[COFF] Re: Bell System and the Video Game Industry?

[segaloco via COFF <coff@tuhs.org>]

> Their mismanagement killed the business, causing Bell Labs as we knew it, to eventually fade away.
> 
> I hope that’s somewhat an answer for me, if not correct & complete, it also explains why the ‘combatants’
> aren’t keen to talk about their experiences.
> 
> all my best
> steve

Oh I know that struggle all too well, what potential are we on the cusp of vs. what do the suits want/need.  Given WECo's legacy in the audio realm, I find that Plan9 story particularly disheartening, electrified (audio) signals and the complex manipulation and supplementation thereof is what one would think is the chief concern of a telecom behemoth.

I'd never heard the bit about the hardware business winding up with NCR, although I guess I've never looked in that direction as hard as the USL path through Novell.  That gives me more to study in my nebulous 3B20 and kin research.

I'm glad I wasn't in the know at the time of all the SCO stuff (and was a kid that didn't care) because I probably would've shoved all sorts of feet into my mouth in the sorts of debates over software freedom that were going on at the time.  Looking back, that must've been such a frustrating time, I don't blame folks for coming out of that with battle scars.

Well now I've got this morbid curiosity to see if I can FPGA a WE32000-ish video game console...but that goes on the endless pile of "eventually"s.

Thanks for the background Steve!

- Matt G.