Re: [tlug] STM (was: Re: work times & accommodation @tokyo)

["Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@example.com>]

Curt Sampson writes:

 > As for counterexamples; I think that they abound. Fujitsu is not exactly
 > known as a maker of disk drives these days. TI and HP? Not exactly
 > prime examples of successful companies now.

These companies got sucker-punched by disruptive innovations, in most
cases.  They're not relevant to the case we're talking about.

The kind of thing you are recommending is definitely in the class of
*sustaining* innovation, at least for Google.  Google's customers do
not care if they use assembler, Haskell, or XUL for their software.
As you present it, it's a pure cost-reducing, quality-increasing
innovation, and doesn't require allocating resources away from making
their best customers happy.  Excellent companies know how to make this
kind of thing happen.  Where Google fits, I don't know. :-)

 > Intel? Oops, they did the sort of thing I reccomend: started in early
 > with a new technology (microprocessors) and when their memory business
 > died, they survived.

Intel didn't know what they were doing at that point, though.
Microprocessors were customer-driven, and then they lucked into the
IBM deal.  Proof?  Motorola was in the market just as early with the
6502, and then had a much better chip in the 68000.  Where are they?
Losing to Intel in the microprocessor market, and playing catchup to
Nokia and maybe Samsung in the cellphone market.