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Failures Mark First National Test of Emergency Alert System
An anonymous reader writes "The first full-scale test of the National Emergency Alert System failed on Tuesday at 2 PM. Some radio and television networks did not air any alert, while the performance of others was inconsistent. 'Some DirectTV customers reported hearing Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" play during the test. Some Comcast subscribers saw their cable boxes turn to QVC before the alert, while Time Warner Cable customers in New York did not see any alert at all.'" If you were tuned to any American broadcaster at the time, did the alert system reach you?
Tests are supposed to fine failures. That's what they are for.
I do have a cell phone on me all the time, and received no alerts on it.
I can tell you from experience however, that if it were an Amber Alert, I would have been aware of it immediately.
CONCLUSION: EAS is another complete misguided federal program.
Each failure is an opportunity to learn and improve.
The real failure would be to not identify failures and not improve - then we'd have to be blasted about it by the sensationalist media, trumpeting how inept government is.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
We should leave emergency notifications to the free markets! You want to know about disasters and what to do? Well, just subscribe to a disaster notification service. I'm AT&T or your cable companies will provide that service as part of a package of some sort. And we all know what superior service cable companies have over pathetic government!
ICBM attack
Seriously: If that happens, you're better off not knowing anyway. At least you won't spend your last few minutes of life scared out of your mind because you know you're going to die in a nuclear firestorm.
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
Fool! Without that alert, how on earth are you going to talk the closest girl to you into impending disaster sex?
I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
Those words never go together. I am shocked.
Yeah... except it was the private broadcast companies that failed to properly show the alert not the goverment.
I was at my computer, with several browser windows and a couple of email clients open. My cell phone was right next to me. When the time came, my Outlook reminder popped up and told me it was time for lunch.
Too bad these notifications don't reach those of us who don't rely on antiquated broadcast media.
The CB App. What's your 20?
I have to say, I think an actual failure would be if it were during an emergency.
As I say at work, this is why we test. Debugging finds bugs. That's kinda what it's for.
You know what the word "Test" means, right?
^ This
Testing for something and finding that the test didn't pass is NOT a failure of a system. It's exactly what it said - a test. Now they know where the faults are they can work on fixing them.
+1 IDisagreeSoHeMustBeATrollOrAnAstroturferOrAShill
Hey, you do know the difference between DEVELOPMENT testing and ACCEPTANCE testing, right?
The national alert system is a product in development. This was a test to determine what is working and what is not working. You can simulate and test individual pieces all you want, but until you get the opportunity to test the entire system, you have no idea what links in the chain are broken.
This country is full of fucking idiots that have no clue how engineering is performed. Just keep your misinformation to yourself and stop trying to make those around you dumber.
the could have different warning tiers. for the Platinum level, you get a full 30 minutes warning. For the common folk, we have bronze with 30 seconds.