A platform stuck in time

Vintage is great in some contexts—I like old woodworking hand tools. Even in our modern jobs, some vintage tools, like a pencil and paper, are still very useful.

But information technology moves forward, and we rarely benefit from using decade-old phones, computers, programs, etc.

New information technology and tools are often simpler to use and more powerful. Some examples:

• C -> Go/Rust/Zig

• Apache -> Caddy

• Vim -> Helix

• x86 -> ARM -> RISCv (MPU)

• 8051 -> PIC -> ARM -> RISCv (MCU)

• FreeRTOS -> Zephyr

• Kafka -> NATS

• Rotating storage -> Solid state

Information technology, and perhaps computer technology in general, is different. The physical constraints are largely removed as we scale into GHz and Terabytes, which opens the doors to human innovation and collaboration.

Innovation is largely a process of discovery, so you can't predict where it will go and what will happen. It is a result of development iterations that are now happening at a massive scale and distributed across the globe.

Therefore, when you lock yourself into some version of technology in the name of stability, cost savings, or whatever, you are also limiting the potential for your product -- for interesting things to happen that no one could have predicted.

It takes humility to acknowledge this -- that you can't see the future, the best you can do is prepare for it.

YOUR Platform is the vehicle that keeps your product development moving forward with technology so that you are not stuck in time as you watch it pass you by.