well, before computing involved massive business interests, I guess things were a little healthier.
Now all companies start something, grab a piece of market share, and lock up everything to make sure programmers will only extend their market share, not the one of competitors. There might be research, but nothing really new lands into the hands of programmers so that they can improve their productivity.
It's like the screwdriver, the hammer were invented, made popular, but other new, time saving tool really appears for a century after.
In my view there is a gap between the goal of investors, and the role of engineers. It's a common situation in any industry. When something is invented, it rarely evolves out of a well oiled business model. Once the technology becomes popular, you can't improve it anymore, it's too late because it's just too hard to bring new things to large markets.
Now all companies start something, grab a piece of market share, and lock up everything to make sure programmers will only extend their market share, not the one of competitors. There might be research, but nothing really new lands into the hands of programmers so that they can improve their productivity.
It's like the screwdriver, the hammer were invented, made popular, but other new, time saving tool really appears for a century after.
In my view there is a gap between the goal of investors, and the role of engineers. It's a common situation in any industry. When something is invented, it rarely evolves out of a well oiled business model. Once the technology becomes popular, you can't improve it anymore, it's too late because it's just too hard to bring new things to large markets.