To: Wes Stevens who wrote (9113 ) 1/7/2000 9:39:00 PM From: Savant Read Replies (3) | Respond to
Wes, A standard makes things easier to build and integrate with other things..most things in mass production have standards that are adhered to..for instance..a relatively low tech item...a bolt, or more properly a machine screw..at one time, there were many, many different types..and it was a real pain to join anything together, different screws would not fit differently threaded holes..and to stock parts for a gazillion different things..like cars, for example, (there used to be more)..was horrendous...imagine if every brand of car, and every item on that car, used a different style of screw.. the parts department would have thousands and thousands of different screws, just to join two things together.. so now there are still quite a few, but a few standards were implemented, so to join those things together many companies make an item that can do the job, and you can choose between them on the basis of how well they make the screw..not on the style of it.......now, take that back to our situation....the VHS is one example of a standard..many tapes, made by many companies, fit many different machines..it makes life so much easier for everyone...the companies then compete on the quality of the product itself, and the add on features... rather than trying to develop a new tape (read operating system) for each brand..that won't work with all of the others..confuses the issue and every one involved.
