Yeah that xkcd came to my mind as well. I'm amazed at the timeless truths he captures in those comics. Creating another version which may be better isn't the hard part. Gaining consensus and getting people to give up the other ones is the hard part.
As existing solutions get more painful, people quickly adopt less painful (i.e. generally better) solutions. So it's tied just as much to how much the old ways suck as to how good the new ways are.
