The obsession with next
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The obsession with next
1–10 of 55 posts
Re: The obsession with next
#2I think the obsession with next comes not because we're obsessed with new, but because we're excited about it!
New technology, new ideas, new innovation - it's all happening at lightning speed. We're part of the greatest time in the history of the world IMO, and that's why we love next - we can't wait to see it.
We're inventing fire, the wheel, and the printing press back to back. Whether we like it or not, next is the new drug.
Re: The obsession with next
#3The thing about software development is that the technology (tools) changes faster than you can evolve a product. Integrating new technologies into an existing product can be a real challenge. If all you do is evolve, there inevitably comes a point where your product is behind the curve. Basecamp and Fogbugz are good products that were probably great at some point, but now they just seem old and crusty compared to products like Asana and Pivotal Tracker.
I'd argue that in order to stay competitive, you need to either evolve rapidly enough to keep up with the pace of technology (Gmail, Facebook), or rethink and rebuild the product before it falls behind.
Re: The obsession with next
#4I think the obsession with next comes not because we're obsessed with new, but because we're excited about it! New technology, new ideas, new innovation - it's all happening at lightning speed. We're part of the greatest time in the history of the world IMO, and that's why we love next - we can't wait to see it. We're inventing fire, the wheel, and the printing press back to back. Whether we like it or not, next is t…
I agree. I think the title of the article is quite unrelated to what comes after.
What DHH is railing against is impatience and not about what comes next. After all, isn't Rails itself the result of DHH being fed up of the "now" and wanting to do the "next"?
Re: The obsession with next
#5The thing about software development is that the technology (tools) changes faster than you can evolve a product. Integrating new technologies into an existing product can be a real challenge. If all you do is evolve, there inevitably comes a point where your product is behind the curve. Basecamp and Fogbugz are good products that were probably great at some point, but now they just seem old and crusty compared to pr…
There are lots of hottest web startups out there that use LAMP as their primary stack. Even more, first version of Mint.com was written (horror!) in Java.
The technology stack has absolutely nothing to do with your ability to keep the pace with competition.
Re: The obsession with next
#6I knew Steve Jobs was doing it all wrong!
Re: The obsession with next
#7The thing about software development is that the technology (tools) changes faster than you can evolve a product. Integrating new technologies into an existing product can be a real challenge. If all you do is evolve, there inevitably comes a point where your product is behind the curve. Basecamp and Fogbugz are good products that were probably great at some point, but now they just seem old and crusty compared to pr…
It's hard to compare Asana, which still hasn't outgrown beta, to a product like Basecamp that has serviced millions of users.
I agree that Basecamp feels a bit stale, but I don't think it's as much about technology as it is about their design and development philosophy.
Re: The obsession with next
#8This post seems inspired from a discussion DHH had on twitter with @obie (founder of hashrocket) yesterday about people in their positions moving on to new ventures or staying for the long term of what they helped start.
Obie's position was primarily that it's better to get out of your comfort zone and continue to create new things.
(Discussion starting from http://twitter.com/#!/obie/status/39778057610997760)
Re: The obsession with next
#9I think the obsession with next comes not because we're obsessed with new, but because we're excited about it! New technology, new ideas, new innovation - it's all happening at lightning speed. We're part of the greatest time in the history of the world IMO, and that's why we love next - we can't wait to see it. We're inventing fire, the wheel, and the printing press back to back. Whether we like it or not, next is t…
>We're part of the greatest time in the history of the world IMO
That's quite a claim. Technology must be advancing fast if you already have Muad'Dib's ability to perceive all of human history simultaneously as one infinite structure extending in both directions. How did I miss Steve Jobs getting the Arrakis fiefdom?
Or could it be that Now is always the greatest part of history because it's by definition the only part that you can ever inhabit? Like how your headaches will always be so much worse than everyone else's because they're happening in your head.
Re: The obsession with next
#10I dunno, 99% of the people I talk to (the rest of the world) is less worried about what new technology is next than when current technology will work right. What's next, according to them:
- When will the website work for any browser?
- When will the website talk to the fulfillment system?
- When will I be able to log in with less than 14 passwords?
- When will we be able to use our mouse on the Report Writer?
- When will credit cards go through without problems?
- When will my phone not drop calls?
- When will Ticket # 15429 be done?
- When will my email tell me I have voicemail?
- When will it take less than 5 minutes to power up?
- When can I stop worrying about viruses?
- When will someone stop spam?
- When will someone in IT listen to my problems, even if they're not cool?