day 81

digital darwinism 3: architectures gone awry

Eye Candy #2. Built in 1994, this Scenic Drive mansion seems to have come through a time machine from 17th-century Transylvania. Yesterday we learned that evolution in the computer industry is driven by chaos. Microsoft makes it look easy: simply gain a dominant share of the OS market through hard work, tough marketing, ruthless wheeling and dealing, and good fortune in Washington D.C., and then sell razor blades to a growing Windows tribe. Once mainstreamed, Microsoft products can theoretically follow a technology path like a straight-shooting rifle - from point A to B, according to plan. In reality, most of Microsoft's (and other FutureBusinesses') success has come from surviving the dog-eat-cyberdog jungle rather than from artfully executing a carefully laid plan. This may be obvious to the stock market investor, but to us geeks it might seem that the computer industry is going somewhere in particular. In fact, the jungle has taken its toll on technology, too, and geeks like us don't know where the industry is going. Just like the architects who build weirdo houses in Carmel, the architects of the computer industry don't have a clue. They simply follow fashion and second-guess trends like everyone else. Not only has marketing success been achieved without a clue, but most of the technology successes in use today are the result of a clueless industry.

digital darwinism 1 2 Daily Dose Index