Linus Torvalds on the “four-letter word” called “innovation”
Posted by: admin in Business and PoliticsI think there’s a lot of truth in Linus Torvald’s derisive comment about innovation, and the software industry’s fetish with it.
I think that “innovation” is a four-letter word in the industry. It should never be used in polite company. It’s become a PR thing to sell new versions with.
It was Edison who stated “1% inspiration, 99% perspiration”. That may have been true a hundred years ago. These days it’s “0.01% inspiration, 99.99% perspiration”, and the inspiration is the easy part. As a project manager, I’ve never had trouble finding people with crazy ideas. I have trouble finding people who can execute. IOW, “innovation” is way oversold. And it sure as hell shouldn’t be applied to products like MS Word or Open office.
Amen. Looking around the industry, there’s very tiny “innovation” going on. The iPhone’s interface? Sure. Vista (or, for that matter, Apple’s Leopard)? Nah.
These are incremental technology advances backed by good execution. Microsoft isn’t Microsoft because it makes “innovative” technology. It’s Microsoft because it tends to keep the trains running on time.
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