Dangers of Complexity
Listening to: This Is It - Ryan Adams
The NY Times published a fascinating article about the reasons behind the stalling
of the Vista OS. It is a real object lesson in the long term costs in being addicted
to complexity:
Back in 1998, the federal government declared that its landmark antitrust
suit against the Microsoft Corporation was not merely a matter of law enforcement,
but a defense of innovation. The concern was that the company was wielding its market
power and its strategy of bundling more and more features into its dominant Windows
desktop operating system to thwart competition and stifle innovation.
Eight
years later, long after Microsoft lost and then settled the antitrust case, it turns
out that Windows is indeed stifling innovation — at Microsoft.
On the other hand it is also important to note that all is not wrong in the OS group:
Like other Microsoft executives, Mr. Goldberg bristles at the notion
that little innovative work has come out of the Windows group since XP. In the last
five years, he said, Microsoft has released two versions of the Windows Tablet PC
software intended for pen-based notebook computers, and four versions of Windows Media
Center. To combat viruses plaguing Windows, much of the engineering team focused for
18 months on fixing security flaws for a downloadable “service pack” in 2004.
