

History of software platforms: disaggregation is where the action is - ableal
http://mobileopportunity.blogspot.com/2009/05/quick-history-of-software-platforms-how.html

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pavlov
Fascinating analysis of the new "metaplatform" (a.k.a. cloud); how it relates
to mobile computing and networks, and what opportunities it presents to OS and
application vendors. My favorite piece of advice:

 _Many successful app vendors are trying to create APIs that will enable other
developers to extend their products. This is the right idea, but the
implementation is often off-target. Many of the app companies I talk to are
trying to make their APIs into the business equivalent of an operating system,
with developers coming to them and living entirely within their private
ecosystem. A warning sign is when a company uses a phrase like, "(insert
company name) developer network" to describe its offering._

 _The wave of the future is not turning an application inward into its own
little walled garden; it's opening the application outward so it can be mixed
and matched with other functionality in the metaplatform. If you have the best
drawing program in the industry, you should be asking how you can also become
the best drawing module in the metaplatform. Get used to being a component in
addition to a standalone product. You lose some identity in the process, but
gain greater opportunities to grow._

