XPost: rec.arts.sf.written, rec.arts.sf.science   
   From: droleary@8usenet2013.subsume.com   
      
   In article ,   
    Walter Bushell  wrote:   
      
   > In article   
   > ,   
   >  Doc O'Leary  wrote:   
   >   
   > > People do the math, even if somewhat imperfectly.  So, yes, people flock   
   > > to the car company that gives them something that better meets their   
   > > needs, self-driving or otherwise.  But what history has shown is that   
   > > such advances are seldom pushed by the entrenched players.  How the   
   > > self-driving car *actually* comes to market is likely going to be a   
   > > complex and convoluted story.  We'd all likely be better off just   
   > > switching out the highway infrastructure for rails.  :-)   
   >   
   > One counter example is in computers where Apple came out with the   
   > iPad, which really cut into the computer business. A family can now   
   > get by with one computer and personal iPads perhaps better than having   
   > two or three or more computers.   
      
   The larger picture, though, supports my point.  Apple is definitely the   
   odd man out, not only pushing the new technology, but also seeing growth   
   in their desktop and laptop markets while other companies see sales   
   collapsing.  And those entrenched players (Dell, HP, Acer, Lenovo, etc.)   
   are nowhere to be seen in the mobile market, while at the same time old   
   mobile companies (Nokia, BlackBerry, etc.) have also failed to execute.   
   Even Microsoft seems to be caught with its pants down.  At the same   
   time, we see new platforms that rise from seemingly nowhere (Arduino,   
   Raspberry Pi, etc.).   
      
   History has shown that, in most every industry, companies that get big   
   tend to get calcified.  Google has become big, but it has become like   
   Microsoft in that it thinks it has to have its fingers in *everything*,   
   which is deadly in the long term.  It never bodes well in a sci-fi   
   universe when one company controls an essential technology.   
      
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