UK Most Internet Based Economy | Hacker News Reader

UK Most Internet Based Economy

bbc.co.uk

34 pointsmcdowall14 comments

The small size of the UK gives online retail here an advantage over the US: cost-effective next day delivery to (almost) anywhere in the UK is possible from a single fulfilment centre.

It's one of my favourite things about the UK. I can order from ebuyer.com who do next day delivery up until 11pm and have it in my hand 8am the next day. From order to me in 9 hours is amazing, so convenient.

I agree and yet I eagerly anticipate automated freight tubes which will deliver my order within an hour. (Groceries aside, think what that will do for manufacturing!)

I have a dream. A dream of automated freight running under or besides the consumer roads of the future. A dream of roads not being dug up every other week to repair XYZ Utilities dodgy handy work.

How would your dream compare and contrast to an efficient freight rail system?

I may not have thought this dream through that thoroughly... Off the cuff...

- Both could be railed options... Mine smaller and cheaper 100% autonomous units. - Mine distributed. The units could live in garages under peoples homes when not needed. - Mine expensive - rail already exists.

If such a system existed the benefit would more likely be at the manufacturing end rather than final delivery to a consumer. You could have artisan manufacturers making everything to order using a distributed system of parts delivery. This would allow smaller firms to hold very little in stock, and deliver much more quickly. Final delivery of a product like a phone is much simpler than the supply chain of all the parts.

Sex is a vice?

It's interesting how much Victorian baggage people carry around... even in articles on the Internet and the economy!

Sex is great, but the internet is even better!

On the Anglophone Internet for sure, dominated as it is by the US and UK. But what ever Scandinavian or Dutch written parts of the Internet there might be, small as they are, should be refreshingly free of Victorian baggage.

"While only a quarter of those surveyed said they would consider giving up sex for a year in order to maintain their broadband connection..."

Go back 10 years and the response to that question would have been very very different.

Given this, why do we have substandard broadband?

It would probably be 20% if we didn't sit at our desks all day looking at Hackernews.

Is it really fruitful for the country?And also how long it will be safe?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com