Betamax vs. VHS

(YouTube link)

Young people puzzle over videotape, and we may laugh at how outdated it is, but at one time it was a revolutionary idea for consumers. This is a history lesson. Way back when, viewers had no choice about what to watch in their homes, except for the few TV channels that broadcast what they had on their own schedules. Then home video debuted and opened up an entirely new world. Sony’s Betamax format was first, followed by JVC’s VHS format. Betamax was the higher-quality format, but VHS soon buried them as the consumer’s choice. Why? Bill Hammack, the Engineer Guy, explains what happened in the late 1970s to settle the videotape war. -via Viral Viral Videos   


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Most certainly they will. In many ways they're being forced to make very fast change and growth. They're taking risks with new buildings that the west would not dare for another 20 yrs.

I had a look after seeing this post. But I suspect his vision is very tunneled.
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Actually, it refers to the dominant product. A product can become locked-in, or dominant in a market, despite inferior qualities or even a higher cost. There are many reasons a product can dominate a market in such a way. Essentially though, it comes down to the decision making agents in the system (us consumers) feeling a product is the better buy simply because it has a dominant share of the market, even if they don't really prefer that product.

VHS and, more famously, the QWERTY keyboard are good examples of product/technology dominance due to lock-in.
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Musk knows that he has a product that no one will be competing with. The big three are so locked into fossil fuel that they have no personal incentive to change. They just released a commercial to tell everyone how not buying from a dealership will destroy your purchase and is evil. They're scared but unwilling to change. at least not at the rate Musk is pushing the envelope. Considering how fast Tesla upgrades their cars he has nothing to worry about. And the release will only encourage widespread tinkering only to increase the growth more. You and I cannot make a care at home. But we sure as hell can buy one, go one a few maker forums and add some things we'd like to see and we're all the happier for it. I think he's learned a lot from Space-X and how the group has quickly evolved the product far faster than committee ever could.

On a side note, I sincerely cannot believe this engineer guy even made this video let alone posted it.
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