When did our industry not behave this way? In the 80's IBM was the predator, in the 90's it was Microsoft. It's actually refreshing to have 4 or 5 major players vying for dominance. Last century, it was 1 major player against the rest of us.

Yeah. The software industry very quickly forgot what made it hyper successful in the first place: developing solutions that people actually wanted and that made their lives more convenient. You didn't have to advertise too much since these products naturally go viral because, surprise surprise, when you make something good people let other people know how good it is.

Now the industry has been reduced to desperately trying to brute force crap that nobody wants.

Lol, yep. Very honest and relatable take, actually.