Cortana and Alexas competitors, Google Assistant and Siri, wont be integrating any time soon.
Siri wont run at all on Android.
Google Assistant is more flexible, but it cant order things on Amazon the way Alexa can.
The TV ecosystem is just as bad, largely thanks to Amazons own selfish decisions.
Amazon still hasnt released itspromised Apple TV app, so Prime customers have to streamTransparentandCurb Your Enthusiasmfrom their phones.
There are no plans for an Amazon app on the Chromecast, or forSpotify on Apple TV.
You could choose Google, and miss out on Apples slick interface and seamless desktop-to-mobile integration.
Run Spotify, buy an Echo, and live with their limited capabilities.
Maybe even run Excel on OS X.
All but the most basic users reach outside their main ecosystem at some point.
Historically, these ecosystems tend to open up, making way for the next battle.
Macs and PCs didnt always run so many of the same apps.
Internet Explorer and Netscape were much more mutually exclusive than Chrome and Safari.
And for a while, your Internet came in flavors of AOL, Prodigy, or CompuServe.
Even Android and iOS used to have zero apps in common.
But each time, interoperability won out, bringing (most of) each platforms strengths to everyone.
But things could get worse before they get better.
Eventually there will be winners and losers, or decentralized cooperation.
Every now and then, a new protocol will open up thats as decentralized as email or HTTP.
And the giants of the day will move onto a new fight.
Theres always some third option to jimmy into the gap and outperform all the defaults.
And thats what Lifehackers all about.
