>> I can't seem to wrap my head around people blaming [Comcast] for building [services] that other people can't improve on

Or that again but replace with Microsoft and IE6 (in its heyday) and you'll realize what that "can't improve on" actually means.

Other OSes can't compete because they lack the push to critical mass needed to build a solid app ecosystem, not because they are inherently inferior. It's a vicious circle where you need apps to get big and need to be big to get apps. If on top of that Google piles on the requirement that any manufacturer is either with or against Google, so they have to swear off any other OS in order to have access to Google services, you get some really insurmountable odds.

I think there's a difference between: saying "Google makes products that people are unable to improve upon" and saying that Google "can't force manufacturers to use their software".

Those just seem...like totally different statements to me. Yes, Google has done an amazing job building a great software platform. No, despite the fact that Google is the best, they are not allowed to use that market dominance to assert undue control over the rest of the ecosystem.

I guess I just don't see anyone blaming Google for making amazing products. People were blaming Google for using the immense leverage that their near-monopoly position put them in (because they made amazing products).