Boy, 4, Uses Siri To Help Save Mum's Life (bbc.com)

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Boy, 4, Uses Siri To Help Save Mum's Life (bbc.com)

Posted by msmash on Thursday March 23, 2017 @07:40AM from the breakthrough dept.

A four-year-old boy saved his mother's life by using her thumb to unlock her iPhone and then asking it to call 999. From a report: Roman, who lives in Kenley, Croydon, south London, used the phone's voice control -- Siri -- to call emergency services. Police and paramedics were sent to the home and were able to give live-saving first aid to his mother.

137 comments

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Hmm by PPH · 2017-03-23 07:43 · Score: -1

You have to unlock a phone to place an emergency call?

--
Have gnu, will travel.
1. Re:Hmm by kav2k · 2017-03-23 07:44 · Score: 2
  
  No, but a 4-year boy may not know that, and presumably you need to unlock the phone for Siri to respond to activation command.
2. Re: Hmm by Defakto · 2017-03-23 07:44 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Did you miss the part about it being a 4 year old? They don't always know, or understand, how everything works.
3. Re: Hmm by PPH · 2017-03-23 07:52 · Score: 0
  
  Thing sure have changed since I was four.
  
  They don't always know, or understand, how everything works.
  Actually, the kid was smart enough to figure out the unlocking thing and then ask Siri for help. I'm just surprised that dialing 999 (or 911) is beyond him.
  
  --
  Have gnu, will travel.
4. Re:Hmm by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 07:54 · Score: 0
  
  You do if it's an iPhone.
  You used to be able to make emergency calls using an iPhone on the lock screen - it was a button that was part of the "enter your PIN" screen.
  Problem: in iOS 9, Apple removed that screen. Now you just get a screen that says "press home to unlock." There is no option to place an emergency call on iPhones any more as they forgot to move that button to the new lock screen. Oops.
5. Re: Hmm by damn_registrars · 2017-03-23 07:57 · Score: 1
  
  Actually, the kid was smart enough to figure out the unlocking thing and then ask Siri for help. I'm just surprised that dialing 999 (or 911) is beyond him.
  He probably saw his mom unlock the phone and use Siri many times before. However, being as he is only 4 years old he might not have known to call 999, or which number on the keypad was 9 when it came up. Some 4 year olds can read the numbers 0-9 but not all. Stringing together the right 3-digit sequence of numbers is not a small task at that age.
  
  --
  Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
6. Re: Hmm by MarkeJohnston · 2017-03-23 07:58 · Score: 1
  
  It's still there, bottom left, passcode screen.
7. Re:Hmm by aevan · 2017-03-23 07:59 · Score: 1
  
  *grabs phone
  *hits button
  "Enter Pin" "Emergency"
  *enters pin and checks firmware
  ioS 9.3.5
  
  I hate Apple as much as the next non-fanboi, but give the Devil their due.
8. Re: Hmm by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 08:00 · Score: 0
  
  Actually, the kid was smart enough to figure out the unlocking thing and then ask Siri for help. I'm just surprised that dialing 999 (or 911) is beyond him.
  He probably saw his mom unlock the phone and use Siri many times before. However, being as he is only 4 years old he might not have known to call 999, or which number on the keypad was 9 when it came up. Some 4 year olds can read the numbers 0-9 but not all. Stringing together the right 3-digit sequence of numbers is not a small task at that age.
  My 4-year old knows the four digit unlock code for the phone, and the 4-digit front door code,
9. Re: Hmm by TechyImmigrant · 2017-03-23 08:01 · Score: 1
  
  Yes. The word "Emergency" is what you tap.
  If you use the fingerprint sensor, then you might never see this. Click on the home button with an unregistered finger.
  
  --
  I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
10. Re: Hmm by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 08:02 · Score: 0
  
  Yes, that would be the screen that Apple removed. Well, it's not gone, exactly, it just only shows up after you reboot the phone or if you haven't unlocked it for 48 hours.
  Quick: do you know how to reboot an iPhone? If it's not your phone and you need to place an emergency call that presumably can't wait a couple of days?
11. Re:Hmm by Nchantim · 2017-03-23 08:02 · Score: 1
  
  You do if it's an iPhone.
  You used to be able to make emergency calls using an iPhone on the lock screen - it was a button that was part of the "enter your PIN" screen.
  Problem: in iOS 9, Apple removed that screen. Now you just get a screen that says "press home to unlock." There is no option to place an emergency call on iPhones any more as they forgot to move that button to the new lock screen. Oops.
  I get "press home to unlock" on my iPhone (iOS 10), and the unlock screen has "emergency" down at the bottom-left
12. Re:Hmm by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 08:06 · Score: 0
  
  The enter pin screen still exists, it shows up in a number of cases including if you try to unlock the phone with an unauthorized finger or haven't unlocked it in a long time.
  However it's a text link and a 4 year old probably can't read. But as children are generally pretty observant figuring out that you can use mom's finger to authorize a voice request isn't that surprising provided he'd seen his mom use those capabilties.
13. Re: Hmm by Lumpy · 2017-03-23 08:11 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I know corporate Executives that don't always know, or understand, how everything works.
  
  --
  Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
14. Re: Hmm by NatasRevol · 2017-03-23 08:12 · Score: 1
  
  Top center if it's an alphanumeric passcode.
  
  --
  There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
15. Re: Hmm by andrewa · 2017-03-23 08:13 · Score: 1
  
  Time for the obligatory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
  
  --
  :(){ :|:& };:
16. Re: Hmm by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 08:13 · Score: 0
  
  Does she know the code, as in the position and order? Or does she know the code as a number? I've seen small kids unlock phones the first way (monkey see, monkey do), but me telling them the gesture or number results in failures.
17. Re: Hmm by NatasRevol · 2017-03-23 08:13 · Score: 1
  
  Works for me. Tap a couple times, brings up passphrase screen with Emergency at the top of it because mine is alphanumeric.
  
  --
  There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
18. Re: Hmm by NatasRevol · 2017-03-23 08:14 · Score: 1
  
  False. Just hit the home button a couple times when it's locked. It brings you to the passphrase screen which has the emergency button there.
  
  --
  There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
19. Re: Hmm by andrewa · 2017-03-23 08:15 · Score: 1
  
  so, we're holding it wrong again?
  
  --
  :(){ :|:& };:
20. Re: Hmm by JaneTheIgnorantSlut · 2017-03-23 08:18 · Score: 2
  
  They don't always know, or understand, how everything works.
  Definitely not limited to 4 year olds.
21. Re: Hmm by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 08:20 · Score: 1
  
  I don't have an iPhone, but on my Android phone if you want to make an emergency call without unlocking the phone, you need to use a special gesture (swipe up from the bottom-left corner) and then tap the small word "emergency" near the bottom of the screen when the unlock prompt appears. Since it's not a normal flow for most people, it might have been a bit much to expect a 4-year-old to figure it out during a life-and-death emergency (can he read?). This kid relied on the method that he knew would work, which was good thinking given the circumstances.
22. Re: Hmm by fahrbot-bot · 2017-03-23 08:23 · Score: 1
  
  I know corporate Executives that don't always know, or understand, how everything works.
  Or politicians.
  
  --
  It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
23. Re:Hmm by wisnoskij · 2017-03-23 08:24 · Score: 1
  
  How do you even attempt to make any sort of phone call without first unlocking the phone and opening the the call app? Is their some secret password that calls 911 for you?
  
  --
  Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
24. Re:Hmm by ganjadude · 2017-03-23 08:27 · Score: 0
  
  my android lets me call 911 from the lock screen, no unlocking needed. doesnt IOS work that way?
  
  --
  have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
25. Re: Hmm by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 08:29 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, it does. But he was a 4yo kid.
26. Re: Hmm by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 08:38 · Score: 0
  
  Or slashdotters...
27. Re:Hmm by SeaFox · 2017-03-23 08:43 · Score: 1
  
  How do you even attempt to make any sort of phone call without first unlocking the phone and opening the the call app? Is their some secret password that calls 911 for you?
  Yes. The password is "Emergency". Not very secretive though, since the phone puts it on the screen in the lower-left corner.
28. Re: Hmm by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 08:44 · Score: 0
  
  Corporate IT departments are starting to realize that 22 year old college graduates might be out of touch with the latest technology, hence the renewed interest in kids in kindergarten.
29. Re: Hmm by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 08:47 · Score: 1
  
  "I'm just surprised that dialing 999 (or 911) [youtube.com] is beyond him"
  Um, just a wild guess here, perhaps it's because HE'S FUCKEN FOUR YEARS OLD AND HIS MOTHER IS DYING IN FRONT OF HIM?!
  Jesus fucken Christ.
30. Re: Hmm by Shatrat · 2017-03-23 08:48 · Score: 1
  
  Who? Wisnoskij?
  
  --
  09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
31. Re: Hmm by Shatrat · 2017-03-23 08:49 · Score: 1
  
  Be aware, your 4-year old may be Marlon Wayans. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
  
  --
  09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
32. Re:Hmm by unixisc · 2017-03-23 08:51 · Score: 1
  
  No, but a 4-year boy may not know that, and presumably you need to unlock the phone for Siri to respond to activation command.
  From the lock screen, if you swipe down, you get the search box, w/ the mic icon on the right, which would enable Siri. Granted, the 4 yr old may not know that, but if he's smart enough to use mom's finger, I'd expect he's smart enough to have explored such nooks & cranies of an iPhone. Of course, I'm talking here about iOS 10.2.1: not sure whether they would have had an older version, for whatever reason.
33. Re: Hmm by baker_tony · 2017-03-23 08:53 · Score: 2
  
  4 year olds can know numbers and letters.
  E.g. "what letter/number is this".
  Kids vary wildly at that age in what they have learned though.
34. Re: Hmm by cayenne8 · 2017-03-23 08:55 · Score: -1
  
  I thought a "Mum" was a flower.....?
  Was this a typo and they meant "Mom"?
  
  --
  Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
35. Re:Hmm by unixisc · 2017-03-23 08:55 · Score: 1
  
  Android has an emergency link in the lock screen. I don't see one in iOS. Despite having swipe down/right and left, it doesn't have an emergency link or icon anywhere - talking about iOS 10.2.1
36. Re: Hmm by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 09:02 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  UK (and some other parts of the world) slang for mother is Mum...
37. Re: Hmm by sims+2 · 2017-03-23 09:02 · Score: 1
  
  You mean like this? http://youtu.be/F3CS9l9VJmE
  
  --
  Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
38. Re: Hmm by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 09:06 · Score: 1
  
  It's there... tap "emergency call"
39. Re: Hmm by Yo+Grark · 2017-03-23 09:06 · Score: 1
  
  While I was driving, I voice activated my phone to "call my dad" and I handed my daughter behind me my phone to talk to grandpa. At some point th connection dropped. Next I hear my four year old using the voice control and says "call my dad", sure enough, she reconnected to my dad.
  
  1. I didn't know she knew how to activate the voice control (double click home button) but she had enough exposure to other phones/tablets to know to try it.
  
  2. She was four.
  
  3. Somehow I expected my phone to call itself :P
  
  - Yo Grark
  
  --
  Canadian Bred with American Buttering
40. Re:Hmm by unixisc · 2017-03-23 09:08 · Score: 1
  
  Actually, reading down, it is there in the PIN code screen. Problem is - since I use the fingerprint, I often bypass it. Of course, if one does, one can then invoke the Phone icon and simply dial 911
41. Re: Hmm by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 09:35 · Score: 0
  
  i.e., in English, it's mum (Actual English).
42. Re: Hmm by omnichad · 2017-03-23 09:43 · Score: 1
  
  I'm just surprised that dialing 999 (or 911) is beyond him.
  His mother is probably on the young side of millennial - meaning voice calls are a rare thing, having been replaced by messaging and Snapchat. He may not even know what "dialing" means, but can ask Siri.
  Sometimes dialing the emergency number is hard.
43. Re: Hmm by Applehu+Akbar · 2017-03-23 10:06 · Score: 1
  
  "Was this a typo and they meant "Mom"?"
  Mum is British for mom.
44. Re: Hmm by wonkey_monkey · 2017-03-23 10:42 · Score: 2
  
  She's either smart to have figured that out or is now very confused about how dads work. Like when your grandma calls your grandad "grandad." What, he's your grandad too? What the hell went on in this family?!
  It would have been extra adorable if she'd tried to impersonate your voice when she was talking to the phone.
  
  --
  systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
45. Re:Hmm by Anubis+IV · 2017-03-23 10:48 · Score: 2
  
  You do if it's an iPhone. [...] Apple removed that screen [...] There is no option to place an emergency call on iPhones
  No you don't, no they didn't, and yes there is.
  Pretend it's an emergency and you're using someone else's iPhone. What's the first thing you'd do after getting the screen to turn on? Try doing that on someone else's iPhone and see what happens.
  I'd wager you tried pressing the home button first thing, and, sure enough, if you do that with an iPhone running iOS 9 or iOS 10 you'll see the old unlock screen, including the "Emergency" button that gives you access to the owner's medical info and a keypad to dial out. That screen appears anytime an unregistered finger is used to press the home button. And the reason it doesn't appear for registered fingers (and why you're likely unaware that it was still there) is because there's no need for a special emergency screen when you can already use your registered finger to unlock the entire phone.
46. Re: Hmm by dougdonovan · 2017-03-23 10:53 · Score: 1
  
  it takes a 4 year old boy to use common sence where an adult dialing 911 would have been placed on hold not even thinking about the technology that phone offers and freaking out and complaining.
47. Re: Hmm by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 11:02 · Score: 0
  
  "From the guys that bought u White Chicks"
  LOLOLOL like that was a shining achievement.
48. Re: Hmm by sjames · 2017-03-23 11:08 · Score: 1
  
  Dialing is quite possibly not a daily occurance in the house like when we were 4. But he got the job done and that's the part that matters.
49. Re:Hmm by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 11:38 · Score: 0
  
  I'd wager you tried pressing the home button first thing, and, sure enough, if you do that with an iPhone running iOS 9 or iOS 10 you'll see the old unlock screen, including the "Emergency" button that gives you access to the owner's medical info and a keypad to dial out. That screen appears anytime an unregistered finger is used to press the home button.
  No, it doesn't. Try it: the screen shakes and you're told "try again."
50. Re:Hmm by sg_oneill · 2017-03-23 11:44 · Score: 2
  
  my android lets me call 911 from the lock screen, no unlocking needed. doesnt IOS work that way?
  Yes. And Siri as well. I'm assuming the little boy did not know that. (At 4 he probably can't read yet)
  
  --
  Excuse the Unicode crap in my posts. That's an apostrophe, and slashdot is busted.
51. Re: Hmm by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 11:49 · Score: 1
  
  Mom is American for Mum.
52. Re: Hmm by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 11:50 · Score: 0
  
  Or mam
53. Re:Hmm by Anubis+IV · 2017-03-23 12:44 · Score: 1
  
  No, it doesn't. Try it: the screen shakes and you're told "try again."
  You didn't press the button. You placed your finger on the sensor without pressing the button.
54. Re: Hmm by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 13:56 · Score: 0
  
  I always thought it was strange the way that you Americans say "ma'am" instead of "mum". Why so formal with your own mothers?
55. Re: Hmm by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 14:23 · Score: 0
  
  Short for madam not mum...
56. Re: Hmm by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 16:40 · Score: 0
  
  No you don't, and my conspiracy brain thinks this is just a tactic to get people to use fingerprint verification. How'd they know he unlocked the phone with her print in the first place? He's four. He wouldn't be going into the details about how he did it. Have you ever listened to a four year explain something? Surely the phone locked itself eventually? 2 minutes is the default, I think. Anyone else seeing my point?
57. Re:Hmm by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 17:21 · Score: 0
  
  If you're a 4 year old who cannot read the instructions on the lock screen and doesn't know how to dial numbers, then you probably do.
58. Re: Hmm by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 17:31 · Score: 0
  
  It's more like Mom is American for Mum, since Mum is not limited to Britain, but Mom is limited to the US.
59. Re: Hmm by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-24 00:21 · Score: 0
  
  Yes but you Americans call your own mothers "ma'am". That's just really weird to be so formal.
60. Re: Hmm by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-24 00:34 · Score: 0
  
  You should meet my mother. THEN you would understand.
61. Re: Hmm by TechyImmigrant · 2017-03-24 02:14 · Score: 1
  
  You have an alphanumeric finger?
  
  --
  I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
62. Re: Hmm by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-24 02:17 · Score: 0
  
  You should meet my mother.
  A couple hundred of us already have...
63. Re: Hmm by NatasRevol · 2017-03-24 03:11 · Score: 1
  
  My fingers can count to ten AND spell in ASL.
  
  --
  There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
64. Re: Hmm by TechyImmigrant · 2017-03-24 04:05 · Score: 1
  
  Touché
  
  --
  I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
65. Re: Hmm by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-25 12:02 · Score: 0
  
  Like when your grandma calls your grandad "grandad." What, he's your grandad too? What the hell went on in this family?!
  I think this may help clear that up.
Breakthrough? by Gavagai80 · 2017-03-23 07:45 · Score: 2

This is a breakthrough, because in the olden days a 4 year old would've been able to simply dial 999 on the rotary phone without having to deal with fingerprint identification or risk getting things wrong with voice commands?

--
This space intentionally left blank
1. Re:Breakthrough? by JcMorin · 2017-03-23 07:49 · Score: 2
  
  Here In Canada, all cell phones, locked or not, connected to an ISP or not can call emergency. But I get your point, technology doesn't always make stuff simpler and in some case could lead to terrible situation.
2. Re:Breakthrough? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 07:50 · Score: 0
  
  On every smart phone I've ever used, emergency services are dial-able without unlocking the phone... Stop looking for things to complain about.
3. Re:Breakthrough? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 07:51 · Score: 0
  
  Exactly. "Better" isn't always necessarily "better". On my car the stereo is controlled by knobs. One of these is pressed to switch through l/r balance f/r balance, etc. This I can do whilst driving (safely) to throw music to the child in the back if needed.
  When it was last serviced I borrowed the newer model from the deal. The same functionality is now a touch-screen with no feedback. L/R F/R balance is now a graph, which is probably more precise but dangerous to use when driving. Progress..,
4. Re:Breakthrough? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 07:59 · Score: 0
  
  The complaint is that needless layers are being used to make it a story and spin the situation in a way that implies emergency services as unavailable until you use your mother's severed fingertip to unlock her phone.
  So yes, two steps of this story were unnecessary, but those are the two the story is trying to glorify. This is in part because the story "4 year old calls emergency services, saves parent's life" has gotten common place enough that it doesn't get clicks. We've had a story of a cat pushing the emergency service speed-dial for an elderly somewhat-sane-cat-lady. The boy should be praised for getting the help, not Siri or the fingerprint locks.
5. Re:Breakthrough? by TechyImmigrant · 2017-03-23 08:02 · Score: 1
  
  On every smart phone I've ever used, emergency services are dial-able without unlocking the phone... Stop looking for things to complain about.
  In this case, the procedure on an iPhone is reasonably likely to foil a 4 year old.
  
  --
  I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
6. Re:Breakthrough? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 08:07 · Score: 0
  
  are you simply too stupid to understand the difference between
  "a 4 year old told siri that ne needs help"
  and
  "a 4 year old takes a locked phone, understanding that he still can dial emergency services, and remembering their number after finding his 'dead' mom"?!?!
7. Re:Breakthrough? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 08:15 · Score: 0
  
  Might not need to be the "own" service provider, but surely the phone needs to be connected to _some_ service provider in order to make a phone call...
8. Re:Breakthrough? by ls671 · 2017-03-23 08:20 · Score: 1
  
  connected to an ISP or not can call emergency.
  
  What does "connected to an ISP or not" have to do with the ability to call any number?
  
  --
  Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
9. Re: Breakthrough? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 08:27 · Score: 0
  
  It needs to connect to a cell site but does not need a Sim card or even to be activated.
10. Re:Breakthrough? by slazzy · 2017-03-23 08:36 · Score: 1
  
  I'm assuming he means has an active account with a cellphone service provider. In the US and Canada, an account is not necessary for emergency calls. You'll have to be within reception range of a cellphone tower though of course.
  
  --
  Website Just Down For Me? Find out
11. Re:Breakthrough? by sims+2 · 2017-03-23 09:10 · Score: 1
  
  Is there a reason you are calling a cellphone company a ISP?
  Here (in the US) ISP usually stands for Internet service provider.
  What does your acronym stand for?
  
  --
  Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
12. Re:Breakthrough? by tepples · 2017-03-23 11:46 · Score: 1
  
  Probably the fact that far more traffic over a modern cellular network is Internet than voice. Therefore, by volume, a cellular carrier is an ISP more than it is a phone company.
13. Re: Breakthrough? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 11:51 · Score: 0
  
  Insane Service Provider. Fuckin smartphones, how do they work?
14. Re:Breakthrough? by sims+2 · 2017-03-23 12:17 · Score: 1
  
  That's true but no one would usually call them an ISP.
  Cellular is not an Internet service it's a phone service that happens to also be able to do Internet like POTS can also happen to do dialup.
  Some carriers have started offering dedicated Internet service over LTE like att and verizon but not all do for example tmobile does not have a home Internet option so I wouldn't remotely think they would be called an ISP but they do sell phone service.
  In any case saying if someone asked you whose your phone with the appropriate response is not "my ISP is att" they didn't ask who you had Internet at home with they were asking who your cellular carrier was. Now if someone asked you who do you get your Internet through at home "my ISP is att" would be appropriate.
  If they can claim the cellcos are ISPs they can claim a heck of a lot of people are covered with broadband that really aren't and sometimes what people call it is all that matters instead of what it actually is. This happens way more often than it should when the gov't is Involved.
  
  --
  Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
15. Re: Breakthrough? by sims+2 · 2017-03-23 12:20 · Score: 1
  
  Magic. That's why your not allowed to use them on planes because they think the magic running the phones will interfere with the magic keeping the plane in the air and cause it to fall from the sky. /s
  
  --
  Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
I'm pretty sure that by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 07:53 · Score: 0

this boy is clever enough to have punched 999 into any phone. I'm just not seeing how that siri thing deserves to be the hero of the day here.
1. Re:I'm pretty sure that by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 10:53 · Score: 0
  
  I thought their emergency number was "some long string of numbers that ends in a 3"? I guess they must have changed it if TFA is calling it "999", but maybe this boy didn't know that?
2. Re:I'm pretty sure that by _merlin · 2017-03-23 12:37 · Score: 1
  
  What? It's been 999 like since forever.
I can't get that idiot Siri to place a call by SensitiveMale · 2017-03-23 08:01 · Score: 1

Me: Siri where is the nearest Cabelas?
Siri: I've found the nearest Cabelas. Would you like me to call it?
Me: Yes
Siri: ("Yes" APPEARS on the screen) I'm sorry, I didn't understand.
Me: Yes
Siri ("Yes" APPEARS on the screen) I'm sorry. I didn't understand.
Me: Siri CALL THE FUCKING GOD DAMN NUMBER YOU USELESS PIECE OF SHIT
Siri: Calling
1. Re:I can't get that idiot Siri to place a call by _xeno_ · 2017-03-23 08:23 · Score: 1
  
  It'll also does that if you ask for directions:
  "Hey Siri, get directions to the nearest Starbucks."
  Siri: "I found one that's two miles from here. Would you like to call, or get directions?"
  "WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST ASK YOU SIRI?!"
  Siri: "I'm sorry, I didn't get that."
  "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"
  I don't think I've ever seen Siri actually be useful for anything. In fact, this story is the first story I've ever read about someone using Siri for something useful. Most of the time she just misunderstands or does something stupid.
  And as you've noticed, all that stuff Steve Jobs talked about how you can carry on a conversation is bullshit. Modern Siri is basically a command prompt, each line is a brand new command with absolutely no relation to any previous context, except for very specific commands. Things like asking her the weather in one place and then about that weather report - which Steve Jobs demoed, if you recall - do not and have never in fact worked.
  
  --
  You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
2. Re:I can't get that idiot Siri to place a call by Applehu+Akbar · 2017-03-23 10:16 · Score: 1
  
  I use Siri all the time. Think of it as a macro language for conveniently connecting multiple apps.
  Squinting in the bright sunlight, I could log onto my phone, go to the Contacts app, scroll down to Joseph Blow, tap his address to bring up Maps, then tap Directions, then the Drive icon to have Maps display a route, then tap Go.
  OR, I can just pull out my phone and say, "Hey Siri, navigate to Joseph Blow!"
3. Re:I can't get that idiot Siri to place a call by martinX · 2017-03-23 10:19 · Score: 1
  
  Totally agree. I've been a Mac user for longer than I care to admit, but Siri is just atrocious. Maybe it's my Aussie accent. Mate.
  
  --
  When they came for the communists, I said "He's next door. Take him away. Goddam commies."
4. Re:I can't get that idiot Siri to place a call by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-24 03:37 · Score: 0
  
  "Siri, get directions to the Mall of America."
  "I found several results for 'Mall of America.' Which one do you mean?"
  "The one that's two fucking miles away, not the one in Canada!"
5. Re:I can't get that idiot Siri to place a call by _xeno_ · 2017-03-24 10:48 · Score: 1
  
  I had one where we asked for a street address that was a mile away. It came up with the same street address... in South Africa, and then told us it couldn't get directions there. No shit, it's not even the right hemisphere!
  
  --
  You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
Look Again by SuperKendall · 2017-03-23 08:02 · Score: 1

Still there, bottom left.
Or you could also ask SIRI with he the phone still locked. But the kid didn't know that was not needed, I think it's pretty clever anyway for hime to do so given the age.

--
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
1. Re:Look Again by Rufty · 2017-03-23 08:28 · Score: 1
  
  Ok, so he didn't use the quickest way, only the way he was familiar with. At the age of 4. In an emergency situation. And got a good result. That'll do.
  
  --
  Red to red, black to black. Switch it on, but stand well back.
2. Re:Look Again by baker_tony · 2017-03-23 08:50 · Score: 1
  
  It's not a good result.
  It's a fucken amazing result for a 4 year old.
So since this is Slashdot... by SuperKendall · 2017-03-23 08:05 · Score: 0

...I guess most responders will be outraged at this terrible IOS security hole that Apple has enabled?
At least the kid didn't use the wrench.

--
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
1. Re: So since this is Slashdot... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 08:33 · Score: 0
  
  Who worries about security holes from a company run by the CIA?
2. Re: So since this is Slashdot... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 08:48 · Score: 0
  
  I'm sure the United Fruit Company is just a coincidence like much of Forrest Gump's life.
3. Re:So since this is Slashdot... by sims+2 · 2017-03-23 08:59 · Score: 1
  
  You mean that you can use any phone that is able to get a signal to call 911 is somehow a security hole?
  Well then you've got a pretty big problem because its the law so you can actually do that with any phone from any manufacturer running any os in the United States.
  
  --
  Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
999 takes a lot longer to dial than 911 by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 08:20 · Score: 0

The only worse three digit number would be 900 since then you have to rotate the dial all of the way around and wait for it to return before dialing the next number. The US 911 is superior since it has the nine clicks at the start to weed-up false positives then the shortest available numbers for the next two.
1. Re: 999 takes a lot longer to dial than 911 by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 08:27 · Score: 0
  
  This. I'm surprised to learn they use 999 since it takes so much longer to dial.
2. Re:999 takes a lot longer to dial than 911 by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-24 00:30 · Score: 0
  
  Are you calling about an emergency in the 1950's?
Alternative title: by Gravis+Zero · 2017-03-23 08:22 · Score: 2

Parent's Are Dying Because Children Cannot Call 999 On Locked Smartphones
It seems like one happens more often than the other.

--
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
1. Re:Alternative title: by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 09:28 · Score: 0
  
  Parent's Are Dying Because Children Cannot Call 999 On Locked Smartphones
  It seems like one happens more often than the other.
  They should try calling 0118 999 881 999 119 725 3.
2. Re:Alternative title: by thegarbz · 2017-03-23 11:05 · Score: 1
  
  Maybe we should be teaching children how to use locked smartphones to call emergency services.
3. Re:Alternative title: by luther349 · 2017-03-23 11:24 · Score: 1
  
  it can do it locked you press emergency call but he was 4 probably didn't know that and asked siri to do it.
4. Re:Alternative title: by Gravis+Zero · 2017-03-23 11:53 · Score: 1
  
  True... but that doesn't make for a good headline.
  
  --
  Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
5. Re:Alternative title: by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 19:20 · Score: 0
  
  It doesn't make a good headline because 4 year old children aren't supposed to know how to use a smartphone to make an emergency call.
6. Re:Alternative title: by RivenAleem · 2017-03-23 22:24 · Score: 1
  
  From the article:
  Met Police Ch Supt Ade Adelekan said: "Hearing this call brings home the importance of teaching your young child their home address and how to call police or emergency services in an emergency situation."
Playing London Calling by The Clash... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 08:23 · Score: 0

I'm sorry, did you say...
Glad things worked out - could have been several app purchases, videos and songs later before the authorities got the message.
Next headline: by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 08:31 · Score: 0

Boy, 5, arrested for using Siri to create and distribute child porn in return for lollipops.
1. Re:Next headline: by unixisc · 2017-03-23 09:12 · Score: 2
  
  You joke, but a few weeks ago, there was a little girl who used her mom's fingerprint while mom was sleeping to get into the phone, and then order a whole bunch of toys for herself. So kids already know how to manipulate unconscious parents
New number is 0118 999 881 99 9119 7253 by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 08:59 · Score: 0

I thought they changed it. They made a catchy jingle and everything...
Mumumum by RightwingNutjob · 2017-03-23 09:18 · Score: 1

At it for how many years and still can't spell, eh msmash?
1. Re:Mumumum by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 09:25 · Score: 0
  
  You certainly live up to your name.
2. Re:Mumumum by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 10:04 · Score: 0
  
  Mum = Colloquial English word to describe a female parent.
  This incident occurred in London, which is an English city. Therefore 'mum' is completely appropriate.
3. Re:Mumumum by RightwingNutjob · 2017-03-23 10:06 · Score: 0
  
  And this is an American website read by Americans. If it were a Mexican site read by Mexicans, then having 'Mum' instead of 'Mama' or 'Madre' would be equally inappropriate.
4. Re:Mumumum by sjames · 2017-03-23 11:38 · Score: 2
  
  The headline came from the UK website. Most Americans are bright enough to figure it out.
5. Re:Mumumum by RightwingNutjob · 2017-03-23 12:49 · Score: 0
  
  Sure. Eye meeen y hav orthogrefik standardz @ ol ??
6. Re:Mumumum by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-24 03:40 · Score: 0
  
  Your problem is you think YOUR standards apply everywhere. They don't.
  Parochial jerkoff.
7. Re:Mumumum by WallyL · 2017-03-24 04:31 · Score: 1
  
  There are orthographic standards for the UK. They may not make sense (theatre? litre?), but they are standardised!
8. Re:Mumumum by RightwingNutjob · 2017-03-24 11:48 · Score: 1
  
  The problem is that the pile of outsourced mostly carbon atoms that calls itself msmash seems to think that British and Indian orthographic standards apply on American websites. They don't.
Obligatory IT Crowd by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 09:30 · Score: 0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab8GtuPdrUQ
Well hey at least he didn't have to memorize "0118 999 881 999 119 7253" !!
Wrong hole by SuperKendall · 2017-03-23 09:46 · Score: 2

You mean that you can use any phone that is able to get a signal to call 911 is somehow a security hole?
No, the fact that you can unlock a phone with the finger of someone unconscious...

--
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
1. Re:Wrong hole by sims+2 · 2017-03-23 10:04 · Score: 2
  
  Yeah biometrics are convenient but they usually aren't a good idea security wise due to the possibility of permanent compromise.
  It's a bad idea legally too as even a four digit pin code has more legal protection than your actual digits do.
  Not that a four digit pin should ever be considered secure.
  
  --
  Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
2. Re:Wrong hole by tlhIngan · 2017-03-24 05:26 · Score: 0
  
  No, the fact that you can unlock a phone with the finger of someone unconscious...
  The phone only checks for liveness. If you're unconscious, then you're alive, and thus the fingerprint sensor sees it has a real living finger.
  If you're dead, then it probably wouldn't unlock.
An idea by SuperKendall · 2017-03-23 10:15 · Score: 1

It would be nice if after one wrong PIN attempt, your fingerprint was automatically deactivated from allowed inputs... or maybe some very low specified threshold for finger inputs it did not like.
The iPhone has a start in that direction, you can't use a finger to unlock until after you have entered the pin at least once after the device has powered up.

--
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
1. Re:An idea by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 10:39 · Score: 0
  
  The biometric sensor should just be removed, it's unnecessary.
2. Re:An idea by sodul · 2017-03-24 05:20 · Score: 1
  
  The fingerprint also deactivates after several invalid reads. I know, because when my toddler get his hands on my iPhone I always have to unlock it with the pin afterwards.
Security hole. by antdude · 2017-03-23 10:17 · Score: 1

Using finger to access the device. :P Imagine an exploiter wanting to do the same. :/

--
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
Rofl by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 10:52 · Score: 0

Saint Steve jobs and his Holy iphone saving lives beyond da grave! Ffs m$ get your shits together!!!1
Bad design.... by BlytheBowman · 2017-03-23 11:28 · Score: 1

Really, you need a thumbscan to call 911 (or 999)? I understand locking out non emergency numbers and other phone functions, but this could have very easily cost this woman her life (I am impressed 4 year old could do this but OTOH, I think back to 1982 and being able to figure out how to work my older brother's high end for the time Casio digital watch when I was around this kid's age) digitalwatch
1. Re:Bad design.... by Cimexus · 2017-03-23 18:03 · Score: 1
  
  No, you don't, but a 4 year old isn't going to know that. There's an emergency call button on the lockscreen (screenshot below):
  https://www.igeeksblog.com/wp-...
2. Re:Bad design.... by Badooleoo · 2017-03-24 14:49 · Score: 1
  
  You don't need to unlock or even have a SIM card inserted at all to call emergency on a mobile/cell phone. As long as it it powered on and can pickup any network it should work.
  Even if there is no network it will keep trying.
  Educating everybody including kids about this is important.
Mom Dying of What? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 12:10 · Score: 0

So no mention ... was the mom OD'ing on heroin? Was she morbidly obese and dying of a heart attack? Why no mention of what the mom was suffering from, I need to make a judgement if it was a good thing or a bad thing this kid saved her!!!
This is retarded. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-03-23 14:14 · Score: 0

So the story is this:
A FOUR YEAR OLD BOY KNOWS HOW TO MAKE A PHONE CALL.
*gasp*
Amazing. Of course, I've seen stories on shows like Rescue 911 decades ago where people's dogs were able to knock a phone off the nightstand and dial 911 when their owner was having a siezure or something, so...
No, obviously not. That would be absurd. by Brannon · 2017-03-23 14:54 · Score: 1

But a 4 year old probably doesn't know that, the 4 year old just knows that you need Mommy's thumbprint to play candy crush and assumes you also need it to call 911.
Implication: no next-door relatives or neighbors? by Paul+Fernhout · 2017-03-23 16:04 · Score: 1

Kudos to the kid saving his mom, but it is also kind of sad about how isolated and dependent on institutions and technology so many of us have become... So much so, we just take it for granted a four year old would have no neighbor or relative nearby to turn to.
Perhaps I was just lucky to grow up (lower-ish) middle class in a suburb in the 1960s with siblings, many stay-at-home moms as friendly neighbors all around, as well as lots of kids playing in the street. That seems to be a world that perhaps hardly exists anymore in the USA for any child... Other countries may be more likely to still have that kind of circumstance perhaps...
And more wealth seems to only make it worse -- see for example:
"The Problem With Rich Kids"
https://www.psychologytoday.co...
"In a surprising switch, the offspring of the affluent today are more distressed than other youth. They show disturbingly high rates of substance use, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, cheating, and stealing. It gives a whole new meaning to having it all."
"The Culture of Affluence: Psychological Costs of Material Wealth"
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/p...
"Evolutionary psychologists have suggested, furthermore, that wealthy communities can, paradoxically, be among those most likely to engender feelings of friendlessness and isolation in their inhabitants. As Tooby and Cosmides (1996) argued, the most reliable evidence of genuine friendship is that of help offered during times of dire need: People tend never to forget the sacrifices of those who provide help during their darkest hours. Modern living conditions, however, present relatively few threats to physical well-being. Medical science has reduced several sources of disease, many hostile forces of nature have been controlled, and laws and police forces deter assault and murder. Ironically, therefore, the greater the availability of amenities of modern living in a community, the fewer are the occurrences of critical events that indicate to people which of their friends are truly engaged in their welfare and which are only fair-weather companions. This lack of critical assessment events, in turn, engenders lingering mistrustfulness despite the presence of apparently warm interactions (Tooby & Cosmides, 1996). ...
Physical characteristics of wealthy suburban communities may also contribute to feelings of isolation. Houses in these communities are often set far apart with privacy of all ensured by long driveways, high hedges, and sprawling lawns (Weitzman, 2000; Wilson-Doenges, 2000). Neighbors are unlikely to casually bump into each other as they come and go in their communities, and children are unlikely to play on street corners. Paradoxically, once again, it is possible that the wealthiest neighborhoods are among the most vulnerable to low levels of cohesiveness and efficacy (Sampson, Raudenbush, & Earls, 1997). When encountering an errant, disruptive child of the millionaire acquaintance next door, neighbors tend to be reluctant to intervene not only because of respect for others' privacy but also, more pragmatically, because of fears of litigation (e.g., Warner, 1991)."
It used to be we lived in tribes and then still close-knit communities...
Daniel Quinn proposes we try to go back to that way of life:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
"New tribalists believe that the tribal model, though not absolutely "perfect," has obviously stood the test of time as the most successful social organization for humans, in alignment with natural selection (just as well as the hive model for bees, the pod model for whales, and the pack model for wolves). According to new tribalists, the tribe fulfills both an emotionally and organizationally stabilizing role in human li

--
A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.