Winning the Hardware-Software Game
Using Game Theory to Optimize the Pace of New Technology Adoption
Innovators of new technology systems requiring users to combine both hardware and software components often face delays in adoption of their new systems. Users will not buy the hardware until enough software or content is available, while at the same time software providers will not provide content until enough users have adopted the new system. This book examines the dynamics of this adoption process and provides methods for optimizing the pace of adoption of new technology systems. Read more...
Insights Blog
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- Written by Ruth Fisher
I have always thought about technology as a tool that we develop and improve and customize and adapt to use to help us do whatever it is we want to do faster and easier and better. In other words, we shape and control technology.
However, recently I’ve come to realize that, rather than simply us controlling technology, technology actually shapes and controls us.
Consider the example of clocks. Over time, we have developed and improved and customized and adapted clocks to meet our needs. We have huge clocks in watchtowers and churches that tell time for masses of people. We have wall clocks that tell time for organizations, and grandfather clocks that tell time for households, and watches and alarm clocks that tell time for us personally. And we customize all these clocks and watches to be more functional or more decorative to suit our needs and personalities. Clearly, it must be true that we shape and control clocks and watches.
Read more: Do We Shape Technology, or Does Technology Shape Us?
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