The Proliferation of Platforms:

A great fog facing the modern developer

The hardest single part of building a software system is deciding precisely what to build.

-

Fred Brooks

Early Platforms:

Games: Midway, Nintendo, Client (Windows)

Commerce: Inventory (database driven)

Phone: Nokia, Motorola

Commerce: Web, Mobile (hyper-meta based)

Phone: iOS, Android, RIM

Games: Web, Mobile, Steam (on top of client)

Contemporary Platforms:

Examples

iTunes

iTunes

Continues to beat web-based streaming services.

What enabled success?

Something to do with possession.

Mint.com

Mint.com

Released at a time when client software was go-to for personal finance.

What enabled success?

Web enabled syncing.

Tapulous

Tapulous

Entered very speculative market.

What enabled success?

Embraced interface.

Greplin Demo

Greplin

First instinct would have been mobile.

What enabled success?

PC is still primary device.

Originated when founder couldn't find address for party on phone.

WDTD?(What's a developer to do?)

Greplin: Where is this address?

Mint: Why isn't my accounting up to date?

iTunes: How do people interact with their music?

Where is this data stored?

Why isn't this synced?

Where is it easiest to transfer data between hardware?

Thank you.