THE EDISON VS WESTINGHOUSE TITANIC BATTLE IN THE 19TH CENTURY HAS MANY LESSONS FOR US TODAY

We remember the giant commercial war between the electrical standards of both these genius inventors. We all know that Edison lost with his direct current system and Westinghouse was the victor. Today this standard still exists around the world. In our own time we have seen many of these same commercial fights take place: Windows/Macintosh, VHS/Betamax and so on. There are so many of these going on today it is often difficult to keep track of them.

The electronic future we so look forward to is today being filled with the current darlings of our electronic entertainment, HD-DVD versus Blu-Ray. Thomas Edison was right in betting on direct current over Westinghouse’s alternating current standard for household electricity. But it was a case of Westinghouse being the smarter marketer of the two geniuses. In a new book titled "AC/DC", that documents this fierce struggle, author Tom McNichol tells us what it was like and also draws parallels with today’s commercial world.

Today’s Digital Age wizards should study this book and also the extensive historic records of Edison’s struggles for dominance. There are many clues as to how to achieve success in this burgeoning electronic world. Where will the next steps after this come? Will they arrive from Asia or Europe or other unknown places? It is a sure bet that whoever achieves lasting standards success will be employing some of the lessons that Edison did not learn.