Should Blu-ray Disc be called Red-ray instead?
Of the three oldest professions practiced since we moved from the sunny top of a tree to the darkness of a cave, two have always had a fundamental impact on the development of IT.No, not philosophy. Unfortunately, thinkers tend to be rather luddistic, for reasons that go back to a disgraceful divorce between Sophia and Techne. I'm talking about prostitutes and generals.
We all know about Turing's job and ARPANET. These are clear, if sheer-lucky, proofs that not all money spent by the army is entirely wasted and harmful. Generals have pushed the development of IT at the rate of billions of dollars of investment.
We sometime forget, however, that the pornography industry, which generates an estimated $57 billion in annual revenue worldwide, is a major drive in the choice of standards. The Internet started as a defence system, had an infancy as a scientific tool, but it also developed as a means of mass masturbation. It happen already with the development of printed illustrations and then photography, cinema, television. Later, we know that the P industry determined the battle between the VHS vs. Beta standards. By opting for the VHS standard, it contributed to the defeat of the Beta one (according to many, technically a better standard). Unsurprisingly, still the P industry is probably going to determine the winner between Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD.
Sony, with its PlayStation 3 (PS3) box, due out in November, supports Blue-ray. PS3 will soon be everywhere, thus guaranteeing a foot in the living room. So the P industry is joining Sony, and it will probably tilt the balance. Next time you play with a PS3, you may pause a moment to think what the P stands for.
We all know about Turing's job and ARPANET. These are clear, if sheer-lucky, proofs that not all money spent by the army is entirely wasted and harmful. Generals have pushed the development of IT at the rate of billions of dollars of investment.
We sometime forget, however, that the pornography industry, which generates an estimated $57 billion in annual revenue worldwide, is a major drive in the choice of standards. The Internet started as a defence system, had an infancy as a scientific tool, but it also developed as a means of mass masturbation. It happen already with the development of printed illustrations and then photography, cinema, television. Later, we know that the P industry determined the battle between the VHS vs. Beta standards. By opting for the VHS standard, it contributed to the defeat of the Beta one (according to many, technically a better standard). Unsurprisingly, still the P industry is probably going to determine the winner between Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD.
Sony, with its PlayStation 3 (PS3) box, due out in November, supports Blue-ray. PS3 will soon be everywhere, thus guaranteeing a foot in the living room. So the P industry is joining Sony, and it will probably tilt the balance. Next time you play with a PS3, you may pause a moment to think what the P stands for.
Comments
Post a Comment