IBM in the 90's strongly agrees with you - this software stuff is never going to be profitable and everything people pay for will always end up going through us!
More seriously, I disagree about software being less important because there have been very real innovations for tooling accomplished in software alone. Email is a pretty classic example - but a more modern one might be Google Cardboard which can turn your smart phone into a rather underwhelming VR headset. There are plenty of hardware alternatives but the same basic functionality was accomplished on generalized hardware.
Additionally, all this technology is only really possible due to other technology - we don't discount a new shiny computer just because it's just a dumb oddly shaped box if you can't supply it with electricity - but the costs to develop software are generally lower than hardware so I think it's fair to have a general notion that hardware is more innovative - it's just that you're conflating two different variables - cost and medium.
I think you're conflating technology with profitable or important. That is, you see me saying that software isn't technology and think I'm saying that software isn't profitable or important. That's not at all what I'm saying though. I likened software to writing. Writing can be important and it can be profitable, it's just not technology.
Maybe we could agree on email as a technology. Maybe. I think it's a stretch. I hope we could both agree that the nth email client isn't technology though. It's not adding a new capability to humanity which is how I tend to think about technology. Refrigerator - keep stuff cold. Electricity - power to operate machines and light. Computers - organize, access, modify information. etc. New JavaScript library or new game... Not so much technology.
I think that's fair yea - it might just be a matter of semantics. If you think software is included in technology then I stand by my point but, if your view of technology excludes software then you're quite correct.
More seriously, I disagree about software being less important because there have been very real innovations for tooling accomplished in software alone. Email is a pretty classic example - but a more modern one might be Google Cardboard which can turn your smart phone into a rather underwhelming VR headset. There are plenty of hardware alternatives but the same basic functionality was accomplished on generalized hardware.
Additionally, all this technology is only really possible due to other technology - we don't discount a new shiny computer just because it's just a dumb oddly shaped box if you can't supply it with electricity - but the costs to develop software are generally lower than hardware so I think it's fair to have a general notion that hardware is more innovative - it's just that you're conflating two different variables - cost and medium.