Books about consumer technology standardization

July 23, 2015 6:23 AM

At first there was HD DVD and BluRay and there was a sales war. Presumably, both standards sold, but BluRay sold better and the consumers who bought HD DVD technology were left with junk. I'm looking for books that describe this type of process of technology standardization and adoption in technology.

The above cycle is pretty standard and familiar. The examples that first come to mind are Betamax/VHS and HD DVD/BluRay. There are more, too. Are there any books that explore this common standards lifecycle?

posted by lalunamel to Computers & Internet (4 answers total)

This is a little old school but I've been reading (or meaning to start) One Good Turn: A Natural History of the Screwdriver and the Screw but in looking it up I found this other article that I should probably read At the Turn of a Screw: William Sellers, the Franklin Institute, and a Standard American Thread. Basically it's this question but way back before screw threads were standardized. You can imagine.
posted by jessamyn at 6:29 AM on July 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

AC/DC: The Savage Tale of the First Standards War
posted by bgrebs at 10:16 AM on July 23, 2015

I don't have specific reading recs, but a term that might help is "digital divide." It refers to technological gaps, like those who have smartphones and those who don't, so it comes up in a lot of those discussions.
posted by mermaidcafe at 8:27 AM on July 24, 2015

This Gizmodo article about VHS vs. Betamax links to some sources at the end. You may want to check those out.
posted by SisterHavana at 2:30 PM on July 25, 2015