cletus: I agree, but also think that lack of diversity in user environments is a big contributing factor to this problem. With 90%+ of people using only three computing platforms (Windows, Android, iOS), criminals and other sociopaths have a powerful economic incentive to develop antisocial viruses and botnets. So long as only two or three user environments remain dominant, people will be exposed to this kind of 'Irish potato famine' risk.[1]
Are you suggesting he start work on an new computing platform because the existing market lacks diversity?
While I agree with the point that diversity begets vulnerability, I don't think starting a competitor would be the most effective idea. Monocultures usually have strong forces that keep them in existence. With bananas, it's an inability to reproduce. With invasive plants like garlic mustard, it's allelopathy. With the industr(ies) we're talking about, it's the existence of massive inter-indusrial coalitions between hardware manufacturers, software companies, infrastructure providers, and the like that instigate the lack of diversity.
If cs702 tried to take action by building a competitor, he would have about the same chance of success a sapling in a field of kudzu. Looking at the factors that cause the monoculture and finding a way to disrupt them, I think, is a more promising idea.
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cletus: I agree, but also think that lack of diversity in user environments is a big contributing factor to this problem. With 90%+ of people using only three computing platforms (Windows, Android, iOS), criminals and other sociopaths have a powerful economic incentive to develop antisocial viruses and botnets. So long as only two or three user environments remain dominant, people will be exposed to this kind of 'Irish potato famine' risk.[1]
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[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Famine_%28Ireland%29#Pota...
This is a great point and you should totally start a competitor.
Are you suggesting he start work on an new computing platform because the existing market lacks diversity?
While I agree with the point that diversity begets vulnerability, I don't think starting a competitor would be the most effective idea. Monocultures usually have strong forces that keep them in existence. With bananas, it's an inability to reproduce. With invasive plants like garlic mustard, it's allelopathy. With the industr(ies) we're talking about, it's the existence of massive inter-indusrial coalitions between hardware manufacturers, software companies, infrastructure providers, and the like that instigate the lack of diversity.
If cs702 tried to take action by building a competitor, he would have about the same chance of success a sapling in a field of kudzu. Looking at the factors that cause the monoculture and finding a way to disrupt them, I think, is a more promising idea.