Consumed => “How RIM Died a Slow Death: The Curse of Unmitigated Technical Debt” by Mister Citizen on his/her blog.

http://mistercitizen.tumblr.com/post/26154921650/how-rim-died-a-slow-death-the-curse-of-unmitigated

But this is the key line, isn’t it:

“To go from developing for iOS and Android devices to developing for BlackBerry devices was like going back to the future.”

My interpretation of that line is this: If it wasn’t for RIM there would be no iphone, Android, etc. Let’s be honest (and grateful) there was no phone envy until the Crackberry. No doubt RIM has slipped. But not giving RIM some respect would be like saying, “Pele sucks. He’s too old to play.” [With that said…Go Spain! Euro 2012 reference.)

And RIM isn’t the first “tech” company—nor will it be the last—to be handcuffed by its success. They did the R&D and prototyping for Apple et al and with the heavy lifting out of the way these other outfits ran with it. In other words, RIM (technology) debt was OSX’s and Android’s gain. Looking at RIM and only RIM, “technology debt” is accurate. However, looking at RIM in the broader context of the technology ecosystem, RIM is owed some respect and perhaps even some retribution.