[mbesto]

This is article's premise is weird on so many accounts..

It's "crippling innovation"...what!? Retro design isn't an institution, or a person, or even a "thing". It's a concept that designers take in order to progress towards a more usable interface.

You know what "cripples" innovation - massive design changes that happen in extended batch schedules. Technically this doesn't cripple innovation, it simply decreases innovative adoption and user acceptance.