Écouter et lire

Entrez dans un monde infini d'histoires

  • Lire et écouter autant que vous le voulez
  • Plus d'un million de titres
  • Titres exclusifs + créations originales Storytel
  • 14 jours d'essai gratuit, puis 9,99 € par mois
  • Annulation facile à tout moment
Essayer gratuitement
Details page - Device banner - 894x1036
Cover for AC/DC: The Savage Tale of the First Standards War

AC/DC: The Savage Tale of the First Standards War

25 évaluations

3.8

Durée
6h 29min
Langue
Anglais
Format
Catégorie

Documents et essais

Long before there was VHS versus Betamax, Windows versus Macintosh, or Blu-Ray versus HD-DVD, the first and nastiest standards war was fought between alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC).

AC/DC tells the little-known story of how Thomas Edison bet wrong in the fierce war between supporters of alternating current and direct current. The savagery of this electrical battle can hardly be imagined today. The showdown between AC and DC began as a rather straightforward conflict between technical standards, a battle of competing methods to deliver essentially the same product, electricity. But the skirmish soon metastasized into something bigger and darker. In the AC/DC battle, the worst aspects of human nature somehow got caught up in the wires: a silent, deadly flow of arrogance, vanity, and cruelty. Following the path of least resistance, the war of currents soon settled around the most primal of human emotions: fear.

AC/DC serves as an object lesson in bad business strategy and poor decision making. Edison’s inability to see his mistake was a key factor in his loss of control over the “operating system” for his future inventions—not to mention the company he founded, which would later become General Electric.

The battle over whether alternating or direct current would be the standard for transmitting electricity around the world changed the lives of billions of people, shaped the modern technological age, and set the stage for all standards wars to follow. Today’s Digital Age wizards can take lessons from Edison’s fierce battle: control an invention’s technical standard and you control the market.

© 2008 Blackstone Publishing (Livre audio): 9781481551595

Date de publication

Livre audio : 1 mai 2008

Mots-clés

    D'autres ont également apprécié ...

    1. A People’s History of Computing in the United States
      A People’s History of Computing in the United States Joy Lisi Rankin
    2. Three Laws of Nature: A Little Book on Thermodynamics
      Three Laws of Nature: A Little Book on Thermodynamics R. Stephen Berry
    3. Isaac Newton
      Isaac Newton James Gleick
    4. Six Great Scientists: Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Darwin, Marie Curie, Einstein
      Six Great Scientists: Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Darwin, Marie Curie, Einstein J. G. Crowther
    5. The Secret Life of Science: How It Really Works and Why It Matters
      The Secret Life of Science: How It Really Works and Why It Matters Jeremy J. Baumberg
    6. Dreams of a Final Theory
      Dreams of a Final Theory Steven Weinberg
    7. The History of Physics: A Very Short Introduction
      The History of Physics: A Very Short Introduction J.L. Heilbron
    8. Losing the Nobel Prize: A Story of Cosmology, Ambition, and the Perils of Science's Highest Honor
      Losing the Nobel Prize: A Story of Cosmology, Ambition, and the Perils of Science's Highest Honor Brian Keating
    9. The Age of Radiance: The Epic Rise and Dramatic Fall of the Atomic Era
      The Age of Radiance: The Epic Rise and Dramatic Fall of the Atomic Era Craig Nelson
    10. The Universe: Leading Scientists Explore the Origin, Mysteries, and Future of the Cosmos
      The Universe: Leading Scientists Explore the Origin, Mysteries, and Future of the Cosmos John Brockman
    11. Strange New Worlds: The Search for Alien Planets and Life beyond Our Solar System
      Strange New Worlds: The Search for Alien Planets and Life beyond Our Solar System Ray Jayawardhana
    12. Conjuring the Universe: The Origins of the Laws of Nature
      Conjuring the Universe: The Origins of the Laws of Nature Peter Atkins
    13. Higgs: The Invention and Discovery of the 'God Particle'
      Higgs: The Invention and Discovery of the 'God Particle' Jim Baggott
    14. The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science from Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience
      The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science from Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience Lee McIntyre
    15. Homo Mysterious: Evolutionary Puzzles of Human Nature
      Homo Mysterious: Evolutionary Puzzles of Human Nature David P. Barash
    16. No Shadow of a Doubt: The 1919 Eclipse That Confirmed Einstein's Theory of Relativity
      No Shadow of a Doubt: The 1919 Eclipse That Confirmed Einstein's Theory of Relativity Daniel Kennefick
    17. Geophysics: A Very Short Introduction
      Geophysics: A Very Short Introduction William Lowrie
    18. Time Reborn: From the Crisis in Physics to the Future of the Universe
      Time Reborn: From the Crisis in Physics to the Future of the Universe Lee Smolin
    19. Atomic Adventures: Secret Islands, Forgotten N-Rays, and Isotopic Murder—A Journey into the Wild World of Nuclear Science
      Atomic Adventures: Secret Islands, Forgotten N-Rays, and Isotopic Murder—A Journey into the Wild World of Nuclear Science James Mahaffey
    20. Mapping the Heavens: The Radical Scientific Ideas That Reveal the Cosmos
      Mapping the Heavens: The Radical Scientific Ideas That Reveal the Cosmos Priyamvada Natarajan
    21. A World Beyond Physics: The Emergence and Evolution of Life
      A World Beyond Physics: The Emergence and Evolution of Life Stuart A. Kauffman
    22. For the Love of Physics: From the End of the Rainbow to the Edge of Time---A Journey Through the Wonders of Physics
      For the Love of Physics: From the End of the Rainbow to the Edge of Time---A Journey Through the Wonders of Physics Warren Goldstein
    23. Physics for Poets
      Physics for Poets Richard T. Kouzes
    24. Genomics: A Very Short Introduction
      Genomics: A Very Short Introduction John M. Archibald
    25. The Quantum Moment: How Planck, Bohr, Einstein, and Heisenberg Taught Us to Love Uncertainty
      The Quantum Moment: How Planck, Bohr, Einstein, and Heisenberg Taught Us to Love Uncertainty Alfred Scharff Goldhaber
    26. The Human Instinct: How We Evolved to Have Reason, Consciousness, and Free Will
      The Human Instinct: How We Evolved to Have Reason, Consciousness, and Free Will Kenneth R. Miller
    27. The Great Degeneration
      The Great Degeneration Niall Ferguson
    28. The History of Science
      The History of Science Peter Whitfield
    29. Einstein's Shadow: The Inside Story of Astronomers' Decades-Long Quest to Take the First Picture of a Black Hole
      Einstein's Shadow: The Inside Story of Astronomers' Decades-Long Quest to Take the First Picture of a Black Hole Seth Fletcher
    30. The Undercover Scientist: Investigating the Mishaps of Everyday Life
      The Undercover Scientist: Investigating the Mishaps of Everyday Life Peter J. Bentley
    31. The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of History
      The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of History Howard Bloom
    32. Mars: Our Future on the Red Planet
      Mars: Our Future on the Red Planet Leonard David
    33. Race and Culture: A World View
      Race and Culture: A World View Thomas Sowell
    34. Tides of History: Rise of the Modern World, Vol. 1
      Tides of History: Rise of the Modern World, Vol. 1 Patrick Wyman
    35. Cyberdeterrence and Cyberwar
      Cyberdeterrence and Cyberwar Martin C. Libicki
    36. How Civilizations Die (and Why Islam Is Dying Too)
      How Civilizations Die (and Why Islam Is Dying Too) David Goldman
    37. River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life
      River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life Richard Dawkins
    38. The Politically Incorrect Guide to Climate Change
      The Politically Incorrect Guide to Climate Change Marc Morano
    39. A Personal Odyssey
      A Personal Odyssey Thomas Sowell
    40. Age of Entanglement
      Age of Entanglement Louisa Gilder
    41. GPS
      GPS Paul E. Ceruzzi
    42. Calculating the Cosmos: How Mathematics Unveils the Universe
      Calculating the Cosmos: How Mathematics Unveils the Universe Ian Stewart
    43. Small Wars, Big Data: The Information Revolution in Modern Conflict
      Small Wars, Big Data: The Information Revolution in Modern Conflict Eli Berman
    44. The Great Degeneration: How Institutions Decay and Economies Die
      The Great Degeneration: How Institutions Decay and Economies Die Niall Ferguson
    45. The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization
      The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization Anthony M. Esolen
    46. The Truth about Muhammad: Founder of the World’s Most Intolerant Religion
      The Truth about Muhammad: Founder of the World’s Most Intolerant Religion Robert Spencer

    L’offre Storytel :

    • Accès à la bibliothèque complète

    • Mode enfant

    • Annulez à tout moment

    15 heures

    Pour accompagner vos loisirs

    9.99€ /mois
    30 jours gratuits
    • 1 compte

    • 15 heures/mois

    Essayer maintenant

    30 heures

    Pour vos trajets quotidiens

    14.99€ /mois
    30 jours gratuits
    • 1 compte

    • 30 heures/mois

    Essayer maintenant

    45 heures

    Pour écouter tous les jours

    17.99€ /mois
    30 jours gratuits
    • 1 compte

    • 45 heures/mois

    Essayer maintenant