Heroes of the telegraph, by J Munro: At a second interview, Mr. Cooke told Wheatstone of his intention to bring out a working telegraph, and explained his method. Wheatstone, according to his own statement, remarked to Cooke that the method would not act, and produced his own experimental telegraph. Finally, Cooke proposed that they should enter into a partnership, but Wheatstone was at first reluctant to comply. He was a well-known man of science, and had meant to publish his results without seeking to make capital of them. Cooke, on the other hand, declared that his sole object was to make a fortune from the scheme. In May they agreed to join their forces, Wheatstone contributing the scientific, and Cooke the administrative talent. The deed of partnership was dated November 19, 1837. A joint patent was taken out for their inventions, including the five-needle telegraph of Wheatstone, and an alarm worked by a relay, in which the current, by dipping a needle into mercury, completed a local circuit, and released the detent of a clockwork.
This partnership went through a few reorganizations before being nationalized as British Telecom in 1870. Is the private sector capable of genuine innovation? Not when they're operating unregulated public utilities? -- rec -- On Mon, Mar 3, 2014 at 10:42 AM, Pamela McCorduck <[email protected]> wrote: > This was my original message on February 22. > > Begin forwarded message: > > *From: *Pamela McCorduck <[email protected]> > *Subject: **Re: [FRIAM] WhatsApp ... Death of SMS?* > *Date: *February 22, 2014 at 5:14:43 PM EST > *To: *The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group < > [email protected]> > > The Internet was conceived and first implemented by a small group of > government and university researchers: J. C. R. Licklider, Bob Kahn, Vint > Cert, and several other pioneers. (So when I hear Silly Valley Libertarians > go on and on, the best I can do is laugh.) > > My question to this august group is: now that the momentum for innovation > has moved to the private sector, are we going to see nothing but these > trivial, mostly copycat apps that make your eyes glaze over? Is the private > sector capable of genuine innovation? > > Pamela > > > > > > > > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com >
============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
