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Look Ma, I'm Getting Arrested!

robotissues writes "Cnet reviews 'I'm Getting Arrested,' an Android app that alerts your lawyer and loved ones if you have been arrested while peacefully demonstrating. The app makes it easy to broadcast a message via SMS in case all hell breaks loose."

42 of 238 comments (clear)

  1. All Hell? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I think when all hell breaks loose, it looks like Darfur, not Occupy Wallstreet.

    1. Re:All Hell? by Abstrackt · · Score: 4, Funny

      The problem is that everyone has a different definition of all hell breaking loose. For some it's blood running in the streets, for others it's that their portfolio dropped by 20%.

      --
      They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance. - Terry Pratchett
    2. Re:All Hell? by nedlohs · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Everyone else uses the phrase as a relative term. But go ahead and complain that your unique language choices aren't globally accepted.

      Personally I think the phrase should only be used to refer to situations in which some crazy vampire opens a hellmouth, but I don't complain when nobody agrees with me.

    3. Re:All Hell? by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 4, Funny

      Well, why not an "I just died" app. Have a blue-tooth wristband that measures your heartrate- if your heart stops beating it sends an e-mail out to your loved ones.

      "If you are reading this, I just died.

      - Peace & Love

      Oswald McWeany"

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    4. Re:All Hell? by delinear · · Score: 5, Funny

      It just needs to say "Either I, or my wristband's battery, just died".

    5. Re:All Hell? by adamdoyle · · Score: 2

      Sending your loved ones false messages of your death is rather cruel.

      Well, I'm not sure that one applies to everyone.

    6. Re:All Hell? by ld+a,b · · Score: 2

      Some might be happy about your real death, but everyone would be pissed off about a false death message.

      --
      10 little-endian boys went out to dine, a big-endian carp ate one, and then there were -246.
    7. Re:All Hell? by Culture20 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      That's the same as this app. Reach for your phone during an arrest, and suddenly, cop thinks you're reaching for a weapon.

    8. Re:All Hell? by Adrian+Lopez · · Score: 2

      And make no mistake, most of these stoners/unemployed/cause-of-the-week types will be toting around iPhones, so this app should get a pretty nice reception.

      Why would the unemployed have a bone to pick with the top 1%?

      --
      "In prison you just have to shut your eyes and take it. Here you have to shut your eyes and give it."
  2. Enough time? by aglider · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Would you mr policeman give me time to run this pretty app before you use your handcuffs on me?

    --
    Sent as ripples into the electromagnetic field. No single photon has been harmed in the process.
    1. Re:Enough time? by Leebert · · Score: 4, Funny

      I was thinking exactly that. I guess if you see the cop coming and reach into your pocket quickly for your phone it might work. What could possibly go wrong?

    2. Re:Enough time? by BigSlowTarget · · Score: 3, Funny

      Phone starts dialing everyone - (000) 000-0001, (000) 000-0002, ...

    3. Re:Enough time? by delinear · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Of course, "Help I'm being arrested" in that case might actually mean "Sorry, I had to go pee and didn't think what would happen if I needed both hands for something else". I wonder if a bluetooth headset and an app that listens for a pre-defined keyword might be a more robust solution, it would kill the battery though. Having said that, I really don't see a point in a "Help I'm being arrested, text my lawer" app, you generally get the option to call them direct anyway, and if the police are denying you that most basic of rights they're already in very murky territory, what's to stop them just denying they have you in custody at all? It seems to me an app that, when you hit the emergency button, starts streaming live video/audio to half a dozen secure servers just in case the police get a bit feisty would be far more useful.

    4. Re:Enough time? by AdamThor · · Score: 2

      That's "Wheatley, tell everyone I'm getting arrested."

      --
      -- "Oh. This guy again."
    5. Re:Enough time? by mevets · · Score: 3, Funny

      Frogs and jokes don't fare well by discetion...

    6. Re:Enough time? by AuralityKev · · Score: 2

      If I have to use both hands to pee I'm buying a completely different app for that. iBrag.

  3. Corporate shills! by ArcherB · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This is awesome. So while I'm out protesting corporations, I can use my phone, produced by a corporation, to notify my family that I've been arrested. Maybe I can get one of them to bring me a frapacino.

    --
    There is no "I disagree" mod for a reason. Flamebait, Troll, and Overrated are not substitutes.
    1. Re:Corporate shills! by Vanders · · Score: 4, Insightful

      To be fair, I don't think it's necessary for the protesters to abhor technology: it's a "No true Scotsman" fallacy to suggest that they should. If they were protesting Google, Samsung, HTC and AT&T directly then yeah, there would be some hypocrisy there. As it is they're on Wall St. and are directing their protests at the banks, mostly.

    2. Re:Corporate shills! by LanMan04 · · Score: 2

      You are the most prolific strawman-builder I've ever seen.

      --
      With the first link, the chain is forged.
    3. Re:Corporate shills! by mswhippingboy · · Score: 5, Insightful
      I suppose it would be more "pure" to eschew anything produced by a corporation while protesting their influence, but then the protesters would need to carry around stone tablets and chisels to communicate, all while wearing animal skins (or protesting in the nude). However, I see no hypocrisy in using all available technologies at their disposal to make their point. After all, the protests are not against technology, but rather corporate greed, government corruption and the undue influence of power and money on the political system.

      Perhaps (as your post seems to infer) everyone should just STFU and accept the wonderful economic condition the US is in, due in no small part by the factors mentioned above, eh? I'm sure "Corporate America" thanks you for your support.

      --
      Sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is the headlight of an oncoming train.
    4. Re:Corporate shills! by ArcherB · · Score: 2

      I suppose it would be more "pure" to eschew anything produced by a corporation while protesting their influence, but then the protesters would need to carry around stone tablets and chisels to communicate, all while wearing animal skins (or protesting in the nude). However, I see no hypocrisy in using all available technologies at their disposal to make their point. After all, the protests are not against technology, but rather corporate greed, government corruption and the undue influence of power and money on the political system.

      I see it as people having liberals having Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speak about human rights. I have no problem with them using technology, as long as the tech they use is not produced by the very people they are protesting. If they have a problem with Haliburton or Bank of America, they should protest Haliburton or Bank of America, not all of Wall St. See, much of my retirement is tied up in Wall St and I'm the working class schlub they are supposed to be protesting for. They are NOT helping!

      Perhaps (as your post seems to infer) everyone should just STFU and accept the wonderful economic condition the US is in, due in no small part by the factors mentioned above, eh? I'm sure "Corporate America" thanks you for your support.

      Taking down corporations is not going to improve our economic situation. It will put a bunch of people out of work and turn us into a country like India with an even more defined caste system. Lower energy prices, lower taxes, less regulation, and most importantly, STABILITY, are ways to improve our economic situation. Then again, I don't see these guys as Nobel Laureate Economists.

      --
      There is no "I disagree" mod for a reason. Flamebait, Troll, and Overrated are not substitutes.
    5. Re:Corporate shills! by Vanders · · Score: 2

      I have no problem with them using technology, as long as the tech they use is not produced by the very people they are protesting

      Just what technology would be that be, precisely? Flint knives and smoke signals?

    6. Re:Corporate shills! by Thud457 · · Score: 2
      There's a difference between
      • a company whose stock is traded on the market
      • and

      • a company that manipulates the market, crashing economies around the world
      --

      the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

    7. Re:Corporate shills! by ScentCone · · Score: 2

      What if he is? He just made a perfectly good point. These people are standing around sipping their lattes with signs that talk about "toppling" all businesses and whatnot. I'm sure they'll be happy when the case of the clap they got under a blanket at the protest is treated instead with the antibiotics made by the guy down the street with whom they've bartered pumpkin seeds and some hand-drawn manga books, what with The Man and is money-handling and his employees-making-antibiotics-in-actual-laboratories-and-all being Eeeeeeevil.

      That you can't pick up on a simple bit of rhetoric ... never mind. You did. You just don't like the point he makes, because it's true.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    8. Re:Corporate shills! by JWSmythe · · Score: 3, Insightful

          Protests such as this don't serve to resolve any problems. They only serve to draw attention to the problem. Would one, ten, or ten million people standing around complaining about a problem make a difference? Not really.

          It would be more effective if those protesters, their friends, and their families, all cashed in their stock, paid off their loans (so as not to pay further interest), closed their bank accounts, and effectively said "hell no, we won't let you have any more of our money!"

          I've been doing my part towards this. I am open about problems I've had with banks. A recent even was with Wells Fargo. They started charging me fees which were contrary to federal law. I went to the bank first to discuss it. They refused to accept the fact that they were breaking the law. I filed a federal complaint over it. When faced with this they begrudgingly agreed to waive the fees, but still refused to admit that they were at fault. Basically, they claimed it was my fault that they were illegally applying fees. In the end, I closed my account without needing to pay the fees. Several friends did the same. I'm just one person, and it was only a handful of accounts that were closed because of this. If every person who was wronged did the same thing, it would have a severe impact on banks and other companies that are viewed as "doing wrong". These companies can only thrive for as long as they have these huge customer bases, that pay fees and interest.

          In other words, don't complain about the problem. Do something about the problem. Stop paying them to be the problem.

      --
      Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
    9. Re:Corporate shills! by Hatta · · Score: 3, Insightful

      See, much of my retirement is tied up in Wall St and I'm the working class schlub they are supposed to be protesting for. They are NOT helping!

      That's a nice insurance policy Wall Street has. If the serfs get too uppity, just crash their retirement. That way you get a country full of Uncle Toms running to prop up the system. Aren't you upset about being in such a bind that you can't even speak your mind for fear of losing your retirement?

      Putting your retirement in the stock market is a stupid idea to begin with. Workers should be paid enough that they can save what they need to retire on, without being forced to gamble, or fund unethical behavior.

      Taking down corporations is not going to improve our economic situation

      Very few people want to take down corporations. We just want them to play fair. They should pay their workers a fair share of the profits. The officers of corporations should go to jail when the corporation commits crimes. And they shouldn't have undue influence over the political process.

      Do you disagree?

      Then again, I don't see these guys as Nobel Laureate Economists.

      At least one Nobel Laureate economist has strongly supported the economic ideas behind OWS.

      the extremists threatening American values are what F.D.R. called "economic royalists," not the people camping in Zuccotti Park.
      -Paul Krugman

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    10. Re:Corporate shills! by oldmac31310 · · Score: 2

      Yay Paul Krugman! I used to read his op-eds in the NYT a few years ago - before I stopped reading the NYT entirely. He was so often very sensible and to my mind, correct most of the time. A real voice of reason. Glad to know he is still making sense.

      --
      http://www.acetonestudio.com
  4. police state by Lord+Dreamshaper · · Score: 3, Insightful

    regardless of where you stand on any of the issues or what you think about any protests and protesters, whether you think all police are jackbooted thugs or are paragons of virtue, or (more realistically) somewhere in between, the fact that there is a (perceived or actual) need for this app is an incredibly sad comment on our times

    --
    When all of your wishes have been granted, many of your dreams will be destroyed - Marilyn Manson
  5. Re:Look Ma... by djlemma · · Score: 3, Informative

    One phone call using a landline at the police station that can only call other landlines within the local area code... and that's after you've had your personal phone confiscated, so if there's anybody you can call that meets those criteria you better have their number memorized.

  6. Re:Needs live streaming by technomom · · Score: 2

    Like this one? or this one or even this one if you set it up to auto-upload.

  7. Suggestion. by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 4, Funny

    This app should have the option to shout, "Don't taze me bro" repeatedly at maximum volume too.

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
  8. An amazing AI app: by Hartree · · Score: 3, Funny

    How would it know you were protesting rather than doing something else?

    "I'm sorry. I can't send a message. You were holding up a liquor store. That's not peaceful protesting."

  9. go long on guillotines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I just hope when this is all said and done I still have enough in my 401k for a sniper rifle, a machete and some rope.

    1. Re:go long on guillotines by Opportunist · · Score: 2

      Don't worry. If you don't, so won't a few thousands/million others. And a lot of them will already have rifles, machetes and rope, due to the nature of their profession, and I guess they'll be very willing to let you tag along. The more the merrier, as I always say when going to a lynching party.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  10. Re:Canada by Phrogman · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Until a few years ago I would have said we were free from being in this state up here in Canada. But then we have the pepperspraying of peaceful protesters in Vancouver, followed many years later by the treatment of the protesters at the G8 summit - which appears to have been used by the Conservative Harper government as a training exercise in how to run a police state in all regards. They attempted to incite people to break the law using police undercover officers in the midst of the protesters, they kettled people with no reason, they beat up on hundreds of peaceful protesters, they announced they were enforcing a law that they KNEW was not on the books and which had never existed - arresting people under it. They held protesters who had been arrested in overcrowded cages,refusing them food, water, medical attention etc, without charges being layed, then released them 12-24 hrs later without explanation. All this against a backdrop of Conservative misappropriation of the vast funds spent on the event (1 billion total or so I think). I am thoroughly ashamed that my fellow citizens somehow saw fit to elect Stephen Harper to be our Prime Minister, then handed him a majority government in the following election. How enough of them could be so misguided as to vote for him is beyond me. I wouldn't buy a used car from that asshole, and I sure as fuck don't trust him as the PM. The only things Harper believes in as far as I can see, are his own manifest destiny and a strong desire to earn the praise of the US Republican party by doing whatever they want him to do.
    Mostly Canada is pretty peaceful and calm, but if we dare object to something the Conservatives are doing, we get treated like we are criminals with no rights, and the Canadian constitution which guarantees those rights is trampled by the Police that run to do his bidding. I used to have immense respect for the various police forces in Canada - my father was a cop in Vancouver, and if I hadn't been accepted by the Canadian Military first, I would have been a cop there as well - but no longer after watching their behaviour in Toronto during the G8/G20 summit. Lies, Deceit, Corruption, these are all cards in the hand the Conservatives are playing - and my fellow countrymen/women appear to be too blind or too stupid to see it.

    --
    "The first time I got drunk, I got married. The second time I bought a chimpanzee, after that I stayed sober" Arian Seid
  11. Re:The good news is... by Amouth · · Score: 2

    and why is it good news that the protests will go away?

    --
    '...if only "Jumping to a Conclusion" was an event in the Olympics.'
  12. Speaking from experience... by joelville · · Score: 2

    I hope it also reminds you to Sharpie your contact's telephone number to your arm before you go out. When I was arrested at a peaceful protest they confiscated my cellphone, the only number I had memorized was an ex-girlfriend's parents... from 7 years ago and two states away. http://www.joellueders.com/arrested.html [slashvertising]

  13. Re:The good news is... by ScentCone · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Because then they can at least be warm and comfortable, and not using other people's toilet paper, while not actually accomplishing anything. I mean, it's good news for them, comfort-wise. It's bad news for the people they so hate, because all they're doing it making themselves look and sound ridiculous.

    "We demand jobs!"

    Ah. That's all it takes! Just demand a job from the people who could be hiring, but who aren't hiring because ... don't want to ruin their business and the jobs that it provides to current employees.

    "We demand that bankers go to jail!"

    Then why aren't they protesting in front of the White House, where the guy who has made the descision not to do anything about that actually lives?

    "Leather Shoes Are Murder!"

    "Money Is Evil! and, uh,who's running for coffee and a scone?"

    "Only Vegans Have The Moral Standing To Vote!"

    "Hugo Chavez Has It Right - Nationalize All Media So That The Government Can Only Tell The Truth About How Important And Good They Are!"

    "Union Power! Nobody Needs Managers, Financers, Accountants, Legal Teams, Or Anything Else - Just Workers Who Should All Be Rich!"

    "Everyone Should Get Everything They Want, Except For The People We Say Shouldn't!"

    "US Out Of South Korea! Let North Korea Show They Way!"

    "Peaceful Protests Aren't Enough When You're Dealing With Business Owners!"

    Yeah, I think the one or two people with the intellectual honesty and integrity to be trying to make anything like a valid point in that crowd will definitely be much better off when all the fair-weather go-to-protests-for-the-food-and-to-rack-up-facebook-friends crowd decide it's a little too chilly out and go away.

    --
    Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
  14. Re:The good news is... by jellomizer · · Score: 2

    Because they don't know what they are protesting.

    They are angry that there are some people who are excessively rich while a lot of them struggling.
    The problem is they think these excessively rich people (who probably should be paying a lot more for taxes) are like Scrooge Mc'Duck and have this big vault filled with cash they they are just sitting on. These people wealth is in their net worth, not their Cash on hand. Their worth is in investments and a lot of thing where their money is floating around the economy.

    The real problem is we don't have a definite way to define someones wealth. A small farmer's net worth could be Millions of dollars but they are living a middle class or a lower middle class life, because their net worth is spread across a lot of expenses and money that he cannot use for himself. While someone else making 100k a year who net worth isn't Millions of dollars is living a better life then the farmer.

    Taxing people more who live in excess is a good thing. But the trick is to figure out who is living in excess and who isn't, because their money is working for them, and they cannot use it for anything they want.

    The debate is pointless. that is the problem, It isn't offering a solution to the problem, all it is saying yea we are angry. So what.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
  15. Re:Lots of the posts below remind me... by lolcutusofbong · · Score: 2

    Did you notice how the sides break down nicely along Vorlon/Shadow lines? "The media asks, "What do you want?" The protestors prefer to answer the question, "Who are you?"

  16. Re:Look Ma... by JWSmythe · · Score: 5, Informative

        You haven't spent a lot of time in jail, have you? :) My experience is based on being the good guy, not the bad guy.

        There are usually numbers for bail bondsmen posted by the phones. That's who you need to talk to, not your mom, significant other, etc. They want their 10%, so they'll call everyone you ask them to.

        You have the right to legal representation. If you cannot afford legal representation, an attorney will be appointed for you. That may have a familiar ring to it. The only thing you should say is "I want a lawyer." It may take a few hours to a day, but one will show up.

        You can make calls once you're booked in. The calls are collect, so hopefully the other side will take the calls. It's a good idea that people know where you were going, so they'll already know to accept the charges.

        Since the charge is only going to be a minor charge, they'll probably book you, and release you ROR. That is, unless you took a swing at a cop or something. You'll be given a court date, and kicked to the curb.

        Regardless if you're being arrested for being annoying, or murder, you're not just dropped into some dark hole that no one will ever hear from you again. You just may not be allowed to leave.

        Jails don't generally have the capacity to take in hundreds of people at once, and keep them. They have logistics issues. They may have cells and bunks available. They may not have enough food coming in. So the trivial BS arrests (like these could be), will be processed and released.

    --
    Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
  17. Re:The good news is... by Hatta · · Score: 2

    It isn't offering a solution to the problem, all it is saying yea we are angry. So what.

    Standing up and making noise is the first step towards getting a problem fixed. Obama, Boehner, Cantor and the rest would be happy to ignore the problem that's been growing for 30 years.

    Do you really expect solutions from a bunch of unemployed college grads? They're not economists. The fact that they have trouble articulating a solution doesn't mean they haven't identified a real problem. The solution should come from the people whose job it is to run the country.

    Unfortunately, we have no way of making them do their jobs. The only thing we can do is make noise.

    --
    Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!