Steven Frank is right (on Google’s Android):
People don’t want FEATURES. They’ll tell you they do until they’re blue in the face. But what they actually want is ease-of-use, and solutions to real-world problems — looking at a map, finding nearby restaurants, sending a photo to a friend without going through 6 submenus, not to mention making phone calls. You’re Google, you’re actually not too bad at this. Ditch those other 33 companies, put 20 of your smartest people on it, and you stand a fighting chance. Otherwise just let it go — this PR non-announcement isn’t worth the time it takes to read.
As another good example look at the 787’s Mike Bair (former head of the program) said that the whole “global partners” is a real logistics nightmare.
He is actually right!!! I worked in the 787 myself, and dealing with “global partners” is a mess. Nobody really knows what’s going on. Making decisions on the smallest details can run through endless meetings as people (as they normally do) only care about their stuff. If inter-department communication can be a hassle, imagine inter-company collaboration (some of which are competitors!).
Working in small teams is the way to go. Great innovations comes from there, and not from huge established companies who’s cash cows might interfere with the “open handset” strategy.
(Via Daring Fireball.)
