HISTORY AND IMPACT OF COMPUTER STANDARDS

Many aspects of industrialized society, from notebook paper to light b ulbs, are standardized. The computer industry is no exception. In fact , information technology is so complex, it is particularly dependent o n standards to stabilize technology and thereby encourage investment. There was no need for standards in the early years of the computer ind ustry. When computers entered the commercial mainstream, standards bec ame very important. With the help of standards, computers have increas ed in number and in the number of ways they are used. A number of stan dards have profoundly affected the computer industry, including some t hat were developed well before computers hit the mass market. The impo rtant computer standards include the Hollerith data card, the ASCII st andard for data interchange, the Cobol programming language, the RS-23 2 serial port standard, LAN standards, and the CD-ROM. The successful computer standards have used technology to meet business needs without inhibiting innovation and competition. Specifically, good standards r epresent solutions to interface problems and do not limit the way peop le use products. Future standards will have to address. new computer t echnologies, such as high-resolution, full-motion video; faster commun ication; and more data storage.