General Chat

I've just been reading about this on the news site.

Some of the best ideas are the simplest.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-49319760

Sounds interesting, Gwen.

I may have to enter the twenty first century and buy a smart phone :-D

Me too, Allan !

I go months without using the primitive one that I've got.

This is essentially a money making app.
It uses standard GPS for position and is built on top of the Google MAPS API.
Thus it does not bring anything very new to the party beyond translating GPS to what3words. It very much depends on a decent phone signal which can be tricky in such places as the City of London , Exmoor, the New Forest, Cairngorms etc.

Rescue services can locate a mobile phone (smart or not ) which is turned on without any gps or what3words app installed so long as there is a phone signal.
That is why county lines gangs use throw away "burner" phones.

The USP of the app is commercial with the objective of monetising the English dictionary for primarily business locations. It may well catch on but to call it "life saving" is somewhat OTT.

fwiw most of the planet does not use the Latin alphabet.

https://geoawesomeness.com/what3words_review/

RTR, I think you'll find, once the app is downloaded that - as it says in the article:
"The app does not need a phone signal to tell someone their three-word location, however."

As for some areas not having a mobile signal, last year, you were insisting that everywhere had a phone signal, when I pointed out that large areas of Somerset were still without.
My brother still hasn't got a phone signal in the smithy, he's now paying for private installation.
fwiw- Mongolia appears to manage - try reading the article!

Ofcom says that 98% of England can get a basic phone signal GSM2 although performance by older phones can vary. Getting a data signal strong enough to install and run complex apps in areas with only a weak, if any, GSM3 signal is unlikely let alone GSM4. This is a commercial with a clear business model. It is not viable for emergency use. It might also be worth remembering that gsm only works with line of sight signals from satellites. That is impossible from inside a shipping container. A GSM signal may work but the granularity will be 100m at

So the article and the police are wrong then?

Shipping containers? Are these mentioned because there are (apparently) a lot of people living in shipping containers in rural Somerset?

From the what3words website:

Our aim is to:

make what3words as accessible as possible
support people who are doing good things around the world
remove the barriers to what3words gaining widespread adoption
what3words will always be free for individuals to use on our own site and apps, and there will always be ways to use our business software packages for free.


Also this:

https://what3words.com/news/emergency/uk-emergency-services-rollout-what3words-in-control-rooms-to-save-resources-time-and-lives/

I have it installed :-D

https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/03/why-bother-with-what-three-words/

:-\

or use this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Location_Code

One persons view - no other take downs?
Police forces use it because, although a person can be found by their phone, using this system is quicker.

I wonder about this report - whether it is a type of advertising con or not? A good one, if it is because it's created interest.

If I 'got lost' in Hamsterley Forest, I'd just keep walking - and, yes, I know the area. There are logging and car tracks and houses in there. Walk ten or fifteen minutes in any direction and you'd come to a road. That is why I am sceptical.

I drove in Kielder Forest (bigger, I believe) one December night around twenty years ago. I had no choice, I had a grandchild in the car and had to get home. It was snowing a blizzard and visibility was extremely poor. My thinking is that once you're on a road, keep going because you'll reach the forest edge eventually even if you've headed in the opposite direction in error - you can then either book in somewhere if the roads are impassible or turn round and reach home later. Satnavs make it easier now, of course - a good directional aid, as are smartphones.

Perhaps I'd give the couple the benefit of the doubt that phone connections were poor - but ....? My reaction is still to wonder whether this was a con job to create interest in three words.

What do you suggest if your car has left the road and isn't visible from the road?

Perhaps a group of kids have lost their way.

I'd much rather rely on software that is proven to fix n accurate position than any other method.

The app is built on top of the Google MAPS API and GPS chip that comes with your smartphone it is totally dependent on that functionality. The app itself offers no additional security. The police et al can track a powered up mobile phone without any additonal software being installed.

GPS works independently of any smart phone OS. However it will not work in tunnels, inside buildings and I am v sceptical that it has ever worked inside a shipping container. A gsm signal can allow the other party to track the call down to the phone cell which could be from 50m across to a mile or so. The app does not improve on this - how can it ? Some sort of gsm signal from inside a container held near to the steel skin might work.

Smartphone GPS is NOT suitable for fell walking and rambling - a dedicated handheld GPS tied into stored OS maps is a much better (and safer) bet.

The app needs a fairly good gsm4 signal to work properly. This is usually available in the urban areas to which the app s targetted. The business model is NOT as a rescue item ( despite PR in that direction) but an attempt to monetise the GPS signal by offering location translation to a w3words address. Why you would need to do that in SW London I have no idea. The company aim is to make ot easier to find commercial premises using 3 words as if there were not 101 alternatves. It is NOT an altruistic app for emergencies.

There are any number of critiques of thiis app on the net don't ask me for any more. . The UK Vendors are very hot on threatening legal action against any criticism.

When I see this sort of vapourware gain traction I start to understand how many out and out scams make so much money. People are their own worst enemy.

Oh leave it out Rollo.

I know who has criticised the app and exactly why.

We all have the options of installing trackers on devices but how much simpler to use an app which is easy to use for most people and ATM it's free.

I don't live in SW London, nor do the vast majority of UK residents. No idea why that would be a negative. If you get lost in London there are enough landmarks to determine your location.

Should I find myself trapped in a shipping container I wouldn't expect to get out but hey I wouldn't enter one in the first place but each to his own ;-)

Quote: When I see this sort of vapourware gain traction I start to understand how many out and out scams make so much money. People are their own worst enemy.
End Quote.

Where is the financial scam? Do you consider the thousands of users less intelligent than yourself? Absurd!

:-P :-P


https://uk.video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-itm-001&hsimp=yhs-001&hspart=itm&p=what3words#id=3&vid=5bb2d3b916ba6a73ab99cd23b82eeaf6&action=click

Apparently, according to RTR, all these services are being 'conned':

Which services are using what3words?
Those who have confirmed publicly they are using and accepting 3 word addresses for response are:

Avon & Somerset Police
Bedfordshire Police
British Transport Police
Cambridgeshire Police
Durham Police
Gwent Police
Hertfordshire Police
Humberside Police
Nottinghamshire Police
Norfolk Police
North Yorkshire Police
South Yorkshire Police
South Wales Police
Suffolk Police
West Yorkshire Police
Avon Fire & Rescue Service
Bedfordshire Fire & Rescue
Cambridgeshire Fire & Rescue
Cleveland Fire & Rescue
Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service
Derbyshire Fire & Rescue
Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service
Dorset & Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service
Durham & Darlington Fire & Rescue
Hertfordshire Fire & Rescue
Humberside Fire & Rescue
Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue
North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue
Norfolk Fire & Rescue Services
Suffolk Fire & Rescue
South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue
Tyne and Wear Fire & Rescue Service
West Yorkshire Fire
South Western Ambulance Service
Yorkshire Ambulance Service
South East Coast Ambulance Service
Thames Valley Air Ambulance
UK Coastguard

I remember the good old days when I used to go fell walking and hiking.

The most sophisticated things I used were a good compass and an OS map.

Ironically, a number of cadet units of various volunteer services (Bush Fire Brigades etc) are having to teach cadets the art of map reading in case of loss of GPS ability

They're talking about take3words on QI! :-D

I remember the good old days too Allan, when a group of us who worked together decided that we would go orienteering on Sundays - using cars, by the way. A bit like geocaching but only geared to our group's competition. One person undertook the reccy during the week and prepared our instructions etc

It was a fad one particular year but it was enjoyable while it lasted. I was the youngest at that time and the oldies decided they'd had enough after a few outings.

Funny that they always the get-together in a country pub at the end ..... some probably thought 'Why bother with all the palaver, let's head straight for the pub?'' :-D

I'd think the same now. :-D

The DofE reaches map reading skills, unfortunately, 'some' who want to get as many through as possible, allow mobile phone use.
My sister doesn't! :-D

JoyLouise, here in OZ it's called a social car rally; not to be confused with a genuine car rally. :-S :-D :-D