OrionWorks wrote:
Word Perfect, Word Perfect, wherefor art thou?
I was forced to give it up, reluctantly, because:
It did not work with Japanese.
People sent me papers in MS Word format.
That's an interesting illustration of the complexity and widespread
use that gave Microsoft market dominance. These are advantages that
cause a kind of feedback loop if you will, or "positive feedback."
That is what McKubre calls the effects of heat on a cold fusion
reaction. Microsoft wins because it is the winner already. Up to the
1980s, IBM was in this enviable position.
There is also a measure of "contingency and incumbency" at work here.
These were described by S. J. Gould. See chapter 7 of my book. That
chapter also describes the work by C. Christensen on the evolution
and eventual decline of corporations, which is the best analysis I know of.
The early history of WordPerfect was described in a charming little book:
W. E. Peterson, "Almost Perfect." Now available on line:
http://www.wordplace.com/ap/index.shtml
This discussion may seem off topic, but if you wish to understand the
dynamics of organizations and change you should pay close attention
to these issues. The video that Steve Krivit uploaded about Italian
research at Frascatti reflects this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bujrxqwRwc0&feature=channel_page
You can explain the events in Italy better with Gould and
Christensen's theories than with conspiracy theories. This is how people act.
By the way, the comments by one of the Italian researchers about
sailing ships versus steamships was inaccurate. The actual history of
the transition is surprising and little known. Christensen discussed
it, and I happen to know about it. Sailing ship builders and
operators did little or nothing to block steamships, beyond
unsuccessfully lobbying Congress to try to prevent subsidies for the
new and grossly inefficient steam technology circa 1840.
(Conservatives always oppose subsidies for new technology and they
are always wrong. Talk about not learning from history!) They were
mainly oblivious until it was too late. No shipbuilder adapted the
new technology in time, although most of the shipyard techniques were
of course carried over to steel ship construction techniques. They
did not re-invent the wheel. No one ever does. You might say they
"refactored" shipbuilding, enough to put all of the old-line
shipbuilders out of business. Christensen discusses several similar examples.
- Jed
