The lack of platform control creates a paradox where the more useful the extension you make, the more you're beholden to dance to somebody else's tune, ad infin

The lack of platform control creates a paradox where the more useful the extension you make, the more you're beholden to dance to somebody else's tune, ad infinitum, in order to retain the advantage you've created. Unpredictability is at the heart of it. You can invest x $/time, and not know if what you've created is going to stand for 1 year, or 10. On the gripping hand, when the platforms in question are the dominant platforms of, err, all computing in this era, then the above described issue tends to be a minor one, in context, for many applications.