Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 09:54:43 -0700 From: William Ahern <william@25thandClement.com> To: Wes Kussmaul <wes@village.com> Cc: Matt Heath <matt@thebigchoice.com> Subject: Re: Think outside of the box (Gawd, I hate that term) Message-ID: <20030812165443.GA1229@wilbur.25thandClement.com> In-Reply-To: <12cd01c360dc$ac6b7160$6400a8c0@dell01> References: <200308090347.55304.racerx@makeworld.com> <3F35FB5C.8050205@thebigchoice.com> <12cd01c360dc$ac6b7160$6400a8c0@dell01>
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On Tue, Aug 12, 2003 at 10:18:39AM -0400, Wes Kussmaul wrote: > Matt Heath wrote in response to Chris's outside-the-box challenge: > > > I use plan9 as my development platform as it is a delight to use. > > > > Don't expect eye candy, it is an OS to get work done. > > > If the subject is competing in the domain of Gates and Jobs, then the notion > of a computer is subsumed by the concept of media appliance. Even in the > workplace where an OS exists to get work done, colorful skins and simple > clickable interfaces sell, while practical command-driven interfaces don't. > > The open source community is big enough to support those who don't want eye > candy and those who do; those who like to build tools and those who enjoy > the sport of the media marketplace. The two groups need to respect each > other. > > Chris's audience, the marketplace sports fans who would rather be > participants in the game, ought to start with the question, "What are the > vulnerabilities of the players with dominant market share?" It turns out > that there are huge vulnerabilities. There always are. (Remember when IBM > was invincible? Remember how in the midst of that consensus IBM hit the > wall? Then remember how VAX/VMS was unstoppable?) Success breeds blindness, > revenue model lock-in, and other vulnerabilities. > success doesn't breed blindness. that's an improper valuation, tainted w/ envy. successful businesses just follow the money. read "The Innovator's Dilemma". - Bill
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