In Praise of a Closed Market
Microsoft and Intel simplified choices—and popularized computers TECH & YOU PODCAST It's an article of faith in the tech industry that competition is a good thing for everyone. Without the freedom to create companies with novel products in competitive markets, we might never have seen some of the innovations that have transformed our lives—PCs, e-mail, iPods, and the rest. Still, for consumers, there definitely can be too much of a good thing. The history of the PC provides a good illustration of where competition works for consumers and where it doesn't. Saying this won't win me friends in competition-crazed Silicon Valley, but I think dominance by an Intel ( INTC ) hardware design and Microsoft ( MSFT ) software has been good for both business and home users. LACK OF PRESSURE. Standardization, which limits competition on features and turns it into a fight for the lowest price, led to rapid economies of scale and plunging costs. Buyers of PCs didn't h...