There is a forthcoming book about the legacy of innovation from AT&T Bell Laboratioies (aka "Bell Labs"). The New York Times ran this preview on Sunday 26-Feb. As a Bell Labs alum (Signal Processing Laboratory, Whippany NJ 1982-91) I could not be prouder.
A timeline of audio innovation at the Labs:
In summary, Bell Labs was a great place to be a young engineer. It offered a unique combination of freedom, responsibility, and access to the gods (Thompson, Ritchie, Weinberger, et. al.). It is greatly missed.
Cheers,
TGD
A timeline of audio innovation at the Labs:
- 1927 -- Negative feedback amplifier. Aids development of radio and high-fidelity amplifiers.
- 1927 -- First high-fidelity sound recording. Reproduced sound range is extended by one octave at each end of the scale.
- 1933 -- First transmission of stereo sound. A symphony concer is broadcast live over telephone lines from Philadelphia to Washington.
- 1948 -- Information Theory. Which leads us to ...
- 1957 -- Digitized music. First demonstration of digitized and computer-synthesized music. (Neil Young says thank you.)
- 1958 -- The laser. Crucial for communications, surgical and DVD technologies.
In summary, Bell Labs was a great place to be a young engineer. It offered a unique combination of freedom, responsibility, and access to the gods (Thompson, Ritchie, Weinberger, et. al.). It is greatly missed.
Cheers,
TGD