Re:Microsoft Poaches Yahoo's Top Search Engineer; "the end o...
by netcan on Thursday November 20, 2008 @05:19PM
(#371128)
They probably have. Which may mean that all the free stuff with little or no advertising value is a smart move as a PR campaign.
I agree that a brand name advantage seems easier to tackle then a technological one. Especially when switching costs are so low. But then this is a pattern followed by many technological products. A technological advantage, followed by a few years lead followed by equivalence where their product demands a premium, outsell competition, etc.
Take Sony (portable radios, portable cassette players) or Canon (bubble jet). Innovation that was quickly equalised followed by a long period of leadership. You could even argue that a long period of technological superiority (say because of patents, trade secrets or even faster innovation) might result in an unbalanced company that cannot survive once superiority is lost.
I agree that a brand name advantage seems easier to tackle then a technological one. Especially when switching costs are so low. But then this is a pattern followed by many technological products. A technological advantage, followed by a few years lead followed by equivalence where their product demands a premium, outsell competition, etc.
Take Sony (portable radios, portable cassette players) or Canon (bubble jet). Innovation that was quickly equalised followed by a long period of leadership. You could even argue that a long period of technological superiority (say because of patents, trade secrets or even faster innovation) might result in an unbalanced company that cannot survive once superiority is lost.