> What happened? The introduction of entirely new architectural platforms and related distribution channels provided a unique opportunity. I doubt that it woul

> What happened? The introduction of entirely new architectural platforms and related distribution channels provided a unique opportunity. I doubt that it would have been possible without this. (Xerox PARC, BTW, was never a market factor, but only a research facility.) In a few cases, the breaking of the dot-com bubble provided an opportunity for a major reset (compare the demise of SUN, this probably relates to Oracle, as well.) * Regarding "viable contenders": I'm not intending any valuation. It's rather a factual statement about if and where there are services of a similar capability. (Turns out, there is some kind of systemic aspect to this.) *) You may say, those who relate to the internet as "broken" are yearning for a similar hiatus or paradigm shift.