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Intellectual Property, DRM and holding my data hostage agaisnt my will are all forms of protectionism, and if you were to remove that, how much would Uber be wo

by sprafa 9y ago

Intellectual Property, DRM and holding my data hostage agaisnt my will are all forms of protectionism, and if you were to remove that, how much would Uber be worth? They have the software and "network effects", but without their driverless car play or the fact that I should be free to have an OpenID that would work between services (and carry my ratings, same for drivers) how great would Uber be? You're right that protectionism stops innovation, but innovation is not always directly linked to wealth creation, and protectionism comes in many forms, including corporate protectionism.

civilian 9y ago
How does Uber use IP, DRM, and data-hostaging to make itself worth more? :confused: Having OpenID doesn't seem like a right you can demand. Idk. If you want to, choose a service that provides that. You're right that there's a network effect, but it's a network effect that's been freely given by consumers. I'm not a pro-Uber shill. I'm kind of hoping that their self-driving car play fails, and that the market corrects itself. (i.e. Uber bankrupts!) What do you mean corporate protectionism? Corporations don't have the power to pass laws and force people to do things against their will. Those powers only reside in the government. I'm absolutely anti-cronyism and anti-lobbying. I think the best situation we could be in would be one where the government does not have power to meddle in the market, because we would not even have to worry about special interests getting into politician's pockets, because politicians would have no special favors to give in return.
- sprafa 9y ago
  Markets control almost everything. How would governments not interfere in the market ? Would you not grant IP, considering IP is clearly a form of protectionism ?
- sprafa 9y ago
  Freely given can have a lot of interpretations. I would say that Uber is buying network effects using VC money by depressing prices for the goods they are selling. In the end though car transportation will probably be as profitable of a business as airplane transportation - that is not much. The idea that strapping an app and bending regulations will allow Uber to make more money than its competitors seems like a fantasy to me - the price of entry being low enough and regulations being the same for all, Uber Will be the United Airlines of 2070. The idea that Uber has any right to the data I've put into it is ludicrous as well to me - if I produce data I should have a right to it, and in a fully interchangable manner. anything else is an engineer's defense to monopoly by database, which I increasingly feel like should be illegal.

by sprafa 9y ago

civilian 9y ago

How does Uber use IP, DRM, and data-hostaging to make itself worth more? :confused: Having OpenID doesn't seem like a right you can demand. Idk. If you want to, choose a service that provides that. You're right that there's a network effect, but it's a network effect that's been freely given by consumers. I'm not a pro-Uber shill. I'm kind of hoping that their self-driving car play fails, and that the market corrects itself. (i.e. Uber bankrupts!) What do you mean corporate protectionism? Corporations don't have the power to pass laws and force people to do things against their will. Those powers only reside in the government. I'm absolutely anti-cronyism and anti-lobbying. I think the best situation we could be in would be one where the government does not have power to meddle in the market, because we would not even have to worry about special interests getting into politician's pockets, because politicians would have no special favors to give in return.

sprafa 9y ago
Markets control almost everything. How would governments not interfere in the market ? Would you not grant IP, considering IP is clearly a form of protectionism ?
sprafa 9y ago
Freely given can have a lot of interpretations. I would say that Uber is buying network effects using VC money by depressing prices for the goods they are selling. In the end though car transportation will probably be as profitable of a business as airplane transportation - that is not much. The idea that strapping an app and bending regulations will allow Uber to make more money than its competitors seems like a fantasy to me - the price of entry being low enough and regulations being the same for all, Uber Will be the United Airlines of 2070. The idea that Uber has any right to the data I've put into it is ludicrous as well to me - if I produce data I should have a right to it, and in a fully interchangable manner. anything else is an engineer's defense to monopoly by database, which I increasingly feel like should be illegal.