Sava Jacobson wrote this article for a New York magazine in the early 1980s. It was in the proof stage as two three-columned pages when his editor at the magazine was fired. With Mr. Jacobson’s kind permission, the David Sarnoff Library is pleased to offer this insider’s perspective on the motives for corporate and political decisions in the establishment of a significant technological standard.

Abbreviations have been spelled out, first names added, and some dates and dimensions corrected in brackets. Punctuation has been placed inside quotation marks.