installed base

Dear Amazon and Google...

Dear Amazon and Google,

You kids need to learn to play better together. The "you-can't-cast-Amazon Video-to-your-TV" and "you-can't-watch-YouTube-on-FireTV" has got to stop. Remember when we couldn't use MS Office on a Mac, or iTunes on a PC? Apple and Microsoft were able to get past it.

I know what you're each thinking: "The battle for the Smart Home ecosystem is young, and we're gonna win it. We'll get an installed base, and then no one will want to change all their stuff over." You know what you forgot about? US - the consumers! We don't want to have to check which systems each smart light, lock, speaker, etc. will play with every single time we want to buy something. All that new tech is great, but you're detracting from a lot of the convenience that you're selling.

So, you need to work it out. If I need to be the grown-up that pushes the two kids begrudgingly toward each other on the ball field to make them shake hands and mutter, "sorry", then so be it. You know where to find me.

Fondly, John