Apple and Google and, to a lesser extent, Microsoft, have a huge lead in the smart phone mindshare race. Some might argue that the lead is unassailable.

You may have heard of the operating system Tizen (you may even know how to pronounce it: tie-zen, not tee-zen or tiz-zen).

But the chances of it running your smartphone are slim, about the same as having had one of its predecessors or rivals: Maemo, Moblin, MeeGo, Bada, Ubuntu, Sailfish or Firefox.

Hard to argue with that. So why do these companies persist? Are they tilting at windmills? Or, perhaps, are they pursuing the next wave?

Instead, attention is shifting to winning a share of a potentially bigger pie: the software that runs your car, camera, fridge, smartwatch or TV. The thinking here is that if web-based operating systems like Firefox or Tizen can gain a foothold in those internet-connected devices, they could then gain broader acceptance among users and app developers on mobile, too.

Interesting discussion of the internet of things and emerging markets.