The Proliferation of Platforms: A great fog facing the modern developer

The hardest single part of building a software system is deciding precisely what to build. - Fred Brooks

Early Platforms: Games:  Midway, Nintendo, Client (Windows) Commerce:  Inventory (database driven) Phone:  Nokia, Motorola

Commerce:  Web, Mobile (hyper-meta based) Phone:  iOS, Android, RIM Games:  Web, Mobile, Steam (on top of client) Contemporary Platforms:

Examples

iTune s

 Continues to beat web-based streaming services. What enabled success?  Something to do with possession.

Mint.com

 Released at a time when client software was go-to for personal finance. What enabled success?  Web enabled syncing.

Tapulou s

 Entered very speculative market. What enabled success?  Embraced interface.

Greplin Demo

Greplin  First instinct would have been mobile. What enabled success?  PC is still primary device.  Originated when founder couldn't find address for party on phone.

WDTD? (What's a developer to do?) Greplin: Where is this address? Mint: Why isn't my accounting up to date? iTunes: How do people interact with their music? Where is this data stored? Why isn't this synced? Where is it easiest to transfer data between hardware?

Thank you.