Why 8/18/2011 was a good day.
The flames from the torches warm my face as the clamoring of calling me a heretic are near deafening. The feverish crowd in orange robes comes ever closer then I speak. I speak because this is not our first winter of discontent. "We have become used to disappointment!" I shout, confusing the crowd ever so slightly. The pitchforks and torches lower and a look of confusion sets in. As if something was collectively remembered. "Every six months. Every six months" is an ever growing chant.
No we remember. The growing stale from CES 2009 to a launch on the nation's 3rd largest carrier. The minor spec bump while leaving Sprint faithful forgotten. Palm's eventual sale to HP after marketing and hardware failures. "The event" of 2/9/2011 leaving another six months for hardware to become old news and Dead on Arrival. Then "The announcement" came.
One solitary man's statement that set the world we know ablaze. No longer will HP deal in consumer level hardware. A company that has made a name is now abandoning what made it so huge and powerful. The entire world responds, HP stock plummets 20% the following day.
A small flock of vultures have gathered around the crowd and myself. Ghastly scavengers feeding off the idea that a once great mobile OS is now suffering the same fate of lesser opponents. They do not care how tainted the meat they feast upon is, just as long as it is nourishing.
My orange clad brethren look terrified by this ever growing group of carnivorous fowl. I whisper.
"We must hold strong, this has been done before!" and without hesitation I remember a company that others thought was mad for doing the exact same thing 6 years ago. IBM stock buckled, vultures gathered, and the company remains strong.
I present a case to the crowd. Hardware has been our major problem. No company in the history of mobile has managed to have both an incredibly powerful OS with near unlimited potential and also been in charge of creating what it is running on. webOS has never treated me like a child or told me I could not do something. Only our hardware has limited us." The once appealing fruit is now abandoned as the vulture flies away.
A green tinged crow flies overhead with a mechanical squawk. "webOS has had a shortage of apps, but only in quantity and not in quality. We have once again been limited by stale hardware that is not appealing to developers." The crow departs, but I'm sure an offspring will be out in the next three months looking even more falsely impressive.
Sounds of rustling clothes are breaking out between the factions of the crowd. An odd sounding elder sounds off "We must remain strong!" A calm has settled when we can all see each other for what we have in common. We have something that can become great.
"Today, we sit at a cusp. Two giants are fighting for control. One is making a huge purchase to control 1/3rd of potentially all hardware and updates for it's OS. The other is the current champ with more wins than can be counted. Lately, those wins are coming in the form of judges preventing the challenger from having a fair fight. However, this fight will more than likely end in a macabre fashion"
"The challenger is popular, but his moves are far from graceful even with hardware over twice as powerful as ours. The champion has made many enemies on his path to success and has a history that only points to another low point. Freedom is a great thing"
"We are now free from our otherwise lackluster hardware. HP" the crowd shrieks and hisses "HP has finally made a correct decision!" A silence falls as we realize the End of Days has happened.
"Yes, HP has killed our hardware. Our hardware was our problem." I stop speaking and slowly draw and point to the glyphs that have been inscribed on a nearby stone wall.
The one known as Samsung who has given much power to the domineering fruit has now been spurned for following the Challenger. Rancid Apple bits have harmed and are continuing to plague Samsung. An antidote may have been found. One that Samsung may find bitter to swallow, but cannot argue with the results as compared to it's current placebo.
The biggest fight we have seen is threatening to bring down the entire sphere. Two competitors do not make innovation, competition makes innovation. Bruce Lee did not become a master martial artist by himself or by sticking to Eastern Philosophy. Bruce Lee also studied other greats including the boxer Jack Dempsey's stance and punches.
"We are worthy." begins to build to a roar from the crowd. A small crowd that has the voice of a far larger crowd and has proven it time and time again. One fresh scribble on the stone wall has given us hope.
We are left to hope and wait out this winter once again. We have weathered some harsh seasons before, but this one could prove deadly and quite long. We must hold together and let our voice be known. #webOS
posted by snotball007 @ 7:47 PM
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