>So did the breakup of AT&T kill Bell Labs? Maybe, maybe not. The >earlier Bell Labs has been portrayed as a scientific utopia, which it >may well have been. But few corporations are anywhere near that >generous, and it's probably unrealistic to expect utopias to last.
Not directly, but certainly indirectly. As a regulated utility AT&T was a haven for manager-engineers. There was an emphasis on making things the "right way." After the break up the reformed companies were flooded with MBAs who disdained technology, knowing that the best way to make money was to slash the workforce, slash research, and manipulate the stock price. So they went from one extreme to the other. ************************************************************************* ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *************************************************************************
