Almost every new technology comes at first in a dizzying variety of styles, and then converges to what later seems the "obvious" configuration. It is actually quite an eye-opener to go back and see old might-have-beens, from steam-powered cars to pneumatic tube mail to Memex to Englebart’s computer tools. Techs that are only imagined, not implemented, take on the widest range of variations. When actual implementations appear, people slowly figure out what works better, while network and other scale effects lock-in popular approaches. As standards congeal, competitors focus on smaller variations around accepted approaches. Those who stick with odd standards tend to be marginalized.