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Amazon Will Now Deliver Packages To the Trunk of Your Car (theverge.com)

Last year, Amazon unveiled a service called Amazon Key that lets delivery people into your home to drop off packages. Now, the tech giant wants to do the same thing with your car. Amazon announced a new service that gives it couriers access to a person's vehicle for the purpose of leaving package deliveries inside. "Amazon wants to use the connected technologies embedded in many modern vehicles today" to gain entry, reports The Verge. "The company is launching this new service in partnership with two major automakers -- General Motors and Volvo -- and will be rolling out in 37 cities in the U.S. starting today." From the report: Amazon has been beta testing the new service in California and Washington state for the past six months. To start out, the service will only be available to Amazon Prime subscribers. It's also limited to owners of GM and Volvo vehicles, model year 2015 or newer, with active OnStar and Volvo on Call accounts. Amazon says it plans to add other automobile brands over time. Packages that weigh over 50 pounds, are larger than 26 x 21 x 16 inches in size, require a signature, are valued over $1,300, or come from a third-party seller also are not eligible for in-car delivery.

To access the new delivery service, you need to add your car to your Amazon Key app and include a description of the vehicle, so Amazon's couriers will be able to locate it. The car will need to be parked within a certain radius of an address used for Amazon deliveries, so either home or work. Driveways, parking lots, parking garages, and street parking are all eligible locations, just as long as it's not at some random address across town. To find your car, Amazon's couriers will have access to its GPS location and license plate number, as well as an image of the car.

88 of 135 comments (clear)

  1. It's amazing... by ls671 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It's amazing how much amazon has access to your stuff, isn't it?

    --
    Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
    1. Re:It's amazing... by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      It's amazing how much amazon has access to your stuff, isn't it?

      Did you give them access to your car's remote operations? No? Amazing!

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    2. Re: It's amazing... by DigiShaman · · Score: 5, Funny

      You just need a trunk monkey to protect your stuff.

      https://youtu.be/AidAXgq9dWc

      --
      Life is not for the lazy.
    3. Re:It's amazing... by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 2

      It's amazing how *anybody* thinks this is a good idea given the low wages Amazon delivery drivers make.

      --
      SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
    4. Re:It's amazing... by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 1

      It's amazing how *anybody* thinks this is a good idea given the low wages Amazon delivery drivers make.

      I think it's a very good idea! Now I'm going to order some raw fish and have it delivered to my coworkers Volvo in the middle of summer.

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    5. Re:It's amazing... by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 2
      --
      SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
  2. Special instructions. by skids · · Score: 5, Funny

    Instructions to delivery service: Just move dead body over to the side if package will not fit between legs.

    1. Re:Special instructions. by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 5, Funny

      Instructions to delivery service: Just move dead body over to the side if package will not fit between legs.

      Passing this along: Amazon sells Body Bags ...

      --
      It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
    2. Re:Special instructions. by harvey+the+nerd · · Score: 1

      Nice work when you can collect two paychecks:
      First check from Amazon, second check FBI/NSA/drug cartel/....

    3. Re:Special instructions. by Memnos · · Score: 1

      Lots of complications there. If the aforementioned body is in rigor mortis, are they required to come back after that has passed? Also, expired bodies sometimes leave icky substances around them due to the cessation of sphincter functions and so forth. If those substances damage the package, is Amazon responsible for refunds? Complex SLAs might be involved.

      See, that right there are just a few of the many reasons why I always put dead bodies in a trunk that will not be used for anything else. It avoids the messy legal complications.

      --
      I don't trust atoms -- they make up stuff.
    4. Re:Special instructions. by mjwx · · Score: 1

      Instructions to delivery service: Just move dead body over to the side if package will not fit between legs.

      Vehicle: Yellow Camaro, License Plate: S1RL K1LLR.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
  3. they should open a customer pickup depot by FudRucker · · Score: 2

    put one in any town that makes it worth building, have someone at a counter and all i have to do is walk in show my driver's license or photo ID and get my package,m it is worth it to me if i have to drive half way across town to get my package a day earlier

    --
    Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
    1. Re:they should open a customer pickup depot by tomhath · · Score: 1

      Walmart already does that

    2. Re:they should open a customer pickup depot by VeryFluffyBunny · · Score: 5, Funny

      Congratulations, you've just reinvented the post office!

      --
      Debate is a form of harassment. Do not question my truth.
    3. Re:they should open a customer pickup depot by ScentCone · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Amazon already delivers to pickup lockers in many locations. Walk up, flash your barcode or type in a key and your locker pops open. You can also drop off returns in the same way. Many of these are 24x7 operations.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    4. Re:they should open a customer pickup depot by apoc.famine · · Score: 1

      They already do that. Just not on a giant scale yet. There's one in the little city I live in.

      Hop onto google maps and type in "Amazon Locker".

      --
      Velociraptor = Distiraptor / Timeraptor
    5. Re:they should open a customer pickup depot by turp182 · · Score: 1

      They have tried this (may have been USPS, but it was Amazon items). A small grocery near my house would receive packages and an email would tell me where to pick it up.

      The store wasn't properly trained and it was frustrating for all parties, the experiment ended after a month or so.

      It could certainly work, we have problems with packages... walking off. Myself, I send everything to my wife's office these days.

      --
      BlameBillCosby.com
    6. Re:they should open a customer pickup depot by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      Because of course everyone lives in a big city.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
  4. Actually... by Rassleholic · · Score: 1

    No, they won't.

    --
    Not noteable, IMO a rubbish article.
    1. Re:Actually... by apoc.famine · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I really, really detest these click-bait, rile up the masses, blatantly false headlines. Why can't we have the intellectual honestly to write, "Amazon offers delivery to newer model Onstar-enabled cars for Prime users."? Is that really so fucking hard? And if the source article doesn't have the brain cells to do that, what's the point of calling these folks editors if they just cut and paste the same garbage?

      My car isn't that make and model, isn't new enough, and other than when I'm out and about running errands, it's parked in secure areas that Amazon doesn't have access to. Plus they don't know what car I drive, and I have no plans of ever sharing that with them.

      --
      Velociraptor = Distiraptor / Timeraptor
    2. Re:Actually... by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 1

      You mean "Onstar-cursed" cars. Any car where a 3rd party (the manufacturer/Onstar) has control over the locks, ignition cutout, etc is damaged by design. Give me a good, old-fashioned key lock and a car alarm.

    3. Re:Actually... by Gojira+Shipi-Taro · · Score: 1

      The last car I owned (I'm car free now) was a Camaro with On-Star. I didn't have a subscription after the free one ran out, and I learned how to disable the module by disconnecting the antenna once I found out that they were tracking equipped cars that weren't subscribing.

      I'm not paranoid about home assistants, but I'll be damned if I was going to let someone override my control of my car.

      --
      "Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I'm fucked."; ~ Donald J. Trump
    4. Re:Actually... by No+Longer+an+AC · · Score: 2

      As soon as I saw the headline (somewhere else, not on /.) of course my first question was "how would they get get into my trunk"?

      I'm obviously not going to give them my key and my car is DUMB. So it only works on a handful of newer cars that already have the ability to unlock the trunk from a remote app.

      BRILLIANT. Your security was already compromised. Amazon is just taking advantage of that.

      But is it a big deal? The most valuable thing in my trunk is my spare tire and I don't think anyone is going to steal that. ....

      Okay, after this the most valuable thing in my trunk may be my latest Amazon purchase and this sort of normalizes unfamiliar people opening up cars and messing around with the contents of their trunks.

      My car is usually where I am. If my car is at work, I probably am too. If my car is at home, so am I, but it's probably in a garage. I can't wait until an Amazon delivery person rings my doorbell and asks me to open my garage so they can put my package in the trunk.

      Of course they could get really creepy and track me in real time and maybe put the delivery in my car while I'm eating dinner in a restaurant. .....

      Didn't a journalist in Malta recently get blown up by a car bomb? (Yes). So now we're going to normalize people we don't know walking up to anyone's car and putting anything they want in the trunk.

      I don't like it and while neither me nor anyone I know is likely to get a bomb planted in their trunk in the past if I saw some stranger trying to get into a friend's carI might confront them, now I'm just supposed to assume they're delivering a package. But that applies to the other Amazon program where they enter your house too.

      That's not a burglar. No really, he's just putting our neighbor's groceries away.

      Then why is he walking out with more stuff than he went in with?

    5. Re:Actually... by No+Longer+an+AC · · Score: 1

      (I'm car free now)

      Given that others are suggesting that you get some sort of lock-box on your front porch maybe you should consider buying a junker with a good solid trunk that you can park somewhere close just so you can receive deliveries.

      When they ask me what my address is I simply tell them "Blue 2004 Chevy Impala parked somewhere around the vicinity of [insert address here], license plate [?????]"

      And then I'd have to explain that you can't open it with an app but there is a key hidden under the driver's side rear wheel well.

      What's easier and cheaper? Buying an old 2004 Impala that doesn't even have an engine or installing a really nice lock box on your front porch?

      And it just occurred to me that buying an old beater like the '04 Impala would be simpler than installing a lock box since my neighborhood has an HOA, but they still don't own the streets. (Would I really buy a car just to receive Amazon packages?)

    6. Re:Actually... by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      So now we're going to normalize people we don't know walking up to anyone's car and putting anything they want in the trunk.

      I've got bad news for you. Most of us know our own cars, and maybe some of the neighbors' cars. And that's about it.

      A random car on the street? I'd never think twice if I saw someone putting something in the trunk.

      In other words, people we don't know are walking up and putting things into car trunks all the time now, so what, exactly, are we "normalizing" that's not already a standard part of reality?

      Or do you accost anyone you see putting something into a car trunk, demanding ID to prove he's allowed to do so now?

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    7. Re:Actually... by apoc.famine · · Score: 1

      That's not a burglar. No really, he's just putting our neighbor's groceries away.

      Then why is he walking out with more stuff than he went in with?

      If you can drop packages off, why can't you pick up returns at the same time?

      --
      Velociraptor = Distiraptor / Timeraptor
    8. Re:Actually... by No+Longer+an+AC · · Score: 2

      You make some good points, but I don't often see anyone putting anything in the trunk of a car and then driving away in a different car.

      I wouldn't accost someone I saw doing that, but I would think it was suspicious. Until now.

      If this works for Amazon and some of their customers, more power to them. I'm probably missing the market where people have multiple cars so even if they're away from home there's always that 3rd (or 4th) car sitting in the driveway. And that 3rd car that hardly ever gets driven might just be the one they don't care much about and maybe even hope gets stolen.

      Or maybe a garage.

      I think that's a much better idea, actually. My garage is not that secure, but it's better than leaving something at my front door for anyone to see and grab. It's also probably at least as secure as my trunk.

      No doubt I would be neglecting the huge market of people who don't have garages.

  5. Seems dangerous by greenwow · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I only know three people that own GM cars, and that's only because of MAGA. All three of them keep guns in their trunks. Hopefully some law prevents them from giving access to some random delivery person to their guns.

    1. Re:Seems dangerous by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Your silly opinion. I would never live in a state where I could not have my fire arms in my vehicle and home. Shall I wait 40 minutes for the police to arrive and tell a burglar/criminal to wait for the police?

      Yeah, that will work well. Or I could just defend myself.

    2. Re:Seems dangerous by ScentCone · · Score: 3, Insightful

      That's scary. If your state allows people to keep guns in their trunks, why don't you move? I know I would flee that shitty state in which you live.

      Almost every state allows this. The ones that don't honor the second amendment's protections also happen to have some of the worst murder rates. Is your concern that a shotgun or rifle transported in the locked trunk of your car will somehow jump out and start killing people? I've noticed that the people who most often react with your sort of irrational nonsense are generally projecting - they know that they, personally, aren't stable people.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    3. Re:Seems dangerous by tomhath · · Score: 1

      As far as I know it's legal in every state to transport a gun in a locked trunk.

    4. Re:Seems dangerous by greenwow · · Score: 3, Funny

      Have you forgotten about road rage? Gun owners constantly murder us.

      You type pretty well for someone "constantly murdered."

    5. Re:Seems dangerous by gnick · · Score: 1

      You type pretty well for someone "constantly murdered."

      You never know. I'm not the original gnick. I murdered the original gnick after forcing him to turn over his slashdot credentials because I liked his sig.

      --
      He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
    6. Re:Seems dangerous by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      There are far more people around you that own firearms. They just don't tell you, and you remain ignorant. Like a good lil sheep.

      Not that many. Florida has given approximately 6% of its adult population conceal/carry licenses, and that includes people in law enforcement, security, etc. You probably don't encounter that many people carrying weapons.

      Less than 1/3 of Floridian adults own weapons, and that includes a lot of people who are too zoned out on oxycontin to remember where they put them.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    7. Re:Seems dangerous by gnick · · Score: 1

      That's plagiarism. I don't like what you're implying.

      --
      He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
    8. Re:Seems dangerous by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      Have you forgotten about road rage? Gun owners constantly murder us.

      Two things:

      No, most gun owners don't ever murder anyone. Or do you seriously believe there are only twenty thousand or so gun owners in the USA?

      And imagine that someone cuts you off on the road. You're totally enraged at this awful behaviour. So, you immediately reach for the gun in the trunk of your car???

      Frankly, all the other problems aside, my arms just aren't long enough to reach the trunk of my car while sitting in the driver's seat. Much less of unlocking the guncase....

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    9. Re:Seems dangerous by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      Not that many. Florida has given approximately 6% of its adult population conceal/carry licenses, and that includes people in law enforcement, security, etc. You probably don't encounter that many people carrying weapons.

      Less than 1/3 of Floridian adults own weapons, and that includes a lot of people who are too zoned out on oxycontin to remember where they put them.

      Really? Less than 1/3 own guns, and 6% have concealed carry permits? Which implies that about one gun owner in five has a concealed carry permit. I'd never have guessed that concealed carry permits were so common....

      That said, no you don't generally need a concealed carry permit to carry a gun in the trunk of your car. Because you don't need a concealed carry permit to hunt, and you're certainly (okay, okay, PROBABLY) not hunting from your bedroom window....

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    10. Re:Seems dangerous by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Hopefully some law prevents them from giving access to some random delivery person to their guns

      Why would you need a law against some random delivery person having access to these guns, if that random delivery person can just go buy them from their nearest gunshop?

    11. Re:Seems dangerous by jonwil · · Score: 1

      Its a lot easier to grab a gun from a trunk (especially if that trunk is already unlocked for you) than to buy one at a gun shop with all the paperwork and checks.

    12. Re:Seems dangerous by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 1

      Have you forgotten about road rage? Gun owners constantly murder us.

      Two things:

      No, most gun owners don't ever murder anyone.

      The bigger worry about owning a gun is not that you will murder someone, but that someone will murder you. Locked up safely and legally at home it's probably not going to be used against you. Sadly, owning a gun makes your likelihood of being murdered much higher. Sometimes with your own gun. If it's easily accessible in your trunk or your glove box, and someone finds it. They could steal it, or use it against you.

      Or, even if you bring out your gun in self defence, you're more likely to provoke someone to shoot you than if you don't have a gun. Statistically, owning a gun makes you much more likely to be a victim of gun crime than not owning a gun- even, if like most gun owners you're a straight-up law-abiding citizen.

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    13. Re:Seems dangerous by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Its a lot easier to grab a gun from a trunk (especially if that trunk is already unlocked for you) than to buy one at a gun shop

      Yeah in most countries, just not in America. By the way stealing is illegal. So why have a law on stealing guns from a trunk?

      with all the paperwork and checks.

      eL, Oh, eL.

    14. Re:Seems dangerous by JackieBrown · · Score: 2

      Oh please. Even here in Seattle where lack of police response is well known, it only took them 25 minutes to respond after I called them about someone with a gun that kicked in my back door.

      Only? Versus having a gun immediately on hand to protect yourself? Honestly, even if the response time is 5 minutes, it's still too long.

      People advocating for no guns should start putting a legally binding sign on their car and their house stating they are proudly gun free. I honestly believe that the possibility of a home owner having a gun is already a big deterrent to home invasions - but this would be a good way to put that theory to the test

    15. Re:Seems dangerous by Type44Q · · Score: 1

      Bingo.

    16. Re:Seems dangerous by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      The bigger worry about owning a gun is not that you will murder someone, but that someone will murder you.

      This entire notion is nonsense. It's simply a regurgitated meme that I'll be you can't meaningfully back up with non-spun, non-angenda-driven blog entries.

      In the meantime, guns are used hundreds of thousands of times a year (I'm rounding down, here - some estimates approach millions of times a year) to stop or prevent violence and harm. The biggest worry about NOT owning a gun is that you won't be able to use that tool to prevent violence done to you or someone you care about. Meanwhile, almost all murder involving guns is conducted by people not in legal possession of the gun they use.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    17. Re:Seems dangerous by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      Someone is projecting, but it appears to be you.

      Really? In what way, Mr. Coward? In what way, by identifying the irrationality of people thinking that a gun locked in a trunk is inherently dangerous, am I projecting? The very same people who think the gun locked in the trunk is dangerous ignore the fact that the person operating the car is far more likely - in hard, statistical terms - to kill them by poorly (or maliciously) operating the car itself.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    18. Re:Seems dangerous by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but then the gun could go off in the wreck, light the gas tank on fire (something a Pinto can do with the differential), and burn down the whole neighborhood because Trump didn't want to buy sprinklers. Do you want that kind of blood on your hands?

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  6. what else? by tomhath · · Score: 1

    Will they also poop in your car?

  7. How convenient by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

    All in the name of convenience.

    Although it's actually all in the name of cost savings. It costs more to re-deliver packages.

    Amazon assume you won't mind letting in minimum wage delivery drivers in to your home and car in exchange for increasing their profit margins.

    1. Re:How convenient by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 2

      Amazon assume you won't mind letting in minimum wage delivery drivers in to your home and car in exchange for increasing their profit margins.

      No, Amazon HOPES you won't mind letting minimum wage delivery drivers into your home and/or car.

      It's not like it's mandatory to use these services, and if you find it convenient and acceptable, more power to you. If you don't, fine. Noone will hold a gun to your head and make you use the service....

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
  8. I don't get this by Edis+Krad · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Why does Amazon wants access to a car or my house?

    Here's a $50 solution
    1) Get large crate, fix it in place to prevent removal
    2) Get padlock
    3) Leave padlock inside crate
    4) Delivery guy places package in crate
    5) Delivery guy uses padlock, locks crate
    6) Get home, use only key to open padlock
    7) Get package
    8) ???
    9) PROFIT!

    And before people start tearing down this idea, ask yourself, is the flaw you found worse than "letting a stranger in my home"....

    1. Re:I don't get this by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 2

      Better yet, put a one-way door like a postal package drop or library book drop on the box.

    2. Re:I don't get this by iggymanz · · Score: 1

      I only had hilarious thought of someone saying how easy it would be to pry, impact hammer, saw, etc. into crate..... when of course the same thing is true of door and door frame.

    3. Re:I don't get this by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 2

      Padlock's a bad idea. They make hasps that have integrated locks. That way no one can steal your lock (which will cause the delivery to get delayed/left in an unlocked box for thieves.) Other than that, it's fine.

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
    4. Re:I don't get this by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      You have been able to buy commercial delivery boxes for years now. Some have a time-base barcode for the delivery person to scan as proof that they were there, and I read something about some kind of certification with major delivery companies. Panasonic make them for the Japanese market but you can get them everywhere.

      Personally I just get stuff delivered to work. It's considered a minor perk of the job.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    5. Re:I don't get this by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      The idea is good until your asshole neighbor discovers a new place for the garbage that doesn't fit into his garbage bin anymore.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    6. Re:I don't get this by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Same here. Working right next to the post office means that the lazy guys deliver EVERYTHING to my work address now, even if I order it for the home address.

      Usually I don't mind that much, considering that I'm usually at work when he delivers, but it sucks when you order large and heavy stuff and are working from home, waiting for the delivery.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    7. Re:I don't get this by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      1) Get large crate, fix it in place to prevent removal

      2) Come back tomorrow and find crate gone as well as a nasty note from the apartment landlord.

    8. Re:I don't get this by Edis+Krad · · Score: 1

      The point you raised is moot.
      If you live in an apartment building, amazon key does not apply to begin with. I was offering a cheap, alternative to it.

    9. Re:I don't get this by Solandri · · Score: 1

      You've basically described Amazon Locker, except the crate is bought and owned by Amazon, and they give you a key code to open it instead of using a key. It's available in my city and is pretty convenient for returns (my neighborhood is safe enough I don't mind packages being left at my door). The closest locker is just a block away, so is much quicker than a trip to Staples to drop off a UPS package. The biggest problem is it's so popular the nearest locker is frequently full, so I often have to go to the second closest which is about the same distance as Staples. But I can put the package I'm returning into the locker immediately, whereas I usually have to wait 3-10 minutes for a Staples employee to show up to scan and process my UPS package.

    10. Re:I don't get this by mjwx · · Score: 1

      Why does Amazon wants access to a car or my house?

      Here's a $50 solution
      1) Get large crate, fix it in place to prevent removal
      2) Get padlock
      3) Leave padlock inside crate
      4) Delivery guy places package in crate
      5) Delivery guy uses padlock, locks crate
      6) Get home, use only key to open padlock
      7) Get package
      8) ???
      9) PROFIT!

      And before people start tearing down this idea, ask yourself, is the flaw you found worse than "letting a stranger in my home"....

      I have no issue with your idea... but it sounds like you want to patent a letter box.

      I just get shit delivered to my workplace. Sometimes I have to sign for it (ID check requirements if I'm mail ordering booze here in the UK, they don't actually check my ID, but I have to accept the package in person).

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    11. Re:I don't get this by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Of course it does. I can change my lock, but I sure as fuck can't bolt something to the outside of my building. A lot of people in a lot of cities will be in this position.

    12. Re:I don't get this by John.Banister · · Score: 1

      So, maybe Amazon might want to consider selling to prime members their own personal "Amazon locker" mortise style locks and, separately, lockers. Following the notion from Abloy Cliq key powered electromechanical locks, the locker lock "key" could provide both power and (after confirming that it's powering an Amazon lock) a connection to an Amazon app, allowing Amazon's server to unlock it, which would be done for the delivery driver or for the owner (identity verified by the app). An owner who is displeased with the system, could remove the Amazon lock (when the box is unlocked) and do other things with the locker. Amazon might require a deposit that gets paid back on return of the lock & key. Or, Amazon could have a driver come reclaim the lock rather than delivering anything.

  9. No thanks by YrWrstNtmr · · Score: 5, Interesting

    " access to its GPS location and license plate number, as well as an image of the car"

    And there is the next level of Amazon data mining. Car location, photo, license plate. All in their DB, forever.
    What will they use it for? They probably don't even know yet. But use it they will.

  10. I suppose in the end... by sacrilicious · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... that Amazon will begin a new delivery service called "Amazon Suppository".

    --
    - First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then ???, then profit.
    1. Re:I suppose in the end... by mnemotronic · · Score: 2

      Alternate names considered:
      * Amazon End Run
      * Amazon Instafart
      * Amazon Deliveries in the Rear
      * Amazon Back Door Dash
      * Iron Mountin'
      * Posterior Mates
      * Amazon Jam Packed
      * Amazon Anything Butt

      --
      The Russians have won. They have made the world a cesspool of distrust, greed, fear and hate.
    2. Re:I suppose in the end... by freeze128 · · Score: 1

      Would Amazon's delivery tracker be called "Endoscope"?

    3. Re:I suppose in the end... by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      C'mon. Buddy. The obvious one:

      "Amazon. Now delivering to Uranus."

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    4. Re:I suppose in the end... by ghoul · · Score: 1

      You forgot Amazon Mechanical Turk

      --
      **Life is too short to be serious**
  11. Homeless can use Amazon now by ghoul · · Score: 2

    Given the high rent in California many people with jobs are homeless or living out of cars. They need to save money so ordering on Amazon makes sense. They can use smartphones to order but need an address for delivery. Till now they have been using Amazon lockers. Now they can get it delivered to their car.

    --
    **Life is too short to be serious**
    1. Re:Homeless can use Amazon now by mnemotronic · · Score: 4, Funny

      ... Now they can get it delivered to their car.

      Cool! That frees up an Amazon locker. I'll be moving into one of those.

      --
      The Russians have won. They have made the world a cesspool of distrust, greed, fear and hate.
  12. Killer App by ghoul · · Score: 3

    So Amazon now has a video echo in your bedroom. It also knows your purchase history. So every time you have sex it knows (AI used to detect the sounds of sex. The camera makes it even easier). It knows how many condoms you ordered and hence how many you have left. So next time you go to have sex an Amazon drone will come to your window and knock and your Amazon Echo will ask "Do you need a condom? Say yes to purchase!!"
    Profit!!!!

    --
    **Life is too short to be serious**
    1. Re:Killer App by ls671 · · Score: 1

      hey, hey, bro...

      I guess you abstracted my point pretty well...

      --
      Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
  13. I'd rather do this than let them in my house! by Tony+Isaac · · Score: 1

    I have a lot more to lose by letting a stranger into my house to deliver packages.

  14. Wrong answer to a problem by havana9 · · Score: 1

    I don't know why more standard solutions aren't used. like having the package delivered at a post office or a pick-up box, or designate a neighbour. Give the neighbour or the janitor a receipt an when the delivery gus leave the package, asks the receipt. I have lived for year in a small town in Italy and used a lot the mail order catalogues, even before Amazon,

  15. National Enquirer Headline by Mittengrabber · · Score: 1

    Amazon customer finds Jimmy Hoffa in trunk of Volvo.

  16. Finally doing something for their workers by Opportunist · · Score: 2

    Now those that earn SO little that they have to live in their car can order with their employer, too!

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  17. What's the point? by sjbe · · Score: 1

    I'm not paranoid about home assistants, but I'll be damned if I was going to let someone override my control of my car.

    I'm not paranoid about the various home assistants either but I don't really see the point in them. My phone can already do more or less everything they can do and it's rarely not at my side. What problem is such a device solving for me? I like a good gadget as much as most people reading this but there has to be some utility function to make it worth bothering.

    Onstar is basically an (overpriced) concierge service with some access to your car controls. I don't have a principled objection but similar to the home assistant devices very little of what Onstar provides is really of much value to me so I don't really see the point. If I get locked out there are solutions for that and what else does it provide that my phone doesn't do better? Plus I can upgrade my phone - good luck doing that with your in car concierge hardware.

  18. Off topic by sjbe · · Score: 2

    No, most gun owners don't ever murder anyone.

    This is quite true. The problem is that a non trivial percentage do use firearms in anger and we generally don't know in advance which ones they are.

    Or do you seriously believe there are only twenty thousand or so gun owners in the USA?

    I know there are were about 38,000 deaths by firearm in the USA last year and about 15,000 of these were not suicides. It's true most firearm owners are decent law abiding people but enough aren't that its a serious problem.

    And imagine that someone cuts you off on the road. You're totally enraged at this awful behaviour. So, you immediately reach for the gun in the trunk of your car???

    I have seen with my own eyes someone brandish a gun due to road rage. (no nobody got shot) Yes it was illegal and no they didn't seem to care. I've known quite a few people to carry loaded firearms in the glove compartment or other easily accessible locations. Do you seriously think someone who would consider brandishing a gun for such a trivial reason or who is so paranoid they think they need a loaded pistol within reach at all times would give a shit about the fact that transporting a weapon in such a fashion is likely illegal? It's not responsible people like (probably) you that I'm worried about. It's the people with anger management problems or high levels of paranoia that worry me and the fact that I can't reliably identify them until it is too late to avoid them.

    1. Re:Off topic by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 1

      I have seen with my own eyes someone brandish a gun due to road rage. (no nobody got shot)

      I'm not sure if I have or not. Driving home from work at a very crowded intersection I passed two vehicles side by side. One was a big pick up with some angry-looking guy leaning out the window pointing something black at a man in a small car in the lane next to him. It looked like a gun to me as I drove by.

      Driving past I thought- "Holy Cow" is that someone threatening someone else with a gun at a busy intersection? I considered calling the cops, but didn't because I wasn't 100% sure what I saw was a gun, it seemed crazy someone would do that in such a busy intersection where scores of people would see them, and this was before I had my dash cam to prove it.

      I still wonder what happened there- but as I didn't hear about any shootings outside my office, I'm assuming no shots were fired.

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    2. Re:Off topic by JackieBrown · · Score: 1

      I know there are were about 38,000 deaths by firearm in the USA last year and about 15,000 of these were not suicides. It's true most firearm owners are decent law abiding people but enough aren't that its a serious problem.

      Then only 15000 count. If you are committing suicide, there are just as many non gun related ways to do that. Cars beat that as well as beer.

  19. Walled off? by QuietLagoon · · Score: 1

    Is the car's locking system for the trunk sufficiently walled off from other parts of the locking system, and the car's control system in general, to provide the necessary security for this "feature" offered by Amazon? Or will this be yet another example of people wanting convenience at the expense of demoting security to a secondary priority?

  20. Amazon selling stuff from the trunk of their car by RogueWarrior65 · · Score: 1

    When I was a kid, there was this sketchy guy outside my high-school selling all manner of candy out of the trunk of his car. This just reminded me of that.

  21. Cold (and still off topic) by sjbe · · Score: 1

    Then only 15000 count. If you are committing suicide, there are just as many non gun related ways to do that. Cars beat that as well as beer.

    Wow, that's cold... You really think ~20,000 deaths a year don't matter?

    Your statement belies an ignorance of how many suicides happen. A huge percentage of them are impulse decisions made feasible by access to a readily available firearm. Sure, some people are determined to kill themselves and will find another way if they don't have access to a gun. But a substantial percentage of them would not literally because of the effort involved, surprising as that may seem. Keep them away from firearms and a lot (not all) of those people would live to see another day. You cannot deny that access to a firearm is a rather convenient and efficient way for a person with suicidal thoughts to act upon those thoughts successfully.

    Furthermore you are ignoring the fact that more than a few of those self inflicted deaths by firearm are not suicides. They are accidents of one form or another. Responsible gun ownership (which I support) comes with an acknowledgment of the real world dangers presented by ready access to firearms.

    1. Re:Cold (and still off topic) by JackieBrown · · Score: 1

      Then only 15000 count. If you are committing suicide, there are just as many non gun related ways to do that. Cars beat that as well as beer.

      Wow, that's cold... You really think ~20,000 deaths a year don't matter?

      They matter but not in the context of gun violence anymore than suicide by knives count.

      Firearms are on the bottom of the top 10 list for this

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

  22. Meanwhile... by sootman · · Score: 1

    ... a package that was supposed to arrive at my work yesterday was "Delivery attempted" last night at 6:15pm (and failed, natch, because we're closed) because one of the world leaders in computing and AI has NO WAY to know that this location is a business. This is a 4-story building, in a 6-building, many-acre office park, on a street full of strip malls and office parks. Because evidently Amazon does NOT have an existing list of locations that are businesses, and evidently the AMZL delivery sap has no magic button on his handheld to mark a location as a business for future use (and I doubt that I'm the first person here to ever order something from Amazon.) Oh, and there's no way for me to edit my shipping address and specify that it's a business, although the customer service chat person told me that I could delete my address and re-enter it and then there will be a box to check that it's a business, which I will try AFTER my package successfully arrives. But hey, this has only been a known issue for a YEAR. https://www.reddit.com/r/amazo...

    Fuck you, AMZL. This is fucking brain-dead.

    --
    Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
  23. Body by jolyonr · · Score: 1

    Guess I'd have to take the body out first.

    --


    Please read my Canon EOS tech blog at http://www.everyothershot.com
  24. Amazon to delivery packages to your bedroom by Mike+Van+Pelt · · Score: 1

    It's true. It's on the Internet, so it has to be true.

    https://babylonbee.com/news/am...

    1. Re:Amazon to delivery packages to your bedroom by forkfail · · Score: 1

      Well played.

      --
      Check your premises.