Class 1: Introduction: course overview and requirements; introduction to technology standards via case studies
Please be sure to review the course description and requirements.
The goal with the readings for Class 1 is simply to give you some factual background that will hopefully facilitate class discussion. As you read, don’t get bogged down in the alphabet soup of acronyms or in the complexity of technical details. Read for high-level points: understand what Blu-Ray, HTML, 3G and DTV are (i.e., be able to provide a 1-sentence description), and glean what you can about how each was created. Similarly, read the Gizmodo article–which is surprisingly entertaining–not for technical details about electrical plugs, but rather for its higher-level points about obstacles to global standards. Based on the facts you glean from the readings and your own intuitions (i.e., additional research is unnecessary), please come to the January 25th class meeting prepared to discuss the questions identified below.
Readings:
Wikipedia article “High definition optical disc format war:” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_definition_optical_disc_format_war
Wikipedia article “HTML,” Introduction and Section 1 (“History”) only: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML (click through to the W3C, IETF and ISO/IEC links as necessary to get a very basic understanding of the nature of each organization).
Wikipedia article “3G,” Introduction and Overview sections only: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3G (click through on the ITU link as necessary to get a very basic understanding of that organization)
Wikipedia article “Grand Alliance (HDTV):” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Alliance_%28HDTV%29 (click through on the ATSC link as necessary to get a very basic understanding of that organization)
Gizmodo article: “Giz Explains: Why Every Country Has a Different F#$%ing Plug” http://gizmodo.com/5391271/giz-explains-why-every-country-has-a-different-fing-plug
Discussion questions:
1. Is it fair to characterize Blu-Ray, HTML, the various 3G specifications, and DTV each as “standards?” Are there factors in the development process or in the markets for implementing products that lend more or less legitimacy to each as a standard?
2. Note that the Blu-Ray article states that “billions” in patent royalties were at stake. Is this surprising? What other interests might drive commercial actors in connection with these standards?
3. Are there non-commercial interests at stake in connection with these standards? Are these non-commercial interests represented in the standards development process, or via some other mechanism?
4. The Gizmodo article bemoans the lack of an international electrical outlet standard, asks rhetorically whether there is any hope for the future, and answers “no.” Do you agree?
Slides:
Linked here (.pdf).
