> The amount of innovation that hasn't happened because ...
I've mulled this over many times while waiting for my (licensed) DVD player to boot - there's no economic pressure for DVD player manufacturers to compete, since there's such a large barrier to entry. Sure, the hardware is cheap, but the software is both terrible (crashes, odd UI behavior, dictates work flow) and slow, slow SLOW.
DVDCCA is clearly a cartel, at least in terms of behavior, if not actual legal definition, and we see it in terms of lack of innovative UX on DVD players. I see this as akin to the Windows experience vs Linux experience. Windows boots slowly, apps start slowly. Linux boots rapidly, and gets speedier over the years, not slower. Apps start fast, windows open instantly (instead of showing a dern splash screen for 30 seconds). Microsoft is something of a market-fixing cartel. The Linux market has a lot of competition, pain points get addressed quickly, the experience changes.
I've mulled this over many times while waiting for my (licensed) DVD player to boot - there's no economic pressure for DVD player manufacturers to compete, since there's such a large barrier to entry. Sure, the hardware is cheap, but the software is both terrible (crashes, odd UI behavior, dictates work flow) and slow, slow SLOW.
DVDCCA is clearly a cartel, at least in terms of behavior, if not actual legal definition, and we see it in terms of lack of innovative UX on DVD players. I see this as akin to the Windows experience vs Linux experience. Windows boots slowly, apps start slowly. Linux boots rapidly, and gets speedier over the years, not slower. Apps start fast, windows open instantly (instead of showing a dern splash screen for 30 seconds). Microsoft is something of a market-fixing cartel. The Linux market has a lot of competition, pain points get addressed quickly, the experience changes.