And what are some current examples?
Ask HN: What are the signs a piece of technology will become commoditized?
1–10 of 54 posts
Re: Ask HN: What are the signs a piece of technology will become commoditized?
#2Doesn't all technology eventually become commoditized? At the latest, after the patents expire.
I think every piece of tech ever invented is either commoditized or is on a path to become so.
I think it would be more productive to see if anyone can name a tech that isn't commoditized and isn't likely to in the future.
Re: Ask HN: What are the signs a piece of technology will become commoditized?
#3"Commoditized" meaning "sold as a product?"
If you can produce more than one and sell it at a price people are willing to pay, it will be commoditized - right?
Particle colliders probably won't be commoditized; spacecraft will.
Re: Ask HN: What are the signs a piece of technology will become commoditized?
#4I guess opensourcing is the sign. See what Joel has to say on this: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/StrategyLetterV.html
Re: Ask HN: What are the signs a piece of technology will become commoditized?
#5Doesn't all technology eventually become commoditized? At the latest, after the patents expire. I think every piece of tech ever invented is either commoditized or is on a path to become so. I think it would be more productive to see if anyone can name a tech that isn't commoditized and isn't likely to in the future.
Nuclear power. Most things military. Many things aerospace.
Re: Ask HN: What are the signs a piece of technology will become commoditized?
#6Doesn't all technology eventually become commoditized? At the latest, after the patents expire. I think every piece of tech ever invented is either commoditized or is on a path to become so. I think it would be more productive to see if anyone can name a tech that isn't commoditized and isn't likely to in the future.
Nuclear power. Most things military. Many things aerospace.
You could make an argument that those things aren't bought and sold in a free market. Passenger planes and general aviation planes are at least semi-commoditized, but fighters, bombers, spy planes, missiles are all built for basically one buyer, the US DoD. The DoD decides which firms succeed and which fail, essentially. The "market" for nuclear power plants is so regulated as to prevent it from being "free" except to someone whose job depends on that market being "free".
Re: Ask HN: What are the signs a piece of technology will become commoditized?
#7"Commoditized" meaning "sold as a product?" If you can produce more than one and sell it at a price people are willing to pay, it will be commoditized - right? Particle colliders probably won't be commoditized; spacecraft will.
It usually means a product which can be bought from multiple providers, all largely equivalent in terms of features, and therefore primarily competing on price:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commoditization
Crude oil and oil paintings signed by Pablo Picasso have both been known to be sold for money, but only one of them is a commodity.
Re: Ask HN: What are the signs a piece of technology will become commoditized?
#8I'm no marketeer, but off the top of my head:
- Branding - Word of mouth - Market value
It's tough to become commoditized in this market tho'
Re: Ask HN: What are the signs a piece of technology will become commoditized?
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nuclear power. Most things military. Many things aerospace.
You could make an argument that those things aren't bought and sold in a free market. Passenger planes and general aviation planes are at least semi-commoditized, but fighters, bombers, spy planes, missiles are all built for basically one buyer, the US DoD. The DoD decides which firms succeed and which fail, essentially. The "market" for nuclear power plants is so regulated as to prevent it from being "free" except t…
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Re: Ask HN: What are the signs a piece of technology will become commoditized?
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nuclear power. Most things military. Many things aerospace.
You could make an argument that those things aren't bought and sold in a free market. Passenger planes and general aviation planes are at least semi-commoditized, but fighters, bombers, spy planes, missiles are all built for basically one buyer, the US DoD. The DoD decides which firms succeed and which fail, essentially. The "market" for nuclear power plants is so regulated as to prevent it from being "free" except t…
Considering the huge risk someone would be putting many others in by attempting to construct and run a fission facility, I'm not sure anyone should be "free" to do so.