Lock-in (technology development)
In the field of technology development, lock-in describes the phenomenon that a technological innovation that has become a standard only allows certain types of use and further development cannot be easily implemented.
For example, the MIDI protocol has become a standard for electronic control of musical instruments. MIDI can be a very helpful tool for musicians in certain situations and is a de facto standard. However, MIDI does not reproduce all existing musical expressions. Musicians who now work with Midi can only be creative within the framework of what the MIDI interface allows. The lock-in consists in the fact that it is almost impossible for an individual musician to develop another standard and that he is therefore dependent on the limited possibilities of the prevailing technology (here MIDI).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Example from: Jaron Lanier : Gadget. Why the future still needs us. Suhrkamp, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-518-42206-9 .