Most of us know there are certain things that have standards. Tires, for example, are all pretty standard with regard to size. If I drive my car into the garage the tire specialist will most likely be able to offer several options that will fit my car.
My little world of technology has many standards; some are industry standards and others are arbitrarily created by manufacturers. Whether we’re talking about televisions, computers, car radios, or other home electronics, most everything has been manufactured to some type of standard.
Until about a year or two ago, most cell phones used different style AC adapters and each manufacturer utilized a different connector. Though some companies still use proprietary plugs, most have adopted the Micro-USB initiative which started in Europe as a way of reducing electronic waste.
Most people who use their television on a table or desk probably don’t realize there’s a way to wall mount their set. On the back of modern televisions there’s a set of four screws designed to adapt a mounting bracket. The screw size and placement was determined by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) making the purchase of accessories easy.
VESA not only sets the standards for those four little screw holes, but they also determine most of the graphics settings. If you’ve ever wondered why monitors and televisions all seem to come in similar sizes and resolutions, that’s because the VESA set the standards for manufacturing.
Car audio equipment is manufactured to the standards of Deutsches Institut für Normung (DIN). DIN is a German organization responsible for making most car radio audio and other electrical items conform to certain standards. This makes replacing brands much easier because consumers can pretty much rest assured their new purchase will be compatible with the old.
DIN not only sets the standard for car audio equipment, the group also publishes standards for industrial electronics. In the industrial arena, it’s not uncommon to reference DIN. Most people will hear DIN mumbled when talking about industrial electronics, namely due to the huge number of manufacturers who may supply electronics to industry.
Desktop computers conform to one of several standards. Most common is the ATX, or Advanced Technology eXtended platform. Rather than a giant standards organization initiating the standard, ATX was proposed by Intel to squelch the influx of oddly sized components being supplied in the mid 90’s. Prior to this standard, it wasn’t unusual to have incompatible parts.
Cables and plugs are generally covered by some type of standard. USB cables and the related technology were developed by a consortium of companies in hopes of standardizing computer connections. Another crazy cable is HDMI; used to transfer sound and video simultaneously. HDMI was developed by another group of companies and has since been adopted by VESA. Even standards for laptop power cords have been adopted by various companies, though no official standard exists.
In my day-to-day life I talk to many customers who don’t understand that components can be interchanged brands other than the original manufacturer. Luckily most components comply to ATX, VESA or DIN standards so things like hard drives and motherboards are pretty much readily interchangeable. Not to say there’s no work after screwing in the part, but at least the form factor is identical.
Having standards makes adding or replacing components easier and less expensive. Prior to adoption of standards, purchasing additional components was very expensive due to the proprietary nature of some items. Hard drives, television mounts, and many other components can be interchanged with relative ease offering consumers a broader and more economical choice.
(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. located at 509 Main St. in Gardner. You can text him at (978) 413-2840 or call him directly at (978) 919-8059.)