

The First, The Free, and the Good - comatose_kid
http://stevenf.com/2008/03/the_first_the_free_and_the_good.php

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TrevorJ
Products also get really nuanced at the higher "Power user" skill levels since
users tend to specialize their skills in ever more specific ways.

For instance, in my line of work if you are a 3D generalist, it won't matter a
ton what of the top 3 or 4 animation packages you go with, but if you
specialize in really really high end character animation it matters very much.

Taking it even further, if you are setting the bar for character animation the
way Pixar or Dreamworks does, you'll be using highly customized very specific
tools written directly to handle the specific requirements of a particular
film script.

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tptacek
Before debunking the "conventional wisdom", it'd be nice if the author would
read up on it. The only insight added by this blog post is the dubious notion
that the first-to-market wins a sustainable niche; that's been untrue as often
as it's been true.

Otherwise, the idea that markets converge to a major winner on cost and a
niche winner on product quality is basically marketing 101.

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sanj
I really like this characterization. The question is: does it apply to things
that live/die by the network effect?

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Raphael
This is similar to cheap/good/fast. Two out of three is usually as good as you
can do.

