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Old February 27, 2001, 08:01 PM
Dien Rice
 
Posts: n/a
Default Technical pioneers and commercial pioneers....

> ..A friend told me that blogger has fallen
> on hard times . . .only one employee left.
> Another example of great technology ...but
> not making any money.

Hi Ron,

Yes it's an all-too-common story....

In reality, the high-tech business is generally a high-risk, high-reward game.... Often the pioneers of new technology are not the ones to reap the most benefit from it, as others later come along later and do better....

(A clear example is Microsoft - which bought Q-DOS from another company and renamed it MS-DOS, while Q-DOS was itself a clone of the CP/M operating system by Gary Kildall and Digital Research.... Gary Kildall and Digital Research saw no profit from Microsoft's use of the copy-cat operating system, even though Digital Research was the technical pioneer. Digital Research was even considering suing Microsoft for copying its software, but it didn't since it knew that it would then also have to sue the giant IBM.)

I think there has to be a distinction between technical pioneers (those who develop the technology) and commercial pioneers (those who develop it and distribute it so that the market wants it and will pay for it). That's because often the two types of pioneers are not the same companies....

(Just thinking out loud...)

- Dien