Choice is good.

The deal is to have a common set of guidelines. A good example is source code control software. The major vendors have agreed on the SCC API for interoperability.

FWIW, the example you give is not all that great. Perhaps a few additional tweaks were needed in order for the POS software to work with the accounting software. The example you give, either real or contrived, does little to weaken the argument that choice is bad.

>John,
>
>You mean to tell me you never had the pleasure of getting on the phone to your Point of Sale software vendor because the Point of Sale software is not updating your inventory in the Accounting software. Even thou the point of sale software brochure specifically stated it worked hand-in-hand with xyz accounting.
>
>I think moreso than any other industry, sometimes choices in IT can lead to more problems than are solved.
>
>PF
>
>>The more competition there is, the better off consumers will be. Folks confuse competition with a lack of standards. As long as a common framework/guidelines exist, the more folks that are in the market place to innovate new products - the better off the consumer will be. Why folks think one has to come at the expense of the other is beyond me...
>>
>>Choice - Good
>>Lack of Choice - Bad