This week on The Verge, it’s “Spec Week,” in which the publication is examining the pros and cons of the tech standards that control our lives in a series of stories, explains Julia Alexander, in the Introduction to Spec Week.
These standards, or specs, are what make it so your gadgets and online services work together seamlessly, but when they don’t it’s often because someone didn’t follow the right standard or created a new one the rest of the sector doesn’t support.
Alexander points to Micro USB (and its successor, USB-C) as an example; despite being a standard, every manufacturer uses it differently, leading to confusion for consumers.
This week The Verge is looking at the way specs and standards regulate, empower, and sometimes infuriate us, in areas from gaming to energy consumption to streaming.