[e2e] New approach to diffserv...

[Jonathan M. Smith]

> 
> In message <200206171533.g5HFX8mo010370 at central.cis.upenn.edu>, "Jonathan M. Sm
> ith" writes:
> 
> >Well I didn't say that no one would invest in a commodity business - it's
> >clear that's not true. But here is the more relevant question - will innovatio
>  >n
> >occur as quickly without big enough profits to sustain risks?
> 
> Who says big profits equal innovation?

Not me - see above. But good question nonetheless. I would argue
(peeking at the point made below) that the model for risk/reward
has simply changed. Cisco paid for R&D indirectly, by buying
small companies, where the founders did applied R&D with some help
from VCs, and then did some profit-taking via the 
acquisition! :-) But I think this supports my point rather than
detracting from it.

								-JMS

> 
> In fact, the pressure over recent years for profit-making companies is to
> get rid of research, because it is hard to quantify the return on investment --
> especially in the short term.  Cisco bragged for years about not spending
> money on research.
> 
> I'd argue that an open network encourages innovation because it keeps
> the cost of entry low, and thus the potential return for small investment
> remains high.
> 
> Craig