I agree with your beer comment. I try a lot of craft beers, but wouldn’t go for a second pint of a lot of them. I like a good lager on a hot summer day.
My general theme really is about how in most technological developments you start out with many start-ups, but as the technology matures, you seem to end up with a few large, consolidated vendors.
However, the press seems to treat every press release as the dawning of a fantastic new age, without any caveats. I guess they have to fill their pages with something, and regurgitating press releases is easier than a lot of other writing.
As for Boeing, if they can’t right their own ship (airplane), the government will likely step in to save them. I just can’t see the U.S. letting Boeing exit the market. U.S. gov did, after all, rescue GM and Chrysler in the auto sector. One answer might be to combine Boeing with Lockheed Martin and create the Truly Colossal All American Airplane Company (TCAAAC).