Guess again. Amazon isn't exactly the cutting edge here. https://www.aclu.org/blog/tag/domestic-drones for community surveillance. It doesn't matter if low flying delivery drones normalize anything because police drones fly high enough that you don't see them anyway.

Careful. You're treading thin ice here. Your comment may turn this thread over to the side we dare not mention for fear Ro and his ban hammer may come out.

Thanks. I was unaware this was a sore spot.

Considering Amazons UK storage is in Jersey (for tax reasons I think) we won't be getting this service.

Who cares? It's all about 'murica.

Its a really cool idea. Good for a metriopolis area and a rural area. Though is society ready for it? I think the idea of it is fascinating. I wonder what'd it be like to actually be in a cyberpunk environment which this will achieve in my mind

Most American's won't get it either. Including the great metro area you live in. "Who cares?" ...

Half of all Americans live in the top 25 metropolitan areas and would probably get this service, along with people in the smaller metro areas which would be at least another quarter of all Americans. How do you define this 'most' that you think wouldn't? Doesn't matter to me since I can't think of anything I need in a half hour that would come from Amazon, but I'm a curious sort.

Hmm.. Flying robots delivering packages versus Cybernetic replacements to every limb.. Yeah close enough. Cyberpunk.

Have no fear citizen, all Amazon Drones will be adequately equipped with anti-air counter measures and all drone delivery insertions will have supporting military forces in reserve: courtesy of your local Air National Guard.

What if they drop your package while in flight and keep on going? I'll will not be a happy customer .

Unless they become pioneers, I think this could drive the likes of FEDEX out of business. Which I have no qualms about.

Cyberpunk doesn't mean only cybernetic replacements to every limb I hope ya know. Its basically like a society dominated by computer technology. This is computer technology (robot- drone).

Yes I'm aware, I'm a fan of the genre through and through. I just thought I'd pick the most recognizable extreme and make a joke. A bad joke, apparently.

In Amazon's CEO's interview last night on 60 min. he said that it would only be for those who live withing 50 miles of one of their warehouses. That leaves a great deal of the USA who will not have this service. http://outright.com/blog/locations-of-amazon-fulfillment-centers-2/ for example, there is not one in New York or Illinois which is NYC and Chicago where there are vast numbers of people living. Even in the areas where they do have centers they are often not in highly populated areas.

They now deliver groceries but only in certain places. If I lived near a warehouse I guess I could call in an order for cinnamon when I was in the middle of baking cookies and have it in 30 min. That would be nice but I'm not moving within 50 miles of Amazon to get it. So the top 25 metro areas will not be receiving this service either.

edit: In fact looking at a list of the top http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Metropolitan_Statistical_Areas it seems none of them have a Amazon fulfillment center.

Many of them listing a larger city also have a County listed under them. I mapped a couple and they are in the boonies near the big cities.

Starting from number one...

Fifty miles from Avenel NJ reaches to the far end of Long Island so I'd guess it covers the NY metro area pretty thoroughly.

San Bernardino and the planned Moreno Valley location would cover more than half of the LA metro area. With a few years to work with putting something in place to cover the west side would probably be a priority.

I thought you had a point with Chicago, because my first thought was Indiana and all the centers there are downstate...but then I had an inspired thought and looked at Wisconsin instead...a fifty mile radius from the planned center in Kenosha covers not only the entire Chicago metro area but Milwaukee as well.

I suspect the rest of the list would be covered adequately as well.

I would assume that, as part of putting this system in place, they might build a few more fulfillment centers. But the idea is still years and years away/crazy.

FEDEX would certainly try adopt the technology and compete if drone delivery looks like it is going to be the new wave ... I guess it would put a lot of people out of work though, you certainly would not need as much manpower if using drones to deliver packages...

It would be cool I think, but you are talking about a hell of a lot of packages that get delivered everyday, especially around the holidays... that is a lot of drones flying around. The successful coordinating of an operation like this would certainly be a technological challenge.

LOL, there would be sooo many people loosing their packages within the first year or so of this taking off.

All new kinds of potential commute accidents and disasters as well. I would bet a whole paycheck that within the first year of this being practiced somebody would end up having a drone through their windshield or bedroom window.

That is my assumption as they are opening new centers right and left it seems.

@Timsup2nothin: As for the one in Jersey including NYC, well NYC is over 300 square miles and the drones are expected to only deliver withing a 50 mile radius. So even if they opened one in NYC proper, they could not cover the whole city of NY. I do believe NYC is more than 50 miles from the one in Jersey but don't have the google desire to ensure that is correct atm. Nyquil has me moving slow. In the interview he seemed to indicate it would only service a small portion of the population and I just believed him. My mistake.

@Djinn De'xarnell: There is still a 5 to 10 lb. limit.

A circle of fifty mile radius covers almost 8000 square miles. The NY metro area fits handily.

Oh I understand, that is still a lot of packages.

Another of my mistakes, just heard on NPR that it's a 10 mile radius. I've no clue where I got 50 from. I swear he said 50 last night but...my wrong.

This Nyquil stuff is rendering me stupid.

Ten miles makes the entire concept pretty much useless.

Suddenly the voice in my head is screaming PUBLICITY STUNT!

Let's see...night before "cyber Monday" Amazon.com makes astounding cutting edge delivery announcement...becomes topic of discussion across the internet...sigh.

Hats off to them.

The noble profession of delivery boy is under threat. Sad times indeed.