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Comment Re:But they help also (Score 4, Insightful) 366

That "basic licensing requirement" has nothing at all to do with safety.

Which license? I think if you can show a license that does just amount to graft, then any reasonable person would get on board with the idea that license is bad regulation. Except, the person you are replying to, specifically mentioned safety.

Neither argument can really be assessed unless concrete specifics are used. While most of TFA mentions "unfair competition" if you click through and read about the original German injunction they mention this:

http://mobile.nytimes.com/blog...
The court in Frankfurt found that Uber posed unfair competition to the local taxi industry. It said Uber did not have the necessary licenses and insurance for its drivers and noted that the company could be selective in providing rides, while taxi drivers are required to accept anyone needing a ride.

To me, at least from these articles, it's a little hard to tell what's in the German rules for taxis. Do you have some info on this? To me it looks like one shady unethical business is bitching about another shady and unethical business, and one has an app. There is a lot of talk about 'complying with the regulations' in the articles, then a lot of slashdotters calling that regulation bullshit, but no mention of what the regulations actually are. So how do you know they are bullshit? Or are you just arguing on a political / emotional level?

But some people want to government to control all the things, and any excuse will do.

Beat up that straw man, yo.

Comment Re:Wrong Take, Liar (Score 1) 366

I didnt call them exploitative -- that was some troll AC a few posts up. I'm just saying that not caring if they were, is a bad argument.

Frankly, your post is full of hyperbole too though. It would be nice if we could drop the BS and have a discussion. (I know, I know this is slashdot and all). But if you are going to make specific claims, "48 hour shifts" in (weasel word) "many" markets -- it'd be nice if you had a source. Was just reading at 48 hours without sleep you start having involuntary micro-sleeps followed by disorientation, no matter the activity. Scary thought. http://www.everydayhealth.com/...

Comment Re:Wrong Take, Liar (Score 2) 366

I have been cheated by nearly every cab driver I've ever used, had them refuse to accept payment from my wife, etc. None of that is even possible on Uber.

See, that's a pretty reasonable argument for why you support and use Uber. I may not totally agree, (I have mixed feeling about Uber personally), but that would have been a valid point. Instead you went with... "it doesn't even matter if Uber is exploitive" ...This is just inflammatory rhetoric and you know it. You were responding to a troll AC after all. So I don't know about mjwx, but your comment was a bit ridiculous also.

If you actually want to promote something, might want to find a better line of reasoning than 'they can scorch the earth, as long as it works for me'.

Sony

Sony To Release Google Glass Competitor 76

jfruh writes: With Google retooling its Glass offering, Sony appears to have jumped into the breach to offer an Android-compatible wearable face-computer. The developer edition of SmartEyeglass will be available in March for $840, with a commercial release planned for 2016. The device must be manipulated with a separate, wired controller unit that houses a microphone, speakers and an NFC module.
Input Devices

Video Listnr Wants to be 'Your Listening Assistant' (Video) 45

This Listnr is "a new listening device connected to the cloud" being developed by a team in Japan that's currently running a Kickstarter project looking for $50,000 by March 7. The other Listnr "is a free music service helping people discover the best music from independent artists on Soundcloud and Bandcamp." More accurately, that's what it was, since their last Facebook post was in 2011 and their domain name is now for sale. Today's Listnr -- the listening device one -- claims it is able to tell whether a baby it hears is laughing, crying, gurgling or trying to talk. It is supposed to respond to finger snaps, hand claps, and other audio commands. It has an open API so that you can extend its use however you like. The company, too, is working on new applications for their product. Will there be enough of them, and will they interest enough people, to make this a success? Co-Founder Rie Ehara says, "We wanted to build something using sound to enrich and delight our lives." As of today (Feb. 2), Listnr is slightly less than halfway to its Kickstarter goal, so it's still a coin-toss whether or not Listnr will succeed.
The Courts

Indian Woman Sues Uber In the US Over Alleged New Delhi Taxi Rape 277

"Uber has been the subject of controversy all around the globe," notes new submitter yuetteasvy (3999351), who supplies this story from Reuters about one of the reasons for that controversy: An Indian woman who says she was raped by an Uber driver while she was traveling in his cab in December is suing the San Francisco–based online firm in a U.S. federal court in California, claiming it failed to put in place basic safety procedures while running its car service in India. In her lawsuit, filed on Thursday, the New Delhi woman called the app-based service the "modern day equivalent of electronic hitchhiking." The unidentified plaintiff also calls for Uber to overhaul its safety practices, and seeks unspecified damages in the case, according to Reuters. The news agency quoted Uber as saying that it's "deepest sympathies remain with the victim of this horrific crime." Earlier, the woman was reported to have enlisted the services of Douglas Wigdor, a high-profile U.S. lawyer who represented Nafissatou Diallo, the New York City hotel maid who accused the former International Monetary Fund managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault. Prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorney's office went on to drop all charges against Strauss-Kahn, while a civil suit was settled out of court.
Social Networks

Twitter Moves To Curb Instagram Links 114

Hammeh writes According to a report on Mashable, Twitter have sent out messages to some of their high profile users prompting them to share images using Twitter's own service rather than Instagram links. The news comes 2 years since Instagram pulled support for Twitter cards and has been part of the continuing battle between the two social networks. With Instagram now having overtaken Twitter in terms of users, this may be a move to try and use high profile users to show off Twitter's own image and content tools.

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