Uber launches self-driving car pilot program in Tempe Uber Technologies Inc. officially kicked off its self-driving pilot programTuesdayin Tempe with Arizona Gov. Doug Duceytaking the first passenger ride. More than a dozen Uber-branded Volvo XC90 vehicles have been driving around Tempe since the end of December after moving from California.(Phoenix Business Journal)
Uber fires top engineer over alleged conduct at Google Uber Technologies Inc. fired a top software engineer for failing to disclose allegations of sexual harassment at his previous employer, Alphabet Inc.’s Google, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday. Amit Singhal, senior vice president of engineering, had joined Uber just over a month ago. (Wall Street Journal)
Uber now applying for self-driving car permit in California San Francisco ride-hailing company Uber will now apply for a self-driving test permit in California, several months after a standoff with the state's regulators and right on the heels of an ongoing wave of scrutiny of the company. Around 20 other companies havesought permits from the DMVto test autonomous vehicles.(Silicon Valley Business Journal)
Programmers in the Valley are pressuring their friends to quit working at Uber http://www.sfgate.com/technology/bu...-the-Valley-are-pressuring-their-10981233.php
Yes, this WAS, IS and WILL BE the plan for Uber. They jumped the gun in CA as they didn't have the proper DMV permits, which caused them to shift the vehicles to AZ. It seems they are trying to correct that now. As I've repeated here, the drivers (i.e. indentured servants) are helping Uber to build its autonomous vehicle empire for a fixed period. Uber's churn rate of drivers probably rivals all of the distributors of MLM companies combined, lol. (Note: I'm not implying that Uber doesn't have any drivers making money, of course some do, just like with MLM, but the churn is horrendous). According to Bloomberg, Uber was on track to reap over $5 BILLION in NET revenues for 2016. Uber calculates "NET" revenues as revenues after paying its drivers. With fully autonomous vehicles, Uber will no longer have to part with the 80% or so that it pays the drivers. This is why Uber can operate with losses exceeding $800 million in just one quarter, because eventually the drivers WILL BE 86ed, and its net revenues will surge, even with their operating costs to manage the autonomous empire. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...n-third-quarter-on-1-7-billion-in-net-revenue
Ya know.... UBER should have a pickup truck service. Lots of business moving sh*t around that won't fit in a car. Who wants to rent a U-Haul or a Home Depot truck to move a worthless couch out of your ex's house. Drivers could probably get double the going rate for Uber Taxi's. At least.
Exclusive: Uber faces criminal probe over software used to evade authorities http://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-tech-crime-exclusive-idUSKBN1802U1 The U.S. Department of Justice has begun a criminal investigation into Uber Technologies Inc's use of a software tool that helped its drivers evade local transportation regulators, two sources familiar with the situation said. Uber has acknowledged the software, known as "Greyball," helped it identify and circumvent government officials who were trying to clamp down on Uber in areas where its service had not yet been approved, such as Portland, Oregon. The company prohibited the use of Greyball for this purpose shortly after the New York Times revealed its existence in March, saying the program was created to check ride requests to prevent fraud and safeguard drivers. The Times report triggered a barrage of negative publicity for the company. The criminal probe could become a significant problem facing the company that is already struggling with an array of recent business and legal issues. An Uber spokesman and the Justice Department declined to comment. Uber lawyers said in letters to Portland authorities, which Portland made public in a report last week, that the Greyball technology was used ”exceedingly sparingly” in that city, before the service was approved there in 2015. The nature of any potential federal criminal violation, and the likelihood of anyone being charged, is unclear. The investigation is still in its early stages, the sources said. Bloomberg news service reported the existence of a federal probe last week, but did not identify it as criminal. AGGRESSIVE STARTUP Uber received a subpoena from a Northern California grand jury seeking documents concerning how the software tool functioned and where it was deployed, one person familiar with the request said. That indicates a criminal investigation is underway. The second source confirmed that was the case. A subpoena from a grand jury is a formal request for documents or testimony concerning a potential crime. It does not, in itself, indicate wrongdoing or mean charges will be brought. The ride services company's board has retained an outside law firm, Shearman & Sterling LLP, to conduct its own internal investigation into what transpired, those two sources and a third said. A Shearman spokeswoman did not return a message seeking comment. Uber, a venture capital-backed firm most recently valued at $68 billion, has long had a reputation as an aggressive startup. It has been battered with multiple controversies over the last few months that have raised questions about Chief Executive Travis Kalanick and led him to say he needed "leadership help." MINING CREDIT CARD INFO The technology at issue in the criminal probe helped Uber tag some users so that they saw a different version of its standard app, the company said in a blog post in March. Uber said Greyball obscured the real location of Uber cars in various circumstances, including the possibility of physical threats or merely to test new features. The program was part of a broader Uber system, called Violation of Terms of Service, that analyzed credit card, device identification, location data and other factors to predict whether a request for a ride was legitimate, current and former employees said. The technology was used partly to prevent fraud and protect drivers from harm, the company blog post said. If a ride request was deemed illegitimate, Uber's app showed bogus information and the requester would not be picked up, the employees told Reuters. However, the Greyball technique was also used against suspected local officials who could have been looking to fine drivers, impound cars or otherwise prevent Uber from operating, the employees said. The system might have gone farther than suggested by Uber's terms of service for app users. For example, it mined credit card information to see if the owner was affiliated with a credit union used by police and checked social media profiles to assess the likelihood that the person was in law enforcement. After the Times exposed the program in March, regulators who had been unable to catch Uber in places where it was banned accused the company of obstructing their inquiries. Transportation officials in Portland investigated and reported last week that Uber had used Greyball to evade 16 Portland Bureau of Transportation officials, denying them dozens of rides, in December 2014 before Uber was authorized to operate there. The city said it found no evidence that the behavior was repeated when Uber re-entered the market in April 2015. Uber said it used the Greyball technology in December 2014, while it was operating without approval, because it was “deeply concerned that its driver-partners would be penalized financially” or otherwise for their driving. (Editing by Peter Henderson and Bill Rigby)
Google expands paid carpooling across California The move by Google's Waze unit, best known for its navigation and traffic monitoring app, extends the year-old carpooling service outside its initial markets of Northern California and Israel. Waze will now be pairing up drivers and passengers across a wider expanse that includes Southern California's heavily congested highways. (Associated Press)
Especially if a dude was driving the truck and he helped a good looking woman load and off load her stuff.