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|    MEMORIES    |    Nostalgia for the past... today sucks    |    24,715 messages    |
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|    Message 23,249 of 24,715    |
|    George Pope to Joe Mackey    |
|    Inventions (was: Re: Old PC's)    |
|    23 Jan 22 12:30:32    |
      MSGID: 1:153/757.0 445d1c9e       REPLY: 1:135/392 2c47da1d       TZUTC: -0800       CHARSET: LATIN-1       > CP wrote --       >> True -- just like the lightbulb was parallel 'discovered'/invented on both       > sides of the Atlantic       > True, but there are those who take others ideas and improve on them.       > Benz invented the automobile c. 1885. But by the mid 1890s others were       > taking that invention, changing this and that, improving something else,       > until they came up with a more reliable machine.       > People like Charles Duryea were building one or two hand made cars at a       > time. c. 1895. Eli Ranson Olds had a stationary assembly line where the cars       > were pushed from one area to another around 1900.       > Ford took it a step further with interchangeable parts and used the       > moving assembly line to make a lot of cars c. 1908. He didn't invent the       > assembly line, I think that was Colt in the 1860s, nor did he invent       > interchangeable parts. He just took the idea              Yup - but people still think he invented something (usually "the car") that       was already extrant (car, moving assembly line) -- he was genius to put the       two together, with interchasngeable parts, &, as they call it now, "a single       SKU" (sure; you can have any colour you want, so long as it's black)              I also credit him with paying his workers enough so they could support their        families appropriately AND afford to buy a Ford car. This bit of genius has        been long forgotten or ignored, in the corporate world of today, along with       the customer service commitment of Sam Walton. . .              > During Edison's time people here and in England were working on the idea       > of an electric light. The idea was old then, it just how to do it.       > Edison came up with a filament that would last longer than a few hours.       > And yes he had a whole staff working for him and took the best idea,       > maybe made a minor change and claimed it as his own.              Yeah; but the standard now (I know--can't fairly judge the past by the       filters of today) is to give the inventor credit, but to own(& license or       sell by your own choice) the patents.              I hate tyoday's type of "entrepreneur," who buys up as company, & chops it       up, selling the patent to China, selling infrastructure to whomoever, etc,       laying everyone off, & pocketing the difference in profit. . .              I love that my current boss worked in this industry by himself, when needed,        for 30+ years before starting a business.              When he wanted to incorporate & expand, he brought in a silent partner, who        still gets dividends annually.              Now he's basivally retitredm, enjoying his grandkids, while a GM of his        choosding runs everything & leaves him to enjoy life & collect his due share       of profits & revenue.              I have nothing but respect for this man -- the first I've ever had real       respect for. & the only person I've ever called sir and mister & sincerely       meant the honour. (a mister was just a master(employer)              A non low-born9working class) boy became a mister when he married & thus        operated/ran his own household of people (wife, kids, servants, if applicable       & farmhands, when of money & land)              Then some how we gave every male the title witghout having earned it in any        way. Ditto for sir - a sdir was a knight -- a man of honour. No knights       now, but I consider my bodss to be a man of honour.              I haven't grown to call the GM (my immediate boss now; my original boss is       now just friend) "sir" but I do vcall him a lesser "mister"(Mr. G) or       "Jefe"(he's a PR in Mexico, whee he sdettled & immersed himself to learn the       language & now operates our company from there, with his Mexican wife, & a       bunch of educated Mexican staff. I'm the only OG employee left, so I have my       way of diong certain things, so I got shifted 'upstairs' into admin, & out of       Operations (most clients are L;astionos speaking Spanish, so I'm out of that       loop -- I can fake it in French, but not Espanol. . .)              I'm still critical to the ongoing operations, though, & the GM & I influence        one another to grow & learn new things that are all client-focused.              > And don't forget Tesla who wanted alternating current and not Edison's       > direct current as the standard which led to a split.              Yup -- that was a mess -- the media went nuts with the links of each to       capital punishment.              I consider Tesla to be a genius & Edison to be a practical & intelligent man.              > Edison's thinking if it works, fine, don't tinker with it.       > But others took his ideas and improved on them.              The times they are a-ch-ch-ch-changing. . .              > Bell, while not actually working on a telephone, was the first to make it       > practicable.              & someone else made the move to modems to translate from digital to analog(old        phone lines) & back -- a necessary improvement a the time, but only then.              >> If it ain't broke, don't fix it -- normal perople If it ain't broke, fix it       > til it is       > LOL. Gotta remember that one!              You have a similar view towards Microsoft's efforts that are now based more       on marketing than solid R&D?              Gates' dream/promise came true -- a computer in every home & so much better        than the 8086s running IBMDOS he first envisioned. . .              He also promised an ear in every home & a camera on every corner -- with the        newer Windows that's been done, too.              He played ball & delivered for the powers that be & he was permitted to grow        quite wealthy.              Trump was only permitted to grow rich, but his ego never saw the difference       or comprehended that there were doors closed to him, but open to others.              Money alone isn't enough. You can be brutal (think robber barons) but you got        to have honour & class. (& pedigree, usually)              --- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-5        * Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)       SEEN-BY: 1/123 15/0 90/1 105/81 106/201 120/340 123/131 129/305 330       SEEN-BY: 134/100 138/146 153/105 135 141 757 7715 221/6 226/30 227/114       SEEN-BY: 229/110 206 307 317 400 424 426 428 452 664 700 240/5832       SEEN-BY: 266/512 267/67 275/100 1000 280/464 282/1038 292/854 301/1       SEEN-BY: 317/3 320/219 322/757 342/11 200 396/45 633/280 640/1321       SEEN-BY: 712/848 3634/12       PATH: 153/757 7715 229/426           |
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