s the pace of life has sped up in the last 10 years, so has the development and release of new products and new technologies. Though we often are eager to work or play with the latest gadget or upgrade, many of us have found that being an early adopter can have its drawbacks.

When a new technology arrives, there are many ways to greet it, depending on whether standards were established before the technology was first marketed. This may be an important ingredient in how well the new technology fares in the international market.

For example, a new encryption algorithm has been created and is already in use in some products. However, it is so new that a standard has yet to be approved in the U.S. and around the world. And a new development language designed to improve security on the Internet also is in the process of being reviewed by standards bodies.

What are standards?

Standards are documented agreements containing technical specifications or other precise criteria to be used consistently as rules, guidelines or definitions of characteristics to ensure that materials, products, processes and services are fit for their purpose.

For example, the format of credit cards, phone cards and smart cards that have become commonplace is derived from an ISO International Standard. Adhering to the standard, which defines such features as an optimal thickness (.76 mm), means that the cards can be used worldwide.

International Standards thus contribute to making life simpler and to increasing the reliability and effectiveness of the goods and services we use.

What is ISO?

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies from 130 countries, one from each country. ISO is a non-governmental organization established in 1947. The mission of ISO is to promote the development of standardization and related activities in the world with a view to facilitating the international exchange of goods and services, and to developing cooperation in the spheres of intellectual, scientific, technological and economic activity. ISO's work results in international agreements, which are published as International Standards.

ISO's name Many people will have noticed a seeming lack of correspondence between the official title when used in full, International Organization for Standardization, and the short form, ISO. Shouldn't the acronym be IOS? Yes, if it were an acronym - which it is not.

In fact, "ISO" is a word, derived from the Greek isos, meaning "equal," which is the root of the prefix "iso-" that occurs in a host of terms, such as "isometric" (of equal measure or dimensions) and "isonomy" (equality of laws, or of people before the law).

From "equal" to "standard," the line of thinking that led to the choice of "ISO" as the name of the organization is easy to follow. In addition, the name ISO is used around the world to denote the organization, thus avoiding the plethora of acronyms resulting from the translation of "International Organization for Standardization" into the different national languages of members - e.g., IOS in English, OIN in French (from Organisation internationale de normalisation). Whatever the country, the short form of the Organization's name is always ISO. The History of ISO International standardization began in the electrotechnical field: The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) was created in 1906. Pioneering work in other fields was carried out by the International Federation of the National Standardizing Associations (ISA), set up in 1926. The emphasis within ISA was laid heavily on mechanical engineering.

ISA's activities ceased in 1942 because of World War II. Following a meeting in London in 1946, delegates from 25 countries decided to create a new international organization, "the object of which would be to facilitate the international coordination and unification of industrial standards." The new organization, ISO, began to function officially on Feb. 23, 1947.

The first ISO standard was published in 1951 with the title, "Standard reference temperature for industrial length measurement."

For more on the history of ISO, read "Friendship among Equals - Recollections from ISO's First 50 Years," available - along with much more information about the organization - on www.iso.ch.