AskLeo answers the question Why do things that aren’t broken keep changing? The basic answer is that the owner of those things wants to remain viable.
“I actually get this question periodically about almost every major online email service. Google Mail, Hotmail, and Yahoo Mail all go through periodic major updates, and some set of existing users get quite upset.
“In fact, it affects more than email services – just about any site online or even software that we use on our PCs goes through periodic change. When they take on a major update, it’s going to upset some of its user base. It’s a cost of doing business.
“And that, really, is what it all comes down to.
“That service you use is, first and foremost, a business in a highly competitive environment.”
Leo provides a good summary of several reasons why things change. It’s why DOS isn’t mainstream anymore. It’s why Ubuntu provides a new version every six months or so. It’s about the contribution Linus Torvaldes made that has kept the Linux kernal advancing over the last 20 years or so.
Sometimes I just wish the rate of change would slow down so I could keep up with it easier. But if change in one area slows down then change in another is likely to compensate. Take PC’s for example. Much of the change has gone underground as the need for higher processor speed and more memory and more storage has diminished. The software side is boiling as is the alternatives like the cell phone computers.
interesting times indeed.
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