Marc and Al,
My fuzzy memory is telling me that, while Betamax was a superior product on the "technical" level, the VHS tape transport mechanism was easier and less expensive to mass-produce. Also, the technical differences were of a nature that mattered to broadcast engineers but which we ordinaly folk can't tell the difference between.
As for 8-track vs. cassette, I don't know any of the "real" scoop but I do remember what sold me on cassettes. They were smaller, less expensive, CLEAN, had small hand-held recorders (great for college lecture notes), and I could send them to relatives in other countries where 8-track had never been heard of to any great extent. (At that time, remote places like England and New Zealand.)
I think at least part of the answer in both cases is quality as perceived by the consumer. Could it be that the majority of consumers choose not to buy the "technically superior" product if they have the choice of another that is "good enough" and is less expensive? In both cases I think that answer is a resounding YES.
"
But what does the customer need? How can we be useful to him? What does he think he needs? Can he pay for it? No one has all the answers. Fortunately, it is not necessary to have all the answers for good management." (Out of the Crisis, pg. 175)
(By the way, do either of you know where I can get a new stylus for my LP record player?
)
Graeme