Week 2 HW: Dominant Design

List of Dominant Designs

QWERTY Keyboard

            Competition in the late stages of the stages of the typewriter for different layout of the key on the keyboard to maximize productivity. The Dvorak style keyboard is often cited as the major alternative to QWERTY.

Microsoft Windows

            In the Late 1980s and early 1990s there was major competition and different for operating systems for different PCs, such as between Apple’s OS and different distributions of Linux, however Windows emerged as the most dominant in the computing industry.

VHS Tape Format

            Competition between the VHS and the Betamax formats for the leading standard using for recording and storing video tapes. VHS ultimately won this “format war” because it was significantly cheaper in the U.S. market and could record up to twice as much footage per tape.

AC Power Electric Grid

            In the late 1800s there was a large feud between Tesla and Edison to determine what would be the type of current used to deliver electricity to the masses over the power grid. Tesla was an advocate of AC power while Edison advocated DC power.  Tesla’s AC power ended up prevailing because it is safer and much more efficient than Edison’s DC power which he had all of the ownership rights too.

Philips Ambient Health Experience

            This refers to a patient treatment style used throughout the healthcare system developed by Phillips where the patients are put in a relaxing environment that calms their senses when they are undergoing stressful procedures or operations. There was not much of a precedent for this kind of system, but once it began to be implemented, hospitals began to imitate it all of the world because of the peace of mind that it brought to patients.

The Next Dominant Design

I believe that in the field of education at least, the next dominant design is going to come in some form of a new teaching model with traditional classroom style learning time done through online video lectures and an in-class lab or discussion period that can be used to cater to the specific needs of each student. This will allow all students to have access to a level of education appropriate for them and will allow more students in general to have access to that education.