
What D-Day Tells Us About How Tech Goes from Niche to Mass
Today is the 81st anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion of France that began the liberation of Western Europe. I always mark the date, but this is the first time I've been able to commemorate it so personally: Last week, I fulfilled a lifelong dream of hiking the Normandy beaches stormed by those unimaginably brave American, Canadian and British soldiers. Like most who visit, I've tried to imagine how they must have felt. Unlike most, I suspect, I also spent the walk thinking about weather forecasting.
Why? The first and most important decision of D-Day wasn't made on D-Day. It was made two nights before — based on the weather forecast. And the role it played has something to teach us about how revolutionary innovations change the world.
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12 hours ago
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Any concerns about achieving parity of conditions on a changeable day would fade with the fact that French Open matches are not weighed against each other. Deliberately seeking the same conditions across any two matches would go against the nature of an outdoor event with some covered stadia, given that the entire tournament briefly becomes a two-stadium indoor clay event when it rains. The move appeared to have a major effect on the Alcaraz-Musetti match. Chatrier gets dank once the roof closes. The ball stops flying. Alcaraz's balls, which would kick up off the clay in warm, dry conditions, were sticking in the now-soft surface and now staying right in the Musetti strike zone. It's part of how he won the first set and pushed the second to a tiebreak. Advertisement When he had to retire, it was time to get the stadium ready for the night match — and to open the roof. So much for having the same conditions for both semifinals. 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