Presented by: Jane DeWitt EDUC 7108 Dr. Thornburg August 2010

Obsolescence never meant the end of anything, it's just the beginning… Marshall Mcluhan Marshall Mcluhan /

Definition varies Some argue…if technology has not reached mainstream it’s emergent Other feel emergence is the very onset of discovery ( Thornburg, 2009 )

Regardless of the innovation, the adoption of technology is not a linear process ( Soloway, n.d.)   There are gaps   Chasms   Early adopters   Visionaries

All technologies enter the chasm  Some come out  Others don’t (Soloway, n.d.) 01/m_chasm_sf.jpg

Technology can be emergent if it is new to your community Even if its an old technology If it’s new to you… it’s emergent (Rogers, 2003)

Invented in 1958 First retail LaserDisc not released until 1970 Compared to DVD and CD technology Stopped being produced by

 From 1970s until 1995 there was a home video market battle  Beta (backed by Sony) vs. VHS (backed by Philips-JVC) and LaserDisc  Consumers had a limited choice of movie releases  LaserDisc was the first casualty images/hardware/JVC_D- VHS_tape_DF420_large.jpg

LaserDisc had a lot of great qualities, but many that were detrimental in its adoption  Played only data  Unable to record new data  Radius of disc was 12 inches  Difficult to store  Only stored one hour of video per side as compared to 6 or more on VHS or Beta

“The DVD! Much like the “8 Track Player” and the “Cassette”, the DVD is smaller, holds a great amount of data and is cheaper to purchase/create. Back in the day, the laserdisc was cutting edge, now it is edged to be cut-due to new technologies” (Jim Handschuch, 2010)

 VHS was eventually replaced by CDs and DVDs for the home videos market  The CD and DVD rely on many of the same key patents that were originally intended for the LaserDisc  CDs, DVDs and LaserDics were completely digital products  CDs, DVDs and LaserDisc products manufacture and store data in a similar manner

Did the decision makers within our district jump too quickly at the purchase of the laserdisc player?

Obsoletes Intention was to replace the VHS tape format Tapes with magnetic coating with a shorter life span ReversesRetrieves Gathering around the radio to “view” the weekly entertainment programming Home movies Slide shows Enhances Provided viewer with a sharp picture with High band width Top notch sound quality Able to handle analog and digital audio Allowed for extras to be added (commentary/bonus features) (WGRZ-TV Buffalo, 1992) DVDs with digital Dolby surround sound United Streaming in educational setting to stream videos via internet Streaming of video-audio-TV programming through the internet (Laserdisc, 2010) LaserDisc

“….by virtue of being introduced, a new technology carries with it the seeds of destruction paving the way for the next one to follow..” Dr. Thornburg, 2008

edia/2008/12/ bd-dvd-hybrid.jpg Next generation of optical disc storageNext generation of optical disc storage Obsoleted the LaserDiscObsoleted the LaserDisc Industry standard announced in 1995Industry standard announced in 1995 Backed by major industry first in Japan (1996) and in U.S. (1997)Backed by major industry first in Japan (1996) and in U.S. (1997)

Obsoletes Laserdisc players VHS tapes/players Reverses United Streaming of full length videos Hula Netflix Viewing TV programs via the internet Wii Retrieves Compact discs Family gathering time Movie night Enhances Provides a compact, optical storage system Read, write, record Full length, high quality movies High quality music, surround sound Otional videos/graphics Built in copy protection (“DVD(Digital Versatile Disk”, 2008) DVDsDVDs

“Within our school, there was probably only ONE, that had to be signed out…and it came with bulky equipment and no lessons on how to make it all work together.” (C. Reider, 2010)

A technology goes through a predictable, nonlinear process in which it becomes exponentially more powerful over time … (Dr. Thornburg, 2009)

According to Dr. Thornburg(2009), during the early stages of technology development there are numerous evolutions and the LaserDisc was no exception.

 Prior to the release of the LaserDisc, other innovations were evolving.  One such invention was the Polaroid Polavison  Polavision made instant movies by capturing 18 instant photos a second

 Are also responsible for the obsolescence of the LaserDisc  Evolution of technology continued to advance  LaserDisc arrived too late on the consumer market  Obsolesced by VHS which was later obsolesced by DVDs and CDs

A new technology is a fresh emergence of the impact felt many years before from another technology … (Dr. Thornburg, 2009) dle-romance-fire-relationship-200X200.jpg

Did the LaserDisc rekindle something from the past?  Families gathering around the radio  Home movies  Slide shows But…do these explain the original emergence of the LaserDisc? …….Maybe

 Perhaps one reason why the LaserDisc did not fully emerge stems from its inability to fully rekindle something from our past.  Other inventions, emerging on the scene at the same time, doomed the LaserDisc, even before consumers could truly appreciate its advancing technology

The DVD was able to rekindle something from the past  Movie Night  Family gathering time With more time to spend together, without incurring a huge expense, the DVDs emergence may be partially attributed to the Rhymes of History

We shape our tools and afterwards our tools shape us. Quotation of Marshall McluhanMarshall Mcluhan I wouldn't have seen it if I hadn't believed it. Quotation of Marshall McluhanMarshall Mcluhan

References Slide 2: Slide 11: