This shows me a bunch of different things; (1) tech companies have so much money that they can just throw a lot around to develop products and hope something works out and the ones that do work out cover their losses and still keep them well in the black. Its somewhat like the movie business and I have read more than one movie exec frankly admit that no one in that industry really knows what will work. If you did the same kind of analysis for movies you would find so many busts with big name stars that you would be left scratching your head. (2) It also should make us realize or understand that tech executives aren't the god-geniuses that the tech/nerd press and all the other camp followers want to make us believe they are (for a brilliantly funny take on that see Bill Burr go off on Steve Jobs on YouTube). and (3) and this may be difficult to articulate so maybe its not a real point after all, but almost all of the busts were in the personal computing/tech product category and it wasn't that the functionality as the company envisioned wasn't desired by the average gung ho tech consumer; it was, in fact, highly desired, but the satisfaction with the offering quickly collapsed leaving the consumers not in a state of tech dis-satisfaction but simply hungering for more but a "functional more". So, its "tinker, tinker, tinker" "brainstorm, brainstorm, brainstorm" back at the corporate R&D ranch lab to meet the bottomless thirst pit of the consumer maw. Eventually they get it 'right' and everyone can settle down in his or her cozy little electronic nest!
Facebook
Twitter