Yeah Hastings was fond of saying ‘That’s why we called it NETflix not DVDs-by-mail’.. although I think even in the late 90s there were some weak attempts at video on demand over the web so the vision wasn’t nearly as advanced as I think it would be in Zipcar’s case. One of the major problems in the analogy is that the capital investment to replace cars is so ridiculously enormous it’s difficult to imagine one company capturing a large chunk of it.
The precise details of how driverless cars come to be used will be fascinating. Urban or rural first? taxi replacement or owned first? Will there be restricted areas? Who are the major players? Does it kill existing mass transit (I think so)? What will be the dominant fueling model? What will NYC do with the subway (make it a high speed expressway for the cars perhaps)? Will webvan make a comeback (snicker)?
Yeah Hastings was fond of saying ‘That’s why we called it NETflix not DVDs-by-mail’.. although I think even in the late 90s there were some weak attempts at video on demand over the web so the vision wasn’t nearly as advanced as I think it would be in Zipcar’s case. One of the major problems in the analogy is that the capital investment to replace cars is so ridiculously enormous it’s difficult to imagine one company capturing a large chunk of it.
The precise details of how driverless cars come to be used will be fascinating. Urban or rural first? taxi replacement or owned first? Will there be restricted areas? Who are the major players? Does it kill existing mass transit (I think so)? What will be the dominant fueling model? What will NYC do with the subway (make it a high speed expressway for the cars perhaps)? Will webvan make a comeback (snicker)?