Lego Era for Software
John Markoff writes about web-centric software in The New York Times: Software Out There. So called “mash-ups” combine a little from this web service, a little from another, all wrapped in AJAX goodness. It’s a revolution in how software is developed and delivered to customers.
(If you haven’t registered for the FREE NY Times web site, what are you waiting for?)
[tease]
By lowering the cost of software development and thus the barriers to entering both existing and new markets, modular software is putting tremendous pressure on the corporations that have dominated the software industry.
It is also affecting Silicon Valley’s venture capitalists. Start-ups have begun to bypass the venture capital firms, relying instead on individual investors, called “angels,” or out-of-pocket financing, largely because new ventures are not as expensive.
In many cases, the start-ups do not even require the traditional Silicon Valley garage. The new companies are “virtual,” and programmers work from home, relying on nothing more than a personal computer and a broadband Internet connection.
[tease]
Mr. [Ray] Ozzie said. “For years, vendors like Microsoft have put huge resources into tools to build composite applications,” he said. “With mash-ups, the real power becomes the people who can weave the applications together.”