3 ms·

>much harder problem than uber Respectfully disagree. We simply cannot compare the difficulty level of Uber and Coinbase to each other. But for the record, they

by maram 9y ago

>much harder problem than uber Respectfully disagree. We simply cannot compare the difficulty level of Uber and Coinbase to each other. But for the record, they faced many technical challenges..accurately matching you with a nearby driver and predicting ETA required a lot of technical work.. Uber's success wasn't only a matter of network effect. Uber is known for efficiency and what personally fascinates me is that the bigger they grow the more efficient they become. Uber out-mathed Google on ETAs..and to scale they hired hardcore mathematicians,rocket scientist, a computational neuroscientist and a nuclear physicist. Their support from the first day I used it never took more than 24 hours.

adjkant 9y ago
Again, technical challenges generally and scale are not the same thing. Also I'm sorry but I don't think those challenges are nearly that hard. ETA's are not that hard to solve, nor am I convinced that they beat Google on ETA's. In fact most Uber ETA's change consistently along the ride and are never accurate for me (before I switched to Lyft). For matching drivers, all you have to do is look at all the X closest drivers available (an easy query given that drivers don't stray more than 50-100 miles from their home, usually much less), plot the routes using a routing API for each, and pick that with the lowest estimate. The pool algorithm gets a bit harder but is more or less just a preference for other close pool drivers when they are in a state where more riders are allowed to be added. Uber's app is copied regularly to a workable point by competitors. It's not that complicated and scaling is relatively simple given that it's more or less just upping the number of servers. Their support is good, but again, is not really scaling related. Coinbase never offered good support. Scaling isn't the issue, a lack of caring for support is. ---------------------------------------- The point to all of this being that it's pretty useless to compare scaling of Uber and Coinbase. Coinbase needs to improve, but that can be done just by looking at them alone with enough experience in the needed relevant areas. Uber is not applicable here.

by maram 9y ago

adjkant 9y ago

Again, technical challenges generally and scale are not the same thing. Also I'm sorry but I don't think those challenges are nearly that hard. ETA's are not that hard to solve, nor am I convinced that they beat Google on ETA's. In fact most Uber ETA's change consistently along the ride and are never accurate for me (before I switched to Lyft). For matching drivers, all you have to do is look at all the X closest drivers available (an easy query given that drivers don't stray more than 50-100 miles from their home, usually much less), plot the routes using a routing API for each, and pick that with the lowest estimate. The pool algorithm gets a bit harder but is more or less just a preference for other close pool drivers when they are in a state where more riders are allowed to be added. Uber's app is copied regularly to a workable point by competitors. It's not that complicated and scaling is relatively simple given that it's more or less just upping the number of servers. Their support is good, but again, is not really scaling related. Coinbase never offered good support. Scaling isn't the issue, a lack of caring for support is. ---------------------------------------- The point to all of this being that it's pretty useless to compare scaling of Uber and Coinbase. Coinbase needs to improve, but that can be done just by looking at them alone with enough experience in the needed relevant areas. Uber is not applicable here.