Did Your Code Ever Make Anyone Deaf?

theodp writes "Siemens AG anticipates additional costs from a software problem with new mobile phones that has led retailers to suspend sales. Five models of its new 65 series can emit a piercing melody into users' ears if the battery fails during a call, causing hearing damage in extreme cases, according to a statement."

Comments

No, but..

[Anonymous Coward]

it.slashdot.org made me blind.

Re:No, but..

[Anonymous Coward]

I love you.

No...

[ebrandsberg]

But if they looked at it they could have gone blind. Seriously, I've seen some messed up code, but deaf?

Verizon Wireless

[968134]

Can you hear me now? What?

Re:Verizon Wireless

[Adam9]

Can you hear me now?

Can you hear me now?

[Bill_Royle]

Good.

Sucks for Siemens. Heh... a twofer!

Mod parent down!

[Anonymous Coward]

Worse than goatse :(

Re:Mod parent down!

[Anonymous Coward]

Jokes about goatse are never funny.

Misread

[xsupergr0verx]

I thought it said "Did Your Code Ever Make Anyone Dead?"

That time will come, but first the killer robots need some touching up around the joints...

Mobile Phone Usage

[Detritus]

However, this danger can only arise if the mobile phone is held up directly to the ear while the melody is playing.

Gee whiz, what are the chances of a user holding a mobile phone next to their ear? I always keep mine strapped to my elbow.

engeneer

[Rotkiv]

whoever made the phone has very talented engineers.

what did they have 90 year old review the phone for them?

Let that be a lesson

[Insurgent2]

That's what happens when you outsource the hardware to Singapore and the software to India.
"Soft beep" in Mandarin probably translates to "Loud, deafening tone" in Hindi.

My professor...

[A1miras]

Often upon seeing my solutions to the labs in my first programming class, the Professor would let out a shriek that caused hearing damage to virtually everyone within a 3 mile radius and killed several Koi fish in a nearby pond.

Well, it's ONE solution

[Dorsai65]

to the problem of all the lame asshats spending all their time with a cell phone stuck on their ear.
Anybody that spends that much time using a cell phone, the rest of us are probably better off - they go deaf, they don't need the phone anymore, right? No more talking & driving, talking & putting on makeup, talking & whatever.
[note to /. moderators: please adjust moderation by 1/2 - the second paragraph was only HALF-joking...]

An idea

[Teahouse]

Here's a horrible idea I know some l33t3r is probably working on right now. How about a worm that makes the screen strobe-flash red? I wonder how many poor kids some idiot programmer is going to put into convlusions to prove they have skills. Infect 1 million computers with this, and you can expect at least 100 seizures. You know someone is working on it.

You've got it all wrong

[lildogie]

Just after the shriek, look for a bystander that hates cell phones, holding a gadget in his hand, and smiling.

No, but...

[precogpunk]

I had a user complain that my website gave them a hairy palm.

New Poll

[Anonymous Coward]

Does it.slashdot.org make you

[ ] Happy
[ ] Sad
[ ] Nauseated
[ ] Suicidal
[ ] Manic
[ ] Blind
[ ] Anonymous Coward
[ ] Cowboyneal

Re:New Poll

[Anonymous Coward]

it makes me horny but then again, i'm always honry.

No, but...

[errxn]

...I got a Blue Screen of Deaf once. Does that count?

<ducks>

Not quite the same...

[SmittyTheBold]

...but I had a Motorola V120X that showed numerous interesting behaviors, especially when it came to ringing.

My (least) favorite was when I'd answer the phone, and the conversation would be connected, but the phone would continue ringing until the phone call ended. You can bet I made sure those calls were very short.

I hated that phone.

Re:Hearing damage = deaf

[phaze3000]

You sleep in noisy server rooms?

/. really brings them out the woodwork..

Re:Hearing damage = deaf

[Anonymous Coward]

You sleep in noisy server rooms?

My whole house is a server room.

Re:SprintPCS and Sony

[ebrandsberg]

This brought a smile to my face. Just thinking of chucking a cellphone like a grenade does that. I don't know why...

It isn't like you don't have TWO ears

[The Other White Meat]

Frankly, I do not see what the problem is.

As the owner of a Siemens Series 65 phone, you have the responsibility to care for it. If you didn't feed your child, it would cry loudly, would it not?

That the Siemens Series 65 phone emits an ear bleeding shreak when starved for energy (and obviously attention as well) is just survival of the fittest. Other phones may be regularly left to starve until shutdown, but with the Siemens, that is likely to never happen a second time.

I for one welcome our ear destroying, power requiring, attention demanding Cellular Overlord®.

Olden Code

[MykeBNY]

I'm surprised some of the code from olden days hasn't made anyone deaf yet, with all that shouting..

10 REM HELLO WORLD
20 CLS
30 PRINT "HELLO WORLD!" .. okay, bad joke..

Dear slashdot...

[Anonymous Coward]

I have somehow stumbled upon the toner cartridge for it.slashdot.org that you ordered a few weeks ago. It was sent here by mistake. I have repeatedly tried e-mailing it to you guys with the subject line "Increase your toner size!" but I don't think it ever gets through. Any suggestions? Thanks.

No, but it can kill chickens

[ChopsMIDI]

From the borland Turbo C++ 3.0 help file for the function "sound()".

/* True story: 7 Hz is the resonant
frequency of a chicken's skull cavity.
This was determined empirically in
Australia, where a new factory
generating 7-Hz tones was located too
close to a chicken ranch: When the
factory started up, all the chickens
died.

Your PC may not be able to emit a 7-Hz tone. */

#include <dos.h>

int main(void)
{
sound(7);
delay(10000);
nosound();
return 0;
}