Description
Book SynopsisOne of the most important elements in the computer revolution has been agreement on technological standards. This book tells the complete story of the battle between several competing technologies in the late 1970s and early 1980s to become the compatibility standard in one high-tech arena, the LAN (local area network) industry.
Trade Review"An important and defining look at the early days of local area networking. Von Burg has captured the interplay of science, people, money, and luck that defines the high-stakes technology business."-—Jim Swartz, founder, Accel Partners
"Few people are aware of the intense battles that resulted in today's networking standards. Urs von Burg's engaging history of this tumultuous period, with its analysis of the technological ecosystems and marketing economics involved, contains valuable lessons for anyone interested in capturing a dominant market share for an innovation."-—Dr. Harry J. Saal, former chairman, Network General
"Superb. . . . A solid and thoroughly researched study of a major segment of the global high-technology economy. Von Burg's theory of 'technological communities' is an important contribution."-—Richard Florida, Carnegie Mellon University
"A vivid picture of a turbulent time. Von Burg objectively describes the technical, financial, and personal battles involved, and he puts the issues into a larger context that will be useful for making sense of today's technological developments."—Maris Graube, founder and ex-chair, IEEE 802.
"This was a fascinating read." --
Knowledge, Technology & Policy"It was refreshing to see that—at last—one author in the standards domain acknowledges the importance of individual contributors and refrains from seeing the world purely through an economist's eyes." --
Knowledge, Technology, & Policy"I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in standards research and/or history of computing and networking." --
Knowledge, Technology, & Policy"Urs von Burg's well-written book . . . .is timely and useful, and not just to business historians." --
Business History ReviewTable of ContentsList of tables and figures Preface Acknowledgments List of abbreviations Introduction 1. Technological communities and open standards 2. The invention of the LAN 3. Pioneers: the beginning of commercialization 4. The standardization of LAN technology 5. The formation of the ethernet community 6. The rise and fall of ethernet's proprietary competitors 7. The battle between ethernet and token ring 8. Implications Appendices Notes References Index.
