The 3 1/4" floppy, VHS, compact disks, Postscript (tm), the list of standards is endless. But, how do these standards come about and who decides how long they last? Standards in the computer industry are perhaps the most elusive of all. Every year power increases, prices drop, technology evolves. Contrary to popular belief, big money, big corporations, or big government do not have as much power to impose standards on the American consumer as they would like you to believe.

Who sets the standards? Usually, some large corporation develops some technology their marketing division tells them is indispensable to all except some beet farmer in Alabama. More often then not, two large corporations come up with the same idea, with similar technology, yet with different executions. The Beta vs. VHS battle of the early 80s proved that superior technology does not necessarily reign victorious. Beta had better audio and picture quality while VHS had 2 hours more recording time. VHS won.

Apple and Microsoft have each marketed their respective operating systems for personal computers for more than a decade. The easier, more intuitive Apple OS is close to extinction even though Microsoft's current OS, Windows95, is no more advanced than Apple's 1984 release of System 6. DOS, still the dominant operating system in the world, is based on technology that predates disco. Go figure.

Apple vs. Microsoft proved corporate muscle can overcome quality deficiencies while Beta vs. VHS proved corporate muscle and quality might not be enough. Lessons learned: in the end, the consumer will pick whatever he or she wants, regardless of hype, marketing power, quality, ease of use, or any other perceived or actual differences. Result: corporations are less willing to risk the billions of dollars they spend on R&D on a standards battle.

Sony/Philips and Toshiba have been brawling it out for the next standard in VCD (video compact disks) that can hold 10 times the amount of information of current CD-ROMS. The ramifications, in terms of dollars and prestige, are huge, not just on the home entertainment front but on the computer front as well. Sony, still shamed from the Betamax fiasco and more recently, the mini-disk, caved in two weeks ago to Toshiba. Rather than risk losing a multi-billion dollar battle, these two warring camps have made an uneasy truce to develop a single standard and fill both their coffers with consumer bucks. At least, that is their plan.

Does this mean Sony and Toshiba's VCD will become a standard, the next VCR, the next CD-ROM, the next thnead (the truffela suits from "the Lorax")? Sometimes standards will not be accepted, no matter how much muscle is thrown behind them. I still remember my first day of school back in fourth grade. We walked into class and were told, matter of factly, that the United States was joining the world-wide Metric system standard. All year we struggled with meters and kilograms and liters. I never did quite understand how 25 degrees of ANYTHING, even Celsius, could be considered warm, much less hot. By March, all the classes but science had dropped this new fangled "wave of the future" and reverted back to good 'ole feet, inches, pounds, and most importantly, Fahrenheit.

And what if, by some miracle, a standard is accepted? The consumers accept and purchase it, the competitors bow out and lick their wounds, and the old products fade into the sunset. How long will that standard last? 8-track lasted less time than anyone would care to remember. Floptical (the 21 megabyte floppy drive) never even got off the ground. The VHS VCR, on the otherhand, has been around over a decade and although it has undergone some minor tweaks here and there, including stereo and S-VHS, it is essentially the same VCR from 1985. The floppy, in its current form has also been around over a decade while so called "replacements" have come and gone. Will VHS and floppy be replaced with newer, better technology? Undoubtedly, but the new standard will not be imposed by some corporate alliance. I've heard Iomega's new Zip drive, the cause of so much fascination here on The Motley Fool, touted as the floppy replacement. Might this happen? It is possible, anything is, but one thing is certain, whether the Zip replaces floppies or VCD replaces the VCR, it is the consumer (you and I) who will be making these decisions. We will decide with our purchasing power, that almighty dollar, whether these things will happen. Of course there are those who still cling to their 8-tracks like a child to a teddy bear, and many of us who will forever mourn the passing of the beloved vinyl LP, but rest assured, for as long as we stick together, banded under the banners of Visa and Mastercard, as long as we resist uncomfortable change and hold out for nothing short of miraculous, we shall forever be able to say, "it's 85 degrees out, lets grab the radio, a couple of pounds of potato salad, and hit the beach. After all, it's only a few miles away. . ."