The fact is that th OS industry is reaching maturity, where early entrants to a market enjoy fewer and fewer advantages and the bars to entry are lower:
- web apps mean that MS experiences fewer network advantages (the number of apps which can only be run in Windows and therefore tie consumers in)
- consumers continue to develop their own maturity - confident enough to try other things, to have an increasingly analytical view of the products available
- as a market matures standards mature too - fewer barriers to entry for new firms, who can benefit from being able to sell to the whole market if their product is compliant
There are lots of other things that a maturing market brings, so it's worth remembering that the market for personal computing is only just coming to maturity. Few firms dominate any industry for more than, say, thirty years. Get in there.
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The fact is that th OS industry is reaching maturity, where early entrants to a market enjoy fewer and fewer advantages and the bars to entry are lower:
- web apps mean that MS experiences fewer network advantages (the number of apps which can only be run in Windows and therefore tie consumers in)
- consumers continue to develop their own maturity - confident enough to try other things, to have an increasingly analytical view of the products available
- as a market matures standards mature too - fewer barriers to entry for new firms, who can benefit from being able to sell to the whole market if their product is compliant
There are lots of other things that a maturing market brings, so it's worth remembering that the market for personal computing is only just coming to maturity. Few firms dominate any industry for more than, say, thirty years. Get in there.