing but prayers, it's often because they don't believe there is any practical support they are capable of offering. In a group setting, if everyone offers you prayers and zero practical support, the signal it sends is pretty depressing.

To be clear, this was a support group for a deadly genetic disorder that frequently kills children before they reach adulthood. It is classified as a dread disease for a reason. The psychological effect of the diagnosis is huge.

It's practically a sign on the wall a la "All those who enter herein are damned." kind of thing.

Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#534

Post by microtherion » Wed, Sep 25, 2019, 11:31 AM UTC

shanev wrote: post #379

Rapzid wrote: post #364

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't seem like outsized thought and effort given the companies size, resources, and relatively small product focus..

Apple has had strong accessibility features since before they were a household name, when they were a fraction of the size of the company they are today. Here's a post from 2006 for example, talking about accessibility in Mac OS 9: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/724948 . Here's about accessibility in Mac OS X Tiger (2005): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_OS_X_Tiger#Accessibility .

Ironically, I think the accessibility focus started because they were a fraction of today’s size: in the early 2000s, section 508 requirements were becoming more stringent; there was an increasing risk that Apple would get shut out of government contracts, and due to the small market share of OS X, it was not considered a viable market for commercial screen reader vendors, so Apple decided to roll their own.

Thanks to strong leadership in the accessibility team, there was an increasing buy-in from the top, and throughout the company. Today, accessibility is indeed in Apple’s DNA, but initially, there was quite a bit of genetic engineering and (dare I say it?) government regulation involved.

Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#535

Post by jackvalentine » Wed, Sep 25, 2019, 11:34 AM UTC

kijin wrote: post #421

melling wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the future, everyone will wear a smart watch (2015): https://h4labs.wordpress.com/2015/07/28/in-the-future-everyo... I’m disappointed that Android Wear didn’t take off. More competition would greatly increase innovation.

More battery life would also greatly increase innovation and adoption. You shouldn't have to wonder if your watch has enough juice to last your weekend trip when you forget to bring the charger. Especially if the watch is meant to be a life-saving beacon. Regular quartz watches can go 3-10 years between battery replacements. Solar charging can increase that to 20 years or more. Self-winding mechanical watches will la…

> More battery life would also greatly increase innovation and adoption.

Doubt it. Apple watch is already a bigger business than netflix - the battery life is perfectly sufficient and making it longer would involve making it less capable.

Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#536

Post by Dwolb » Wed, Sep 25, 2019, 11:36 AM UTC

WA wrote: post #485

I bet this is a great feature (and I do have an Apple Watch), but can we please hold for a sec here? This piece reads like an Ad. Furthermore, many comments here are about "I want to see my kids grow up". Now please, calculate the odds of: - you are in a terrible accident - there is no one around you to call an ambulance - you can’t call an ambulance yourself, because you are knocked out or can’t move I think the odd…

I get your point but I don’t agree with the logic. Death is game over.

So yes the chance of incident is low, but the cost of the incident is at a maximum (you can die).

Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#537

Post by mpoloton » Wed, Sep 25, 2019, 11:37 AM UTC

WA wrote: post #485

I bet this is a great feature (and I do have an Apple Watch), but can we please hold for a sec here? This piece reads like an Ad. Furthermore, many comments here are about "I want to see my kids grow up". Now please, calculate the odds of: - you are in a terrible accident - there is no one around you to call an ambulance - you can’t call an ambulance yourself, because you are knocked out or can’t move I think the odd…

You should add to your list thess odds as well

- smart watch correctly detects a crash

Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#538

Post by samstave » Wed, Sep 25, 2019, 11:38 AM UTC

If you get into an accident, and the connection to your phone is lost, this wont work.

Phone destroyed or dead battery and no call correct?

Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#539

Post by Kiro » Wed, Sep 25, 2019, 11:40 AM UTC

WA wrote: post #485

I bet this is a great feature (and I do have an Apple Watch), but can we please hold for a sec here? This piece reads like an Ad. Furthermore, many comments here are about "I want to see my kids grow up". Now please, calculate the odds of: - you are in a terrible accident - there is no one around you to call an ambulance - you can’t call an ambulance yourself, because you are knocked out or can’t move I think the odd…

Still not sure what your point is or why you feel the need to tell people that may considering it not to buy it. I would guess a lot more people are in the risk zone than your post may suggest (especially elderly) and maybe it happens that someone decides not to buy it now that actually should because of your comment.

Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#540

Post by rimliu » Wed, Sep 25, 2019, 11:40 AM UTC

smolder wrote: post #347

smolder wrote: post #343

This kind of story that leverages tragedy to build brand value is repulsive to me. The intent is arguable but it reeks of manipulative advertising.

Dear downvoters, why is this an article about Apple watch and not wearable tech generally?

Because that was Apple watch and not wearable tech generally? I had and loved my Withings Steel HR watch, but it cannot do this. Nor can most of the "wearable tech".