Live data from Hacker News

Alphabet, Walmart join U.S. effort to speed up coronavirus testing

reuters.com

101–110 of 223 posts

Re: Alphabet, Walmart join U.S. effort to speed up coronavirus testing

#101
post #2

Why is Google (and for that matter Apple) not helping to track the prior movement of every coronavirus patient where possible to identify additional potentially exposed individuals? Seems fairly straightforward given their massive surveillance infrastructure. Anyone at Apple or Google actually going to pitch in here and offer meaningful help? So far, crickets.

Why are people asking this of Google and Apple and not of, you know, the major telcos who do have your location history (which you cannot opt out of) and are perfectly willing to sell it?

Re: Alphabet, Walmart join U.S. effort to speed up coronavirus testing

#102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the reply. Where do US citizens go get tested in each state?

Personally, I would call my health provider, or my local hospital to inquire about their particular Covid testing protocol, seeming as some states are currently reporting very few confirmed cases, while others are already doing drive-through testing.

Yea, that's the point. No one knows.

Re: Alphabet, Walmart join U.S. effort to speed up coronavirus testing

#104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, I would call my health provider, or my local hospital to inquire about their particular Covid testing protocol, seeming as some states are currently reporting very few confirmed cases, while others are already doing drive-through testing.

Yea, that's the point. No one knows.

Apologies, I thought you were genuinely curious.

Re: Alphabet, Walmart join U.S. effort to speed up coronavirus testing

#105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, I would call my health provider, or my local hospital to inquire about their particular Covid testing protocol, seeming as some states are currently reporting very few confirmed cases, while others are already doing drive-through testing.

Yea, that's the point. No one knows.

What are you rambling about? Professionals do know. Ask them.

Re: Alphabet, Walmart join U.S. effort to speed up coronavirus testing

#106
post #33

Found it strange that some parts of media decided to focus on the semantics of Google and Verily being different subsidiaries of Alphabet. This is an almost meaningless detail.

The key quote in the Verge article is: "Carolyn Wang, communications lead for Verily, told The Verge that the “triage website” was initially only going to be made available to health care workers instead of the general public. Now that it has been announced the way it was, however, anybody will be able to visit it, she said. But the tool will only be able to direct people to “pilot sites” for testing in the Bay Area,…

I feel like this debate is analogous to the test kits being rejected from 3rd parties, if that’s what happened. We’re lost in bureaucratic technicalities.

Verily was a division of Google X before Alphabet. It’s effectively Google Life Sciences minus the corporate advantages of the Alphabet structure.

Maybe Kushner or the President wanted to encourage Google, or maybe a speechwriter over exaggerated it. Or maybe the President lied. But when the media ultra parses the controversy to make every element the nth degree worse for him, it makes it hard to believe in objectivity at all.

Re: Alphabet, Walmart join U.S. effort to speed up coronavirus testing

#107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google Communications says here that Verily (a sister company to Google) is working on a small scale tool for the Bay area: https://twitter.com/Google_Comms/status/1238574670686928906

Verily is an Alphabet subsidiary. To the majority of Americans, 'Alphabet' is Google, because Alphabet is the successor organization to Google the company. All these ridiculous technicalities are nuts. No one cares that Alphabet decided to reorganize to maximize shareholder value. Alphabet is literally Google, and still trades under that ticker (GOOG). When people talk about Google the company, they mean Alphabet, an…

The important part is not google vs alphabet, it’s the fact that their site will only be available for the Bay Area.

Re: Alphabet, Walmart join U.S. effort to speed up coronavirus testing

#108
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The key quote in the Verge article is: "Carolyn Wang, communications lead for Verily, told The Verge that the “triage website” was initially only going to be made available to health care workers instead of the general public. Now that it has been announced the way it was, however, anybody will be able to visit it, she said. But the tool will only be able to direct people to “pilot sites” for testing in the Bay Area,…

I feel like this debate is analogous to the test kits being rejected from 3rd parties, if that’s what happened. We’re lost in bureaucratic technicalities. Verily was a division of Google X before Alphabet. It’s effectively Google Life Sciences minus the corporate advantages of the Alphabet structure. Maybe Kushner or the President wanted to encourage Google, or maybe a speechwriter over exaggerated it. Or maybe the P…

...or maybe trump heard something in a briefing and said what he thought he understood, instead of what he'd been told. And without, you know, coordinating or having the speech fact checked before delivering it to millions of people. The dude doesn't do process... See also, walking back the "no trade with Europe" thing a few days ago.

He doesn't get a lot of slack (outside the right wing machine) because he's repeatedly foot-gunned in dramatic and damaging ways.

Re: Alphabet, Walmart join U.S. effort to speed up coronavirus testing

#109
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The key quote in the Verge article is: "Carolyn Wang, communications lead for Verily, told The Verge that the “triage website” was initially only going to be made available to health care workers instead of the general public. Now that it has been announced the way it was, however, anybody will be able to visit it, she said. But the tool will only be able to direct people to “pilot sites” for testing in the Bay Area,…

I feel like this debate is analogous to the test kits being rejected from 3rd parties, if that’s what happened. We’re lost in bureaucratic technicalities. Verily was a division of Google X before Alphabet. It’s effectively Google Life Sciences minus the corporate advantages of the Alphabet structure. Maybe Kushner or the President wanted to encourage Google, or maybe a speechwriter over exaggerated it. Or maybe the P…

[deleted]
Post reply on HN