Let the Real fight now begin
The founders’ group has 13 members comprising the leading names in consumer electronics and computing, among them Sony Corp., Philips, Thomson, Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co.
The Blu-ray format those companies are backing is expected to compete with another blue-laser standard, HD DVD, backed by NEC Corp. and Toshiba Corp.
Players, computer drives and software compatible with the Blu-ray format are expected on the market by the end of 2005. Microsoft Corp. said last month the next generation of its Windows operating system would be compatible with HD DVD. At the time, it did not commit one way or another on Blu-ray.
I’m seriously confused.
Whenever it comes time for a standard to be set, the bozos involved square off into opposing teams. The ONLY result is delaying products that need such a standard. The consumer (other than early adopters) becomes seriously confused and, as should be expected, sits on the sidelines.
This flawed strategy has been repeated time and time again, despite the warnings of journalists like you. Don’t these guys read the press? Don’t they hear their customers (the distributors and dealers, not the users)?
OK, rant over. Let’s move on to the next standard that will fall prey to this insanity.
This flawed strategy…
Shades of Betamax, like sands through the hourglass these are the technologies of our times. It’s no wonder venture capital has begun drying up. It would appear easy to establish a standard format for Blu-ray. I’d suggest that it be an open standard and hardware like software would benefit the consumer. It seems simple enough. Create demand for the new devices and drivers and software will dictate use and utility. So what if Microsoft doesn’t support Blu-ray. Millions of others will.
First step: Have an open process that encourages innovation.
After the format is established, make it subject to change and constant improvement using open source code and then watch investment in new devices multiply the benefits and new product offerings for consumers. The other way is to have this big war over the format and wait to see what Microsoft will do next. I think that Blu-ray is good to go, so all this positioning, politicing and formatting debate is unneccessary. Blu-ray could move ahead faster as a result of open standards and can benefit users sooner rather than later. “Linux on the mainframe is ready for prime time,” said Jim Goethals, infrastructure simplification program manager at IBM. “It’s real.” The mainframe computer was widely considered a dinosaur just a few years ago. Maybe IBM will begin developing Blu-ray tools and make these dumb closed standards dinosaurs and we won’t ever have another Betamax like situation. The mainframe isn’t extinct.
What open source needs is LOVE LOVE LOVE! Visit the JFK Plaza
http://www.boutell.com/boutell/fountain/
Micro$oft didn’t announce support for Blu-ray, in an article published a month before the Blu-ray “standard” is released? Who cares? Since the drives will not be on the market for almost a year, I’m sure Micro$oft has plenty of time to decide on whether they will support it. And, as Jim states, if they don’t – third-party sources will.
Jim,
Thanks for the laughs – from your statements:
1. “It would appear easy to establish a standard format for Blu-ray.”
Yeah, that’s why it took the 13 patent-holders and associates so long to settle on a format. Can you say “design by committee”? I knew you could! They aren’t in this for the common good, they are in it for profit and competitive advantage. And, you can’t even start he proceedings until you have at least one member with patent-rights to using the blue-wavelength laser-diode. And, If they’re not happy – no deal. 🙁
2. “After the format is established, make it subject to change and constant improvement…”.
Are you serious? Do you mean like the early “standard” with 3.5-inch floppies – that started as single-sided 360K, moved to double-sided 720k, and then double-sided 1.44M? How would that idea have worked for music CDs or DVDs or VCRs? On the software side, it would be like all the various versions of Word “.doc” files (a recent subject of John’s online column). For hobbyist/geeks, the pursuit of continuous-improvement in capability is fine. But for the non-geek mass-market – how many people would be interested in, let alone understand the nuances of, a continual “upgrade cycle” of their movie-players?
My apologies to Jim, and other readers, for using the bold function to emphasize portions of my post.
Reading it myself, it reminds me of people seeming to “yell” online, BY TYPING IN ALL CAPITOL LETTERS. 🙁
I’ll start using italics in the future – and try to use them sparingly.
Mike,
This Blu-ray technology appears promising. I’m no expert on Blu-ray, but I think profit and competitive advantage are the common good. Basically what we have here is a great little high capacity drive that should sell very well. I like a good piece of code or a nifty program as much as the next guy, but I’d rather spend my money on new hardware. I’d be happy with a barebones drive and a software download site. Of course the drives will come bundled with an XP software package, all kinds of documentation and be stamped Windows Compatible. That way the average moron can go to a big box store, drive home and figure the thing. The manufacturer can sell it for more money because it works with Windows (maybe). Maybe they’ll toss in a free copy of Napster, so you can download songs at a buck a pop.