New York to beam disaster alerts to Xbox gamers Evading terrorists and nuclear attacks on your Xbox 360 looks set to become a real-world challenge as well as a virtual one. New York State (NYS) has begun trialling use of the console as an emergency broadcast system for disasters. NYS’ Emergency Management Office (EMO) has opted to use the Xbox 360 as a test bed for console- …
It's bad enough when you miss most of a tv program because they cover the screen with storm warnings that don't even affect your county, now you can't even game. Even my cable box jumps in when there is an amber alert (99.9% of the time it is someone stealing their own kids from their ex or foster parents).
If you can make the warning go away, then maybe it will be okay, but these ones that ruin everything and make you do something more constructive with your time and just annoying.
I'm sorry, it may be well-intentioned, but that's got to be the stupidest crap I've ever heard of in my life -- but then, again, I'm only 52.
So, if this trial goes well, does this mean not only XBox, but Wii and PS users will be subject to this harassment if they make the mistake of gaming over the net? And does this mean they'll also be clobbered with push advertising somewhere along the line?
Will this be another classic boy who cried wolf story like all the other "emergency" alert paths? I'm thinking about crawlers across TV shows warning you of a chance of a thunderstorm 100 miles away from where you are that all the TV stations have embraced. If its an actual emergency warning system it better not be used UNTIL the emergency is actually happening or is imminent and inevitable. It should not be used when it is possible, likely or even probable.
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
