Uber has defeated Bill de Blasio’s plan to rein them in • Hacker News Board

Re: Uber has defeated Bill de Blasio’s plan to rein them in

#261

Post by mdpopescu » Mon, Jul 27, 2015, 10:53 AM UTC

dragonwriter wrote: post #246

mdpopescu wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It started in education with Khan Academy and the like, but there's still a lot of work to be done. As for health care... it is one of my fondest wishes for a large company like Google to come up with a medical expert system that can solve even half of the "take two pills and come back in two days" consultation that currently cost me $50.

> it is one of my fondest wishes for a large company like Google to come up with a medical expert system that can solve even half of the "take two pills and come back in two days" consultation that currently cost me $50. AFAIK, this is not a technical problem; such solutions have existed for quite a while. Drug control laws, laws governing scope of practice of various classes of health care providers, and insurance r…

Absolutely agreed; I was reading about such medical expert systems in the 80s. I know it's a political issue... unfortunately, I don't see anything smaller than an Apple or Google able to take on it.

A possible alternative might be a startup willing to offer such services to third-world countries that have really bad medical systems (which in turn would mean not enough political power to prevent it). Unfortunately, I don't know if there are enough money in such a venture - definitely nowhere near the current "get $1B quickly" trend.

Re: Uber has defeated Bill de Blasio’s plan to rein them in

#262

Post by ethanbond » Mon, Jul 27, 2015, 6:10 PM UTC

marssaxman wrote: post #260

ethanbond wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, for one, Travis et al. will never have the possibility of personal responsibility for anything that Uber does. Don't mistake a scorched-earth profit march for some type of civil disobedience.

It can be both. One can decry Uber's asshole spirit and questionable business practices while applauding the political change their unpleasant activity is accomplishing.

I suppose that's fair. I'm interested to see how this all pans out.

Re: Uber has defeated Bill de Blasio’s plan to rein them in

#263

Post by usaphp » Thu, Jul 30, 2015, 2:15 PM UTC

discardorama wrote: post #236

usaphp wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does it have to do with Uber? A lot of drivers are doing that, and don't even get me started on taxi drivers in New York City, they just do whatever they want on a road.

I have noticed the same in SF. > What does it have to do with Uber? If these are Uber drivers picking up/dropping off passengers, then it's Uber's problem, isn't it? Setting aside the contractor/employee dispute, these drivers are engaged in activity for which they'll get money from Uber, so it definitely is Uber's problem. > A lot of drivers are doing that Not in SF. I've lived here 10 years, and never saw this leve…

> "I've seen Uber drivers doing a U-turn at the stop sign, confusing other traffic"

There is nothing wrong with doing a U-turn at the stop sign, it's absolutely legal [1]

1. http://www.pe.com/articles/insurance-629158-traffic-vehicle....