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Article:
  Interview with Watson's Dan Wood
Subject:   The Plug in API makes all the difference
Date:   2002-09-26 17:53:25
From:   timoreilly
Even if Watson weren't faster, the plug in architecture makes all the difference. Apple made two big mistakes in knocking off Watson:


1. They did the Microsoft embrace and extend thing, which is potentially fatal in Apple's case, because they don't have the market heft to go it alone without small developers.


2. They left out the most important part. Watson is engineered to be a platform, while Sherlock is only an application. And a platform strategy beats an application strategy every time. I don't know if tiny Karelia will beat Apple in this specific battle, but I guarantee that someone else (most likely Microsoft) will emulate the platform aspect of Watson as well as the application, and will end up owning this new and important space.


If I were Apple, I'd run, not walk, to engage Dan in discussions about how they can work with him to take his ideas to the next level.
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  • Derrick Story photo The Plug in API makes all the difference -- Absolutely!
    2002-09-26 18:43:37  Derrick Story | O'Reilly AuthorO'Reilly Blogger [View]

    I think it's the aspect of Watson that people miss at first -- heck, I missed it at first -- and that's this wonderful robust open architecture that Dan and company have built into this Web-service-like platform. When you really look at it, I think it's clear that Dan has vision, and we get to enjoy the manifestation of his vision.

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