The Phillips Screw. A lesson on open standards

Wired has a nice little story on the invention of the Phillips screw. The notable part of the story for me is the section that mentions Peter L. Robertson’s square screw. Despite a couple of decade head start and technologically superior design, it failed to gain wide spread adoption because of his insistence on keeping tight control over the invention.

Though neither invention could be called an open standard, it’s a classic example of how more liberal rules for usage lead to wider adoption and technological dominance.

It’s a pattern that has repeated itself throughout history and continues to impact technology today. Companies would do well to heed the lessons of the past.

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