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Google Launches Sidewalk Labs

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Re: Google Launches Sidewalk Labs

#151

Post by ohitsdom »

curiouscat321 wrote: post #5

At what point is Google going to officially become a consulting company? Right now, they seem to be playing arbitrage with engineering talent. They buy up engineers with large salaries and fancy perks. Those people, who now span almost every industry, are then used on projects like these. This has nothing to do with Google's core business or any branch of it at all. It seems like Google is designing all sorts of prod…

> selling to the highest bidder

Have they ever done this? Or even shown any interest to sell a business unit they own?

Re: Google Launches Sidewalk Labs

#152

Post by steeples »

Without attacking Google, the consensus is that Google Launches {Project} is not anymore news than it is a long sigh and a jaded response of "Oh Google just launched another project, go Google. Now to work on my side project".

Re: Google Launches Sidewalk Labs

#153

Post by angdis »

acdha wrote: post #146
Animats wrote: post #63

Someone needs to develop a public toilet that's self-cleaning but doesn't cost more than some houses. The problem is making it homeless and drug dealer proof. SF has had major problems with their self-cleaning toilets.[1] Portland succeeded, but theirs is armored to contain a velociraptor and provides limited privacy.[2] [1] http://www.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/occupied-san-francisco-... [2] http://www.citylab.com/de…

I realize we're all programmers but why does this have to be a complex self-cleaning toilet rather than, say, hiring a few people to clean them? It's not like there aren't plenty of people looking for steady work and humans have the advantage of being really flexible when something breaks in a novel manner.

Yes, hire cleaners to staff the restrooms and charge a small amount to use them. Its not rocket science, it works (see European train stations), and it puts people to work. Its a shame we don't have more of that here in the USA.

Re: Google Launches Sidewalk Labs

#154

Post by icebraining »

angdis wrote: post #153
acdha wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I realize we're all programmers but why does this have to be a complex self-cleaning toilet rather than, say, hiring a few people to clean them? It's not like there aren't plenty of people looking for steady work and humans have the advantage of being really flexible when something breaks in a novel manner.

Yes, hire cleaners to staff the restrooms and charge a small amount to use them. Its not rocket science, it works (see European train stations), and it puts people to work. Its a shame we don't have more of that here in the USA.

Ugh. As an European, I really dislike this new move to charge for bathroom use. It's often expensive, it requires having change (yay, trip to the ATM!) and it means having to wait if the staffer is him/herself in the loo.

Re: Google Launches Sidewalk Labs

#155

Post by dasmoth »

paganel wrote: post #116
stephenr wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I wouldn't move to a 'specialized and remote' community inhabited by people who are all affiliated with the same company. Re-read the sentence again. > By altering their way of working they could support remote working, creating clusters of specialized work forces and communities online rather than in a narrow physical location. The concept is that if you encourage remote working via online workplaces, you can solv…

> The concept is that if you encourage remote working via online workplaces, you can solve the "big city" issue for a percentage of the population by allowing them to live further away from the densely populated areas "because of work". But then again some of us really don't like to work all alone in our house, in the middle of nowhere. If I'm spending 8 hours per day working for my employer I might as well socialize…

On the other hand, some of us do.

Reducing the pressure for people who don't really want to be there to move into cities should improve life for everybody.

Re: Google Launches Sidewalk Labs

#156

Post by dasmoth »

jarek wrote: post #105
gull wrote: post #69

From http://www.sidewalkinc.com/ : "By 2050, the population in cities will double" Is the best solution a frontal attack? Or could it be moving away from existing cities? Could one design a new city from scratch?

> Could one design a new city from scratch? Yes, but the result is Milton Keynes.

Milton Keynes clearly isn't the only possible result. Even I kind-of like Letchworth, and I'm really not a town/city person.

Re: Google Launches Sidewalk Labs

#157

Post by Swannie »

Microsoft, IBM, GE, Siemans, and even companies like Cisco, Rockwell and others have all been making moves here.

Nice to see Google finally joining the rest of the tech industry ;-) I have to assume this was prompted by the sort of standards work Nest were doing, and the sort of impact that Google Maps is having on traffic.

Re: Google Launches Sidewalk Labs

#158

Post by [deleted] »

sidcool wrote: post #71
rokhayakebe wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you must make money to pay for your living and take care of your spouse and kids so that they may have a better future than the life you have lived, is your agenda number one to make money regardless of what you tell your friends you are working for?

Nice metaphor.

[deleted]

Re: Google Launches Sidewalk Labs

#159

Post by skidoo »

rokhayakebe wrote: post #66
skidoo wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Making money is agenda number one for both companies regardless of what their respective PR departments say.

If you must make money to pay for your living and take care of your spouse and kids so that they may have a better future than the life you have lived, is your agenda number one to make money regardless of what you tell your friends you are working for?

No it's not. You can support your family without enabling an evil corporation in sneaking billions in tax evasion schemes. Greed destroys. Capitalism destroys. No paint job fixes that.

Re: Google Launches Sidewalk Labs

#160

Post by lhopki01 »

Sir_Substance wrote: post #103
w-m wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Paris has over 400 of these: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanisette They're free to use, not drug dealer proof, and close at night. I'd say they work well, but they're rather ugly.

The biggest culture shock of visiting the UK was paying to use toilets. Do you want people pissing against walls? Because that's how you get people pissing against walls.

The trend in the UK now is to just pay pubs and places like Macdonalds a small fee from the council to let the general public use their loos. It saves on having to have separate public loos.
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