Good examples. As per iTunes, I used to use it extensively. Probably spent hundreds of dollars over time. And yet I almost exclusively use Spotify now. Although the issue with both is that those businesses exist at the mercy of a few very large labels, so even though somebody could come up with an iTunes/Spotify clone - even in a weekend hack - they would have a near zero chance of getting a label to sign with it, much less enough to reasonably compete with Apple or Spotify. So while they get to enjoy their oligopoly, the reality of the situation isn’t entirely their fault, either.
As per outlook, I use it for work. I work at a big university and higher education moves VERY SLOWLY, so in my case even if a fantastic competitor to Outlook existed, we probably wouldn’t adopt it because we’re comfortable with our Microsoft contract, and even if the prospect was raised of changing email clients, it would probably take a decade to even happen.
I don’t see too much danger with either example. My parents had far less choice when it came to, say, televisions and cars. But things turned out all right.
I get what you're saying, but I'm not sure if televisions and cars are the right comparison since both tend to be capital-intensive endeavors, which has, traditionally, not been the case with software and why it has been sort of this "gateway to wealth creation" that was more similar to pursuits like music or literature.
In the past few years, I've seen a lot of stories about developers leaving software to do other more traditional startups. When one sees a story about someone leaving software to start a bakery or restaurant , we should all be very, very worried. ;-)
As per outlook, I use it for work. I work at a big university and higher education moves VERY SLOWLY, so in my case even if a fantastic competitor to Outlook existed, we probably wouldn’t adopt it because we’re comfortable with our Microsoft contract, and even if the prospect was raised of changing email clients, it would probably take a decade to even happen.
I don’t see too much danger with either example. My parents had far less choice when it came to, say, televisions and cars. But things turned out all right.