🚀 go-pugleaf

In <ant0617210b0fN*k...@wjmurphy.enterprise.net>
    W J Murphy <wjmu...@enterprise.net> writes:

>In article <32F92E...@boeing.com>, Chris Beamis
><URL:mailto:christophe...@boeing.com> wrote:
>> gmar...@primenet.com wrote:
>> > sew...@netcom.ca (John Savard) wrote:
>> > >Iain Wilkie Logan <iain...@enterprise.net> wrote:
>> > >>Or VHS versus Betamax - a case of a
>> > >>poorer technology becoming predominant, which is relatively unusual. 
>> they said that technologyies were not sufficiently different to
>> influence the system.

>OK. Chuck video8 into the argument. It's good enough for the BBC to
>use to archive their programs with. Why aren't there home video
>recorders using the system (camcorders do). The only Video8 home
>machines that even appeared where high end Sony machines.

Hi8, isn't it? It's much more compact in terms of the media size,
so better for archive storage. It proabbly won't be long before they
change to DV or mini-DV.

>The reason for the successes are not linked to how good the products
>are, it is linked to how easily they can be copied.

>Betamax - Sony - copyright
>Video8 - Sony - copyright
>Apple mac - Apple - copyright

>Compact cassette - Philips - public domain
>VHS - Philips?/JVC?  - public domain ??
>IBM PC - IBM - public domain

By the same argument:

Linux - Free
NetBSD - Free
TeX - Open standard

vs

MS-DOS - Proprietary and closed
MS-Windows - Proprietary and closed
MS-Word - Proprietary and closed

So explain the "success" of the latter?

The answer is plain and simple, and it has been known for centuries,
because the same rules still apply when you're selling something.
-- 
Bernd Felsche {speaking for himself}
MetaPro Systems Pty Ltd, Redcliffe, Western Australia
Phone: +61 9 479 3722 Fax: +61 9 479 3720