Apple Watches Were Crashing When Asked About the Weather (macrumors.com) 91
Yesterday MacRumor reported that "Asking Siri something like 'What's the temperature?' or 'What's the weather?' or 'Is it raining?' causes the Apple Watch to crash."
The issue has been documented in several threads on the MacRumors forums and on Reddit, and we've also been able to replicate it on our own devices. Complaints about the problem appear to have started this morning, and the bug is confirmed to be affecting both LTE and GPS Apple Watch Series 3 models as well as older Apple Watch models running watchOS 4.1. Not all Apple Watch owners in all countries are affected, but it appears to be impacting users in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
The problem may have been caused by Daylight Savings Time, they reported yesterday, since "asking Siri about the weather tomorrow or next week doesn't cause a problem -- it's only questions about the current weather conditions that are resulting in errors."
Engadget confirms that "The issue appears to be over. We've checked both before and afterward, and it's now safe to ask Siri if it's raining."
The problem may have been caused by Daylight Savings Time, they reported yesterday, since "asking Siri about the weather tomorrow or next week doesn't cause a problem -- it's only questions about the current weather conditions that are resulting in errors."
Engadget confirms that "The issue appears to be over. We've checked both before and afterward, and it's now safe to ask Siri if it's raining."
Re: Apple? It's SHIT (Score:3, Informative)
It depends on the project. Your criticism explains why a lot of FOSS is doomed to obscurity, but the really successful Linux projects like Ubuntu, Fedora and Mint either have large corporate support and/or very active and helpful user communities.
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Linux is garbage. Open source is generally garbage. It will continue to be garbage as long as developers reopens to criticism by telling users to go solve the problems themselves. That's the typical open source response, to tell users that if they don't like something to go code up a fix on their own. As long as there are so any hostile attitudes from Linux and open source developers, it will continue to be garbage. The criticism tells developers how to improve the software. When the criticism is dismissed, it drives away users and the software remains garbage. Linux and open source are garbage and are not real solutions for most problems. Linux zealots like you are far too conceited to even accept there's a problem, let alone to actually fix the issues and make your software usable. Windows, iOS, and macOS all have their issues, but all are far superior to Linux.
Open Source is dismissive by offering users dozens of alternatives, allowing them to DIY on any hardware. You call this "garbage".
Apple is dismissive by offering consumers no alternatives running on custom laser-sealed hardware. You call this "courage".
You have one hell of a way of defining conceited.
Re: Apple? It's SHIT (Score:2)
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Apple is dismissive by offering consumers no alternatives running on custom laser-sealed hardware. You call this "courage".
Where did GP do this?
Kernel? (Score:2)
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I fully expected a link to a blog from some Apple fanboy who bought every single piece they ever made.
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Re: Moscow rain questions? (Score:1)
Re: Moscow rain questions?criminal Hilary (Score:3)
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The problem with "criminal" is (as the court put it) violation of DNC's internal regulations is DNC's internal affair and outside of courts' jurisdiction. Clinton activities regarding the primaries didn't violate the US law, despite being a total mockery of democratic process, breaking a slew of DNC status regulations - they could only be pursued and punished by DNC, and with DNC being practically owned by Clintons, that's not going to happen.
The public saw it though, saw how the organization with democracy
Devs should do QA (Score:2, Informative)
Subject stolen from another story. :-)
Apple has had a lot issues with dates, clocks and alarms on the mobile devices. Including the interesting 1970 bug. https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2016/02/26/apple-will-unbrick-iphones-bricked-by-1970-bug/ [sophos.com]
Better QA might help but this shouldn't be so hard.
Re:Devs should do QA (Score:5, Informative)
To be fair, Apple hasn’t cornered the market on time-related bugs. Android’s had them too... and I still remember the ~ 30 patches Microsoft released trying to fix the Outlook/Exchange daylight saving calendar bug, back when the US redefined the start date (none of which actually solved the problem).
Still, Apple deserves any grief it’s getting over this. Maybe if they’d spent less time on that 3-D talking poop emoji...
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There may not be a professional programmer alive who hasn't ever had a date/time bug. Still though, it always seems just a little bit silly that they surface in shipping code.
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All of the "24h" stores were only open for 23h on March 12, and somehow no one writes an article about this bug in the name of the stores. People only complain about hardware and software.
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Well, actually Apple has quite a significant share of time-related bugs and it almost seems like they are trying to... ehm... "corner the DST market" ? :)
For example, I distinctly remember my iPhone forgetting to wake me up in time a few years ago after DST. From a quick search I see it was 2010. So, iOS 4.1 had a bug where repeating alarms did not work across DST change boundaries. What was infuriating about the bug is that Apple had ample warning, as 2-3 weeks before the Europe, it hit Australia and NZ. T
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I once had a Windows system, I think it was Windows 95 or 98, prompt me to update for Daylight Savings time. It wanted to set the clock back an hour. I said 'yes' to the prompt.
An hour later it prompted me again, to see if I wanted to set the clock back for Daylight Savings time.
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Companies really need to take QA seriously. Stop axing them, cutting corners, don't let developers do of all QA testings [slashdot.org] etc. And hire me!
hmmm (Score:1)
Climate change now affecting our Apples?
Clarification (Score:5, Informative)
I have a Series 1 Apple Watch, and as far as I can tell it wasn’t enough to ask it “what’s the weather?” - I had to add the qualifier “right now” to get my watch to respiring.
But yeah, silly bug. If Siri actually worked well, it might’ve been more annoying... but I can’t imagine too many people have the patience to use her as their primary means of interaction with the device. “I’ll tap you when I’m ready” gets old, really fast.
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I can already see the new scheme by bums.
"Dude, spare a buck or I have to ask you what the weather's like right now!"
Apple fanboys (Score:2, Funny)
I know a lot of apple fans don't like winows, but surely just looking out of one would avoid having to ask Siri?
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Apple's OS is a unix-based OS, just the same as Linux. So it's hardly superior to Linux...
Windows, on the other hand...
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I don't have a thermometer outside the window, you insensitive clod! :^D
Beware (Score:1)
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The mobile phone replaced the PC. The smart watch will replace the mobile phone. Next?
Implant.
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"The mobile phone replaced the PC"
Not for about 80% of my needs has a smartphone even come close to a PC.
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The vast majority of my non-work PC-type stuff is on my phone. There are some things that are more convenient to do on my laptop, but the phone is right there and I can use it to perform the task just fine. For a few rare things I use the laptop, but the vast majority of the time I use the phone.
Could I use it in work? Probably not. But at home I rarely use a PC these days.
Prior to having the phone, my laptop would be beside me on the sofa. Now it's in the office upstairs, out of the way, and powered d
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The smart watch will not replace the phone, because its physical limitations (screen size, touchscreen interface size, wrist attachment) make it unsuitable for most purposes for which the phone is sufficient.
There might be a hybrid; a wristband-phone. Flexible screen that can be wrapped around your wrist, worn like a smartwatch, or kept flat for use as a phone. But notice how phones actually *grow*, physical screen size becoming increasingly important. The tiny screen of a smartwatch is simply unsuitable fo
Re: My Casio never let me down (Score:2)
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Most articles we see on Slashdot concern us equally little. What results is usually an interesting discussion on why and how.
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But it amuses the other 99.99%.
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Of course it doesn't deal with DSL. It uses GSM connection and it's too small for a phone plug. Plus plugging the landline into a watch defeats the whole portability idea. Just imagine dragging your DSL link behind you as you go by car...
That was close (Score:2, Funny)
The world breathes a sigh of relief. We were almost done for.
Re: Only apple (Score:1)
The same company who made a phone that can't call?
Help me understand. (Score:3)
In order to know the current weather, one could look out the window. Or worse: Actually walk outside and have a feel.
Granted, where I live "buienradar" is a good thing since it allows you to plan around rainfall at a given location at a given time, but this smartwatch bug seems to be a first world problem if ever I saw one.
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Congratulations on working somewhere with windows. Where I live I check buidenradar or my phone to anticipate if it is raining *before* I put on a shitload of cloths to leave the bunker. Though I admit sometimes I don't ask my phone. If I see a person who's just arrived I ask them instead. Never mind that siri attempts to give you an hour by hour forecast.
Try planning 3 hours ahead by looking out the window. That works in southern parts of Australia, not in the Netherlands.
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Looking out your windows you'll see what the weather is like in that direction. You then need to move to the other side of the house to check the weather in the other direction, or go outside to check the weather in all directions. One side of your house could show blue skies, and the other a dark ominous cloud moving in. The sun might be out and the ground dry, but it could still be sub-freezing temperatures -- you can't see the temperature.
Simply asking your watch/phone/computer/tablet/... about the we
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this smartwatch bug seems to be a first world problem if ever I saw one.
You could just as readily extend that to smartphones in general. Just about everything people do with smartphones falls under incremental efficiency, entertainment, or some combination of the two. It's way too easy to lose sight of how well society somehow managed to function without them.
Was Europe/non-US affected last week? (Score:2)
If this was a DST issue, surely Europe (and a lot of the non-US DST-setting world) would have been affected last week as most would have changed their clocks on the last Sunday of October. Was this an issue then? Or was this only affected by the US DST change? In which case, why is Siri worldwide affected by US DST only?
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I would have expected them to be spread out globally, considering that apple have datacentres globally. It would make sense that asking Siri a question would mean Siri would connect to the closes datacentre to a get the answer, rather than one on the opposite side of the world.
Unless apple run all of their servers worldwide on PST or something...
Ob (Score:2)
Have you tried wearing it upside down with the face on the inside?
I really wonder how they develop software (Score:1)
Must be really crapy software architecture (Score:1)
Clever watch (Score:2)
You never know where the person wearing you stands on AGW, so dodge the question.
Now, that's good for watches, but how can I shut down properly the next time I get asked "Does that dress make me look fat?"
All I figured out so far is that "No, the fat makes you look fat" is the WRONG answer.
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I give an honest, but incomplete answer. "No, dear. The dress doesn't make you look fat".
The dress is irrelevant there. :)
Yup, they're definitely trolling us now (Score:2)
The problem may have been caused by Daylight Savings Time ...
Is there a Slashdot style guide that specifically requires this incorrect plural just to fuck with us?
That usually ... (Score:2)
"So, how do you like this weather?"
I blame.... (Score:1)