3 ms·

Don't use it... what is the point of commenting rubbish like this? If you have concerns / bug reports, fine, but i bet you've never been in a self driving car.

pasbesoin 9y ago
The point is, the one thing they respond to is bad PR -- when it gets bad enough. They have the financial resources to do a move into this field -- or most any field -- right. Until they actually demonstrate doing so, they deserve the continued criticism. Still waiting on my Android updates, so I can turn wifi back on on my 6 month old phone. And I'd have them, if my year and a bit old Nexus 5x hadn't bootlooped. Google Fiber got one town away, and crapped out. Granted, they don't "owe" me service, in that case. But another venture we started hoping in, effectively snuffed out. As for self-driving cars, I spent 3+ months helping someone get back on their feet, who'd lost their license. Uber were a real "godsend" for her. But at the same time, I watched Uber breaking regulations and grabbing marketshare by burning investor dollars, pushing towards an effective monopoly or duopoloy. The exit strategy for same apparently being to switch to self-driving vehicles to reduce costs, before their runway ran out. Dumping all their "non-employee" drivers at that point. And learning more about how drivers, especially after eating vehicle expenses and such, weren't actually making that much. And this at a time when, eventually, "free market" Republicans were pushing to take away the primary health care option (the ACA) available to those drivers who actually pursued the work as a full-time job. And that person whom Uber helped out, turned out to be as big a user as they are. A rather symbolic synergy, in anecdote. Meantime, Uber now proposes [yes, that change in verb case is intentional] that they have an effective monopoly on driverless vehicles in urban areas. Yeah, so I've been paying a bit of attention to this. Now, some effective competition would be nice. And my parents are going to need it, pretty soon. But they're my parents, and they're going to need more than the typical Google level of non-support. They already have that with their smartphones. So, if Google wants to do this, they should... Well, I think it was actually better when the engineers ran the place. Things would get missed, but once they were pointed out, the engineers would honestly -- if not always effectively -- be interested in addressing them. Problem solvers. Whatever's going on with Google, now, it seems to transcend the "why doesn't everyone just understand this" mindset. If you're going to have thousands upon thousands of vehicles interacting with ordinary people including a lot of seniors who are more or less just "getting by" with their phones. Well, then, you'd better provide some effective human oversight and involvement, down to the customer level. When I call Google Fi, I get actual U.S. based associates who seem, some at least, relatively smart and engaged. That's a start. Next up, stand behind your product. Doesn't matter who made it, you're selling it. And for those pointy-haired bosses: Yes, "goodwill" does have a value -- to accountants, even.
- monk_e_boy 9y ago
  I'm not 100% sure I understand your argument. You've not used it, another company provide a car service which you kinda like, so projecting that experience onto a google self driving car which you have never seen .... you have some objections? You think it'll drive your mom to a bad part of town and leave her there? Dude. You need an outlet, HN isn't a healthy place to dump this stuff. Have you tried talking to a professional? It may help you. Good luck, you sound like a nice bloke.

pasbesoin 9y ago

The point is, the one thing they respond to is bad PR -- when it gets bad enough. They have the financial resources to do a move into this field -- or most any field -- right. Until they actually demonstrate doing so, they deserve the continued criticism. Still waiting on my Android updates, so I can turn wifi back on on my 6 month old phone. And I'd have them, if my year and a bit old Nexus 5x hadn't bootlooped. Google Fiber got one town away, and crapped out. Granted, they don't "owe" me service, in that case. But another venture we started hoping in, effectively snuffed out. As for self-driving cars, I spent 3+ months helping someone get back on their feet, who'd lost their license. Uber were a real "godsend" for her. But at the same time, I watched Uber breaking regulations and grabbing marketshare by burning investor dollars, pushing towards an effective monopoly or duopoloy. The exit strategy for same apparently being to switch to self-driving vehicles to reduce costs, before their runway ran out. Dumping all their "non-employee" drivers at that point. And learning more about how drivers, especially after eating vehicle expenses and such, weren't actually making that much. And this at a time when, eventually, "free market" Republicans were pushing to take away the primary health care option (the ACA) available to those drivers who actually pursued the work as a full-time job. And that person whom Uber helped out, turned out to be as big a user as they are. A rather symbolic synergy, in anecdote. Meantime, Uber now proposes [yes, that change in verb case is intentional] that they have an effective monopoly on driverless vehicles in urban areas. Yeah, so I've been paying a bit of attention to this. Now, some effective competition would be nice. And my parents are going to need it, pretty soon. But they're my parents, and they're going to need more than the typical Google level of non-support. They already have that with their smartphones. So, if Google wants to do this, they should... Well, I think it was actually better when the engineers ran the place. Things would get missed, but once they were pointed out, the engineers would honestly -- if not always effectively -- be interested in addressing them. Problem solvers. Whatever's going on with Google, now, it seems to transcend the "why doesn't everyone just understand this" mindset. If you're going to have thousands upon thousands of vehicles interacting with ordinary people including a lot of seniors who are more or less just "getting by" with their phones. Well, then, you'd better provide some effective human oversight and involvement, down to the customer level. When I call Google Fi, I get actual U.S. based associates who seem, some at least, relatively smart and engaged. That's a start. Next up, stand behind your product. Doesn't matter who made it, you're selling it. And for those pointy-haired bosses: Yes, "goodwill" does have a value -- to accountants, even.

monk_e_boy 9y ago
I'm not 100% sure I understand your argument. You've not used it, another company provide a car service which you kinda like, so projecting that experience onto a google self driving car which you have never seen .... you have some objections? You think it'll drive your mom to a bad part of town and leave her there? Dude. You need an outlet, HN isn't a healthy place to dump this stuff. Have you tried talking to a professional? It may help you. Good luck, you sound like a nice bloke.