[toyg]

I don't think it was the downturn that did it. Companies look at successful companies for hints on how to succeed. What has been the most successful company on the planet for more than a decade? Apple.

Apple are not shy about "owning" their platform, and they aggressively leverage their walled gardens. The market did not punish them; in fact, users raved about their "refined" experience. Other companies took note and ran with it.

[erikb]

That Apple thing might have been a reason. Another one might have been that if you don't follow a standard it's easier to debug your code and add the features management craves so much. I've seen that at work projects before where the developers pretty much enforced removing standard interfaces to get more freedom to resolve their tasks. It's a pity when not even developers see the advantages of interoperability of their services, but it happens just as often.