Yup their business model is banned in Germany as well. They do exist but all you can do is... order regular cabs lol (and of course that market is already saturated app-wise)
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
NYT: Tim Cook threatened Uber removal from App Store b/c of secret iPhone tracking
- Thread starter giga
- Start date
- Status
Just_myles
Member
You misunderstand the issue then. Cest la vie.
The same could be said if you shop from a major supermarket chain. It's great that the internet has found its daily hill to die on, but the reality is that only buying from ethical companies is a luxury very few people can afford.
Quintin DM
Member
Man I'd switch to using Lyft if I could but it's not available here in Canada (or at least not in the GTA) so I have to stick with Uber for now.
Chmpocalypse
Blizzard
You should therefore reduce and mitigate the damage you cause enabling unethical business practices, not throw up your hands and double down as if that isn't equally scummy as said practices.
faceless007
Member
So should a person who is against business practices like this, but can't afford to diligently investigate every single company they interact with, decide that if they can't commit to it 100% then there's no point at all? Or might it still be worthwhile and reasonable for a consumer who cares about such issues to make informed decisions based on what they are able to within their means?
He personally told the CEO of Uber, in person, that he would effectively delete his company if he didn't fix the bullshit ASAP. That's hardly being soft.
My point merely was that you can't fault an average consumer (or make judgements about their character) for being unable to structurally avoid unethical companies.
TomWaitsForNoMan
Banned
If a smaller app fronted by a non-SV superstar had pulled this shit there'd have been no face-to-face meeting and no second chance. They'd have been pulled immediately until they fixed it
NullPointer
Member
This x 7
... because demand for them to fuck off is off the charts, so fucks have been increased.
Well, they both went to ucla too.
BlastProcessing
Member
It's Charmin soft.
The CEO of Uber got a face to face meeting with Cook, who personally gave him a get out of jail free card. Uber got to use the data when it was crucial to their growth. They get to keep that data, all with no consequences.
Like, did he even read the OP? This shit is straight up shady as fuck, and Im about done with Uber at this point.
Will try Lyft.
Basically. Wow.
smokeandmirrors
Banned
yeah Uber got off easy. Steve Jobs would've been apoplectic and would've removed them from the store and then told that bucket of moldy dick cheese ceo
Liu Kang Baking A Pie
Member
"So you've figured out capitalism."
jungomitis
Member
You guys gotta note - the meeting was 2 years ago. Uber was very popular then (compared to now after a month if bad PR).
The general consumer would have been way more upset with Apple if Uber disappeared versus mad at Uber. For thousands of people, Uber has become a daily ritual and their way of making a living.
Some sort of public statement and scraping of data would have been good. And it's unclear exactly what the consequences were isn't it?
The general consumer would have been way more upset with Apple if Uber disappeared versus mad at Uber. For thousands of people, Uber has become a daily ritual and their way of making a living.
Some sort of public statement and scraping of data would have been good. And it's unclear exactly what the consequences were isn't it?
Well the last laugh should be a management and culture nuked from orbit so everyone can use a convenient service that isn't built on multiple layers of evil. Vancouver included.
Operations
Member
I'm conflicted. Their shady practices are reprehensible, but on the other hand I've had nothing but great experiences using the service and can't imagine going back to the corrupt, unsafe, expensive and overall shit local cabs.
I'm the same. Minicabs are an awful experience, and taxis take the utter piss (with improvements only happening because of Uber, like requiring card readers).
I was just getting ready to start driving for uber again to make some cash on the side. Just needed to update my insurance card... I'm kind of tempted to just say fuck it. These guys are just dicks. Maybe I'll try lyft.
Edit-on the other hand fuck cabs. They got away with so much shit before uber came along.
Edit-on the other hand fuck cabs. They got away with so much shit before uber came along.
LinkAndEpona
Banned
Damn, Uber just keeps fucking up, what a shame.
Prototype Viktor
Member
Because they really don't care for the privacy thing as it isn't in their revenue stream (that way)
TomWaitsForNoMan
Banned
Well yeah, quite
Kremzeek
Member
Totally agree.
Can't believe they gave Uber a "second chance" after being caught like that.
I really really hope Lyft doesn't get bought/absorbed by another company. I hate Uber.
DOWN
Banned
I feel like the thread title doesn't convey how interesting this story is. They are definitely on to something with the description that Uber's corporate culture is that they break rules for the greater good. That they created something the public wanted but regulations don't allow, and in many states, regulations have had to adapt to make Uber allowed, while in some cases regulations have been backlash against Uber. But they take the wins and their popularity as a sign that they are right to break regulations they believe are holding back a better industry that consumers want. And to Silicon Valley, that makes them heroes in some sense, because much of Silicon Valley too believes they are here to shove the old ways in the faces of the big old industries they see as dinosaur bullies.
Very interesting. It's true in some sense that I want Uber and am glad in the cases where cities have bent to the popularity and changed regulations to allow Uber. But at the same time, there's a latent guilt in knowing Uber has this attitude and culture that has been harmfully aggressive in numerous ways.
Very interesting. It's true in some sense that I want Uber and am glad in the cases where cities have bent to the popularity and changed regulations to allow Uber. But at the same time, there's a latent guilt in knowing Uber has this attitude and culture that has been harmfully aggressive in numerous ways.
FullMetalx117
Member
With all the negativity in this thread, I'll go ahead and say Uber is a great app and has been a life saver All my family members use it now and tbh I could care less about their "evil" ways. It's useful, practical, and cheap. Y'all are missing out
Skellig Gra
Member
When an Uber self driving car runs over your mom and they refuse to claim responsibility you might start caring.
Liu Kang Baking A Pie
Member
"I stay willfully ignorant, you guys are stupid" is a bad argument.
I recommend visiting Mike Isaac's NYT author page, searching for "Uber," and sorting by "newest:" https://www.nytimes.com/by/mike-isaac
Muppet of a Man
Member
Holy shit, Uber is an evil fucking company.
metalslimer
Member
You can be a terrible company and still useful
FullMetalx117
Member
I think I'd be more upset if a drunk person who didn't have access to Uber to get home ran over my mom
The Jazz Cabbage Master
Member
Should have permanently removed the app and made a public showing that this ain't gonna ever fly.
Brawly Likes to Brawl
Member
Uber can do all of that without secretly tracking its customers, what point are you trying to make?
IISANDERII
Member
WTF the Über app wants to always track my location, even when I'm not using it now. The only location tracking options are Always and Never. There's no more option for Only When Using the App.
iOS.
iOS.
jts
...hate me...
Uber is almost "I'm not even mad" levels of amazing. They give no shits.
In my country it's Uber vs Taxis though. There's been a lot of fighting back and forth, and Taxi drivers got the point of actually hitting Uber's cars and drivers (including throw actual shit at them). So it's either side with expensive, bad smelling, cunning, violent scumbags to drive you or with nice cars for a cheaper price and more convenience and transparency, but with a scumbag leadership. Can't win. Better own a car or ride the transit.
In my country it's Uber vs Taxis though. There's been a lot of fighting back and forth, and Taxi drivers got the point of actually hitting Uber's cars and drivers (including throw actual shit at them). So it's either side with expensive, bad smelling, cunning, violent scumbags to drive you or with nice cars for a cheaper price and more convenience and transparency, but with a scumbag leadership. Can't win. Better own a car or ride the transit.
Skellig Gra
Member
As if Uber is the only option for people who want to drink.
FullMetalx117
Member
I'm mostly going after the people who are saying to remove Uber all together. What exactly will that prove? Congrats your ethical business practice standards have been saved, Uber is banned from the city. But then what? Go back to shitty, expensive taxis or not having a ride at all? At least your personal moral standards were saved I guess
FullMetalx117
Member
It's an easy, practical option yes. It's a lot easier to go to app and request a pickup rather than having to call all your friends and praying for a ride. Yes Lyft is available as well but it's not as big as Uber yet so you're less likely to get a ride. Some cities like Austin have niether
Skellig Gra
Member
All it takes is a tiny bit of planning that any responsible adult could do. Anyone who willfully drinks and drives probably doesn't care about Uber anyway.
I mean, yeah? If an app isn't as popular or to some people isn't as critical as some other, huge app, then of course they're not gonna fly them out to Apple Headquarters to have a meeting with Cook. Is it fair? Probably not, but welcome to business. Apple could pull an app from the store that 1,000 people have downloaded and no one would care. If they pulled Facebook or Uber or something else that's huge, then yeah they'll hear about it, and most negative press coverage would be on them, regardless of the developer's wrongdoing.
faceless007
Member
I don't even know why you're presenting these two scenarios as the either/or we have to accept. Drunk drivers will always be a problem and there are multiple ways to deal with them, and you don't want just one company to be the only solution available (what if they go out of business? Have you seen the way they're burning cash?). Conversely the problem Uber solved isn't particularly technically challenging, as evidenced by how many competitors there are in the space, and despite its bluster and bullheaded ways, it doesn't really have a unique advantage or proprietary lock on the idea that would ensure a monopoly, so there's no reason to put the specific company on a pedestal as you have. So given the options between a company that does all these shitty things but solves this particular non-unique problem and a company that doesn't do those shitty things but still solves it, why would you hold up the former as the shining example?
Also it's worth noting that in the two scenarios you compared (getting hit by a drunk driver vs. getting hit by an autonomous car), the former is already strongly prosecuted in most areas and there are strong societal and legal repercussions for it, while the latter is a grey area for liability that hasn't been written yet, and I'd bet money even if Uber were in total control of the car, they would still argue they had no liability at all and there would likely be nothing they could be criminally charged with. Given the company's very public attitude toward regulations and conducting tests in the wild without approval, do you trust this company to adequately face the consequences for irresponsible driving the same way you expect drunk drivers to?
SuperBanana
Banned
As shitty as Uber seems to be the app is so, so, so much better than Taxi's in my city, reliable, much easier, and about half the cost. If I stop using it I go back to using filthy taxis that may or may not bother to show up and will attempt to rip you off 90% of the time.
I have the choice between a cheap, dick company and an expensive, shit company.
I have the choice between a cheap, dick company and an expensive, shit company.
Vermillion
Banned
Lyft is cheaper, fwiw.
- Status