Rogue Techies Monthly Meeting: October 2018

This was the first meeting of the newly-named Rogue Techies. Following a smack-down from the overriding CocoaHeads Overseeing Body, we decided to rename our group to reflect two things: the general nature of our technical discussions and the broad reach of our group that extends all across the Rogue Valley.

The format has also changed: We now host a 30-minute Tech Talk starting at 6:00 p.m., followed by dinner starting around 6:30; this format provides some flexibility for those people who don’t want to hear the Tech Talk to arrive at 6:30 and join us for a no-host dinner.

This month, Corey Nelson, I.T. Manager at Emergency Communications of Southern Oregon (ECSO), delivered a Tech Talk on the topic of Emergency Communications: NextGen 911.

UI/UX

The UI/UX is simple: If you have an emergency, press a button on your cell phone and … Presto! Help is on the way! The 911 Operator notifies the Fire Department, Police Department, and/or Ambulance Service, depending on the caller’s reply to the question, “What’s your emergency?”

On The Other End Of The Phone

The backend processing is a bit more complex. Corey took us behind the familiar front end and explained the step-by-step process that a 911 Operator traverses as they get location information and more details about the emergency—all while keeping the caller as calm as possible, assuring them that help is on the way, and even coaching them to perform life support activities. Of course a script is involved. If this then that else other. Repeat.

Thousands of 911 calls are answered every second all over the continental U.S.

For a detailed account of Corey’s presentation, you are invited to visit the post on Rogue Tech Ink.

Join us the First Thursday of each month at Larks inside Inn At The Commons in Medford (5th & Riverside Drive), starting at 6:00 for a Tech Talk and business networking.