What Does Betamaxed Mean?
Betamaxed is a slang term for when a superior product loses out to an inferior product. This term refers to the adoption of VHS over Betamax in the 1970s and '80s. Betamax was perceived as the superior product, but the pricing and economies of scale behind VHS relegated Betamax to obsolescence. Since then, the term betamaxed has been applied to many technology showdowns, such as the browser wars between Netscape and Microsoft and the ongoing competition between Microsoft and Apple.