Progress.

I’m a big fan of progress; in the past 20 years I’ve seen computers make massive progress. This has been great for me because it’s meant I’ve made a career out of working with comphooters. If this industry hadn’t of risen while I was growing up what might I have become… baker, shepherd, doll scum? I don’t know, but I have a feeling I’m suited to what I do now and not much else.

So it makes me massively irritated when consortiums / companies try to stop progress. For example, Microsoft is often told off for bundling it’s own products with it’s OS (IE, Media player, etc)… God forbid they should be allowed to earn more money, or actually be good (not that I’m saying IE or media player are actually good). Now the argument here is that consumers should have choice, but at the same time shouldn’t big bad Microsoft be allowed to progress? And now Apple is the bigger dog will people start saying the OS should be available to install on an HP laptop… who knows?

Another example that has irritated me is Project Kangaroo. The combo of iPlayer, ITV player, and 4oD which Virgin (yes, you know, that small company run by that gentle sweet innocent man Richard Branson) says shouldn’t be allowed to progress because it’s uncompetitive… well I’m sorry if iPlayer have created a product that’s fucking marvellous and now they want to add other channels to it. If Virgin can’t keep up (their on demand service could be a LOT better) then surely that’s their own fault…

What’s inspired this rant? Well basically I read this about how the FM industry is dying out because of advancement in technology and they want all mobile phones to have FM radios built in as standard. Bugger that! Why FM should DIE

Companies should not be forced to go backwards, they shouldn’t be told what they can or can’t do, unless what they do is a shit job.

Of course choice and competition is healthy… but instead of stifling progress of the topdog governments/people/they should be helping support the progress of the underdog. If people like what they do they’ll have their chance of being top dog, but they should get there by being good… not because the monopoly was told to stop  being good.