Innovation isn't necessarily inventing something new, it can just as well be taking something existing and making it better. Pagerank, adwords and gmail are examples of this. They all took something existing and made it much much better.
Pure invention is overrated. While it's nice if a technology exists in a lab somewhere or in somebody's head, I don't really care.
Microsoft put cheap GUI computing on everbody's desk and broke the vertical hardware micromonopolies, commoditizing hardware.
Microsoft gave me run whoever's programs you want computing, no permission needed computing on everbody's desk.
Apple put touchscreen microcomputer app technology in my hand. I don't care if they didn't invent any bit of it, they were the ones who made it available and synthesized the pieces to make a whole much greater than the parts.
Apple put cheap mostly individual digital music in my hand. Who cares that they didn't invent digital audio, compression, or mp3 players -- they were the ones let me have them.
Comments
> [Google is] known for innovating and this seems to be at odds with that.
What kind of innovation has Google done?
They've done "better" successfully a couple of times, but they've rarely done new.
Innovation isn't necessarily inventing something new, it can just as well be taking something existing and making it better. Pagerank, adwords and gmail are examples of this. They all took something existing and made it much much better.
Pure invention is overrated. While it's nice if a technology exists in a lab somewhere or in somebody's head, I don't really care.
Microsoft put cheap GUI computing on everbody's desk and broke the vertical hardware micromonopolies, commoditizing hardware.
Microsoft gave me run whoever's programs you want computing, no permission needed computing on everbody's desk.
Apple put touchscreen microcomputer app technology in my hand. I don't care if they didn't invent any bit of it, they were the ones who made it available and synthesized the pieces to make a whole much greater than the parts.
Apple put cheap mostly individual digital music in my hand. Who cares that they didn't invent digital audio, compression, or mp3 players -- they were the ones let me have them.
etc etc