>Experience has shown that protocols are primarily
>valuable because they are adopted by consensus, and that open protocols are
far
>more likely to achieve consensus than proprietary ones, even where the
>proprietary ones were technically superior. Recent history is littered
with
>endless examples of this phenomon, such as the IBM Microchannel
Architecture or
>Sony Betamax. On the contrary, the protocols which have succeeded in the
free
>marketplace are those which are in the public domain, such as TCP/IP.
>-- Mike
I agree. The perfect example might be the wireless networking products
development
over the last two years. The major players formed an interoperatibility
council and got
801.11 ratified. Now over 25 companies are involved in the council and
testing with
each other to insure compatibility. Instead of one company having a black
magic
proprietary solution that customers would have to trust worked, they have
created
a believable solution, with an open protocol, and can compete on the
marketing
level with superior packaging, software enhancements, central administration
etc.
By working together to create a viable solution or networking environment
enhancement,
they can then compete in that solution for market share. There are plenty
of customers
out there.
FWIW, Willy
