If only someone had pointed out that the app wouldn’t work on iPhones (and also most people would not have downloaded it anyway). Unbelievable. The worst government we’ve had in a long time...
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UK's Contact Tracing App Will Reportedly Use Apple/Google Solution After All
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Well, after last week perhaps when it became available? The reality is the BBC jumped the gun with their headlines and they are not using the Apple / Google solution (yet). As per the briefing the NHSX app works as designed on Android but performs poorly on IOS devices. As per the briefing they have been trialling both systems and concluded that the Apple / Google system was creating too many false interactions because it cannot determine distance between parties accurately enough. The statement was that they were working with Apple and Google to see if the systems, NHSx and the “tech firms” could be amalgamated to create a better overall app. When you’re sending people into isolation, it has to work.
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Yes...and why the U.K. is not using the Apple/Google app despite the sensationalist BBC headlines. The BBC fail to mention that Apple has been working with NHSx for the duration.
Was it ever proven that one of the tech firms more contracted/subcontracted to work on their own app, was financially connected to Cummings, with the very feasible suggestion he pushed it that way? If so, they should go for his jugular but like we saw with the lockdown fiasco, with Bojo the Clown behind him, he has post-nuclear cockroach levels of survival.
What an embarrassing bunch of incompetent jokers, anyone with half a brain cell could see this outcome coming a mile off. They are - quite literally - making it up as they go along.
Thankfully, there is infinitely more credibility and world class expertise in academic/industry clinical research and development in the UK, with an effective vaccine in the works.
What an embarrassing bunch of incompetent jokers, anyone with half a brain cell could see this outcome coming a mile off. They are - quite literally - making it up as they go along.
Thankfully, there is infinitely more credibility and world class expertise in academic/industry clinical research and development in the UK, with an effective vaccine in the works.
Google / Apple API Timeline
The Google / Apple API was formally announced April 10 with a technical documentation published on the same day.
By April 29th iOS 13.5 beta 3 was released to devs + public with the contact tracing API available
By May 20th iOS 13.5 was formally released to ALL compatible iOS devices (iPhone 6s and higher) Ready for use by any government that has an app ready
NHSX Timeline
March 31st NHSX confirms it's looking into possibility of using a contact tracing app
April 12 NHSX confirms it will work on its own centralised variant of a contact tracing app, it was noted that more than 50% of the population needs to use it for it to be effective.
Based on recent stats it's pretty much a 50:50 split between iOS and Android, if you account for the number of incompatible devices across both sides (cos remember, contact tracing API doesn't work across ALL android devices either) we're essentially talking the absolute need for the app to be compatible across both OSes, this should have been the number one requirement from day 1.
April 27 NHSX reaffirms its plan to go it's own way, says app will be ready within 3 weeks, says it found a way to make it work well enough on iOS and has revealed that it begun testing it internally.
By May 7th NHSX open sources the source code, with many criticising its 'approach' to making it work well enough saying it's an unreliable hack at best, they also begin testing at Isle of Wight
Between then and now, after numerous denials that they are not working on an alternative app, and empty promises of it will launch soon, we're now at a stage where just days after news started going around that the earliest an NHSX contact tracing app could be realistically deployed is winter, the NHSX announced it's going to use the API.
Immuni, the Italian contact tracing app using the Exposure Notification API launched to the public on 1st of June. While officially it's being run with the 4 northern regions in mind, it's open to the public to freely download and use.
75% detection rate on Android doesn't sound working as designed unless they designed for mediocrity. And the fact that it wouldn't work well with iOS devices was known and flagged as early as May 7th when the code was open sourced.
So it's kinda brilliant, they haven't been trialing both system (definitely not in the same scale as the IoW trial) and while it's true that the API relies on BLE for proximity detection, I'm not sure what they're on about given they use the same BLE tech for proximity calculation. So really, they coulda done what Immuni does.
No they haven't. They made it abundantly clear they were going their own way and while they have consulted on the possibility of using the API they haven't been 'working with' the relevant parties as their source code for the app kinda proves given there's no way in hell Apple would've OK'd a hack that bypasses explicit features around BT security.
Again... they really haven't. They hired Zühlke a Swiss software engineering company to provide 'development and support' for the NHSX app and services. This contract started on May 6th with the initial onboarding consisting of shadowing the IoW trial, doing an architectural review, and a two week spike to investigate the potential usage of the Exposure Notification API.
And to stress more on this contract, this is the NHSX handing over full responsibility of the development and support of 'their' contact tracing app with formal technical handover of the platform + code to be done by around 18th of May. The complete handover of the whole project was expected to be done by around 15th of June and the responsibility of getting GDS (government digital services) approval was given over to Zühlke as part of the contract.
So based on the timeline, the NHSX (and by extension the government) wasted peoples times, possibly were responsible for god knows how many deaths, added further to economic uncertainty and extended periods of lockdown because they couldn't get their **** together and only when the project was fully handed over to an outside engineering company do we get an announcement that they're now looking to relaunch the app using the API.
The gov't can spin it however they want but it's not iterative development when you're swapping the brains of the app out.
So many armchair critics on here, throwing stones and calling the UK government pathetic, whilst only having a fraction of the facts before them.
Let's just hope that if something like this pandemic ever happens again the government will have the good sense to consult with {insert random forum username} first, to check through their strategy and gain approval.
Let's just hope that if something like this pandemic ever happens again the government will have the good sense to consult with {insert random forum username} first, to check through their strategy and gain approval.
So many armchair critics on here, throwing stones and calling the UK government pathetic, whilst only having a fraction of the facts before them.
Let's just hope that if something like this pandemic ever happens again the government will have the good sense to consult with {insert random forum username} first, to check through their strategy and gain approval.
Bravo for having the guts to defend indefensible and incompetent management of the entire crisis by those elected (and unelected) in government. I can only assume you‘re an avid reader of the Daily Mail and were fully onboard with “Get Brexit Done”.
You don’t need the full facts to see very clearly they’re literally making it up as they go along.
According to Apple they haven’t even been contacted Apple 'not told' about UK's latest app plans https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-53105642
This is great stuff.
1) You've taken what I wrote and got it wrong. Go back and re-read my post.
2) You have made two giant leaping assumptions about me, both of which are wrong.
3) Declared you don't need facts to come to conclusions.
I do need the facts, you however state you don't whilst deftly failing to read properly what was written.
Thank you for proving my original point so very, very well.
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Yep. I’m reading that they abandoned the IoW app relatively recently and are planning to speaking to Apple/Google to release data on what devices are talking to each other to (apparently) more accurately assess distance. Given the Conversative party’s recent track record over internet privacy I would not trust them to not abuse this data, and any app would still have the fatal flaw of not being able to check which room the user is in, false positives would remain an issue regardless.
Not according to what he said in the press conference. He stood up and said they had been running both apps on a trial and had been talking with Apple about how to integrate the learning from both into a new app.
Y’all still don’t get that they regularly lie to your faces do y’all? TBH don’t see a point in the daily press conferences anymore cos they’re basically propaganda sessions at this point.
I think i did hear on ABC, no one likes to start their own ting, then in the middle, tradition to Apple's/Google's method...
I don't think its smooth transition.... UK should of set itself up from the beginning. But now UK users will get confused, what app do i use etc.... Something 'perfectly' timed with a crises :/
I did here here in Australia, why we don't use the API, its mostly because phone number is not passed to govenment
I don't think its smooth transition.... UK should of set itself up from the beginning. But now UK users will get confused, what app do i use etc.... Something 'perfectly' timed with a crises :/
I did here here in Australia, why we don't use the API, its mostly because phone number is not passed to govenment