61–70 of 110 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
their drivers are the training set for their self driving cars. thats how they want to become profitable.
drivers could be helping make better maps, but I doubt that uber is able to use a cell phone to really create a usable training set for self driving. If every drivers car had cameras and lidar, that would be different.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
So this isn't snark: explain to me what Uber's done that's "great"? They burn VC money in a trash bin in pursuit of a business model that looks totally nonviable unless one achieves a monopolistic position or pays below-minimum-wage rates (as that seems to be what the race to the bottom is for drivers). I'd bet that the overwhelming majority of those board members were rich before Uber and will be rich after Uber dis…
their drivers are the training set for their self driving cars. thats how they want to become profitable.
Sorry to be crass, but fuck this. I hate Travis's attitude as much as anyone, but no man who has achieved something as great as Uber deserves to go out like this--at the hands of some board members who rode his coat tail to riches. Reminds me of Apple marginalizing Steve Jobs. Fuck that. I want to see Travis face up to his immoral bullshit as much as anyone, but by Lyft pummeling Uber into the ground, not some coward…
> I want to see Travis face up to his immoral bullshit as much as anyone, but by Lyft pummeling Uber into the ground Why? What immoral bullshit? Lyft is basically free-riding off Uber. Uber does the heavy lifting taking on the entrenched taxi companies who have insulated themselves from competition via local politics and regulation and Lyft swoops in once the hard work is done, trying to convince customers who have b…
This may not be the place for it, but: what's the deal with Uber not rolling out in Western Canada? I know the government hates them, but didn't they launch illegally like...everywhere else?
Vancouver was one of the first cities they launched in. And one of the first they got booted out of. My personal theory is we're actually a crap market for Uber. We'd obviously love ride sharing but realistically the alternatives (transit, walkability, car share) are simply quite good. Even our cabs aren't that expensive compared to other cities where Uber has really caught on. We'd use Uber, just not that much.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
their drivers are the training set for their self driving cars. thats how they want to become profitable.
Ahh yes, that self-driving tech that they totally 100% developed on their own and didn't steal from anyone else, right?
innocent until proven guilty, btw. some journalist writing something in a newspaper is not proof.
The board can't force him out if he doesn't want to go, can it? (Due to his special shares) Can the company thrive with someone else running it? And will it be obvious enough for Travis to see this? (How do you fight all the local taxi commissions without a combative streak?) I wonder if this will eventually cause companies to think twice about this type of governance.
Who cares if the company it's rotting inside if they keep generating traction and interest? What a shame!
There's plenty of time to be cynical later if it turns out this is just kabuki theater. I'm suspending judgment until we see what will actually change.
Travis Kalanick's rise was the result of Silicon Valley's sincere yearning for an irreverent CEO when Steve Jobs passed away. We were collectively willing to overlook any blemishes in the young company, which set up for failure in the long run. I sometimes wonder if Steve Jobs had still been alive, would he have been revered as much as he was in the 2010s? His management style would have sooner or later caused perman…
Jobs was (sometimes) hard on people when he felt it would lead to a better product. Kalanick allowed a toxic work environment to spread because he though it was funny.
The board can't force him out if he doesn't want to go, can it? (Due to his special shares) Can the company thrive with someone else running it? And will it be obvious enough for Travis to see this? (How do you fight all the local taxi commissions without a combative streak?) I wonder if this will eventually cause companies to think twice about this type of governance.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
So this isn't snark: explain to me what Uber's done that's "great"? They burn VC money in a trash bin in pursuit of a business model that looks totally nonviable unless one achieves a monopolistic position or pays below-minimum-wage rates (as that seems to be what the race to the bottom is for drivers). I'd bet that the overwhelming majority of those board members were rich before Uber and will be rich after Uber dis…
You can say it's a great waste if you'd like. But it is huge. Ubiquitous. World-changing. Uber will be in history books, whether or not it pans out as a valuable company: we'll see. But it has already earned its greatness, even if said greatness was just burning billions of dollars to transform our world.