It's sadly astounding how many innovative or attractive products are destroyed because greed often believes a) there's more fat to cut (reduce overhead), b) we have to evolve (forced "innovation/features") or die, c) both.
There's certainly more to add but those two alone can easily account for the downfall of so many things in modern history.
That was a very interesting read for so many reasons. Thanks for sharing - a true slice of history and personality.