On Nov 28, 2007 9:48 PM, Craig Froehle <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Google has said it will be free. Google doesn't intend to make money > on the OS -- they intend to make money on services delivered via the > OS (and maybe their own 700MHz network). A girl can dream. >
Google seems to be pulling a Wal-Mart by changing the rules of the game and positioning themselves as the ultimate middleman. Not just in in this endeavor but in all of their endeavors. I'm not saying it's sinister, I'm just saying that their hand hasn't been fully revealed IMO. But doing so is the only way they will weaken their opposition and subsequently position themselves on the top of the mountain. They're capitalizing on the frustrations people have with industry inertia and offering another path. > > > But I think THEY think > > they can't do that because it would mean absolutely NO return on their > > investment of 5 years or so and maybe mounting debt that can't be paid > off > > by licensing their developed technology to anyone. > > Business rule #1: sunk costs are sunk costs. Palm won't be licensing > their new OS to anyone. Heck, Access has them beat, and now Google > has effectively demolished any possible market that might have > existed. I mean, who would license a closed OS from Palm at a cost > >$0 when Google will give them the entirely open Android for free? > Nobody...at least no one sane. > Then Sony is still in the running > > > Perhaps they think they > > can make the better OS and make money off it - even if it's not the > better > > OS for long. > > Then they're more delusional than even I thought possible. > So was Vince McMahon with his XFL idea > > If anything here the money would be made by Access selling > > that compatibility layer to Android (and iPhone and WinMo and RIM) > customers > > to get them to switch or licensing to the first Treo-like handset that > runs > > Android that comes out from HTC next year. > > Um, what? Access might license a Palm OS compatibility layer, but > there wouldn't be any "switching" involved. The compat. layer would > simply reside in ROM, sitting on top of the Linux kernel and other > components, and handle Palm OS apps. Everything else in the phone > would likely still be Android plus any OEM customization that happens > (e.g., HTC offering up its own UI). > stream of conscious typing. I meant that more current Palm/Treo users would switch if there was a way to bring their apps with them and run them on the sweet new hardware. > > I really see Android as exactly what BOTH Palm and Access hoped to do, > except it'll be available before either and will likely be better than > both. That's the power of open source + Google at work. > I really doubt that both Palm and Access had the grand plan that Google has with Android. I think they just wanted a cheap, stable, and effective mobile OS that could easily compete feature for feature with the other mobile OSes. > > > What emerging standards was Tandy negligent in capitalizing on? > > Oh, little things like PS/2 keyboard connectors and serial and > parallel ports -- Tandy relied entirely on proprietary Tandy > connectors, so you could only buy Tandy peripherals for your Tandy > computer. They didn't last long once the industry began the rapid > convergence to standardized parts. > I had (still have in fact) a Tandy 486 machine that is pretty standard aside from maybe case design - but at that time most manufacturers had proprietary case designs. I don't remember standard ATX cases until around 92 or 93 and by then Tandy had already stopped selling PCs. Besides - Tandy was using Radio Shack to push their products. I would say that perhaps their sales model was becoming outdated as the Circuit Citys and Best Buys had become the go-to spots for buying electronics. I would think that during the 80's it was perfectly OK to rely on proprietary (and 3rd party) equipment as Apple, Commodore, etc. did. Before the 486 I had a Tandy 1000 that I was able to order third party parts for. Ahh - the Tandy 1000 running Deskmate and pfs:write - now those were the good old days. -- ============================== War Eagle [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
