🚀 go-pugleaf

   In article <1991May3.224342.9567@sugar.hackercorp.com> jasona@sugar.hackercorp.com (Jason Asbahr) writes:
   There are differences between the concept and implementations. The
   steering wheel is a concept, the particular implimentation is
   patentable given the uniqueness of the design. There are
   alternatives, check out the steering mechanism for a bulldozer.
   [...]
   The point is that yes, once one became familiar with a particular
   manufacturer's system one was reluctant to go to another and
   different method. I also believe that the early days of the
   automobile were filled with suits and eventually you have the big 3
   that you see today. Then came the Japanese, with a 'different'
   idea.

But this is hardly a desirable state of affairs for software, in
particular, since the cost of entry into the software market is so
much lower than into the automobile business (meaning that having a
large number of small, competing software firms is possible).