>>>>> The US is not particulary known as an innovative country you'd like to think of. A few examples:
>>>>
>>>>Honestly Walter - these examples are ridiculous.
>>>
>>>Not more than the originating message saying that europe is not innovative. I'd like add one another example. Our national Philips holds an awfull lot of soft and hardware patents which were really innovative. Like for example the Audio tape, DCC, Compact disc.
>>
>>To call Philips a Dutch company is really ignoring the trans-national / international nature that this company really is. It is not Dutch anymore.
>
>Most if not all the things Walter mentioned concerning Philips were dev. in Eindhoven (Netherlands) or Hasselt (Belgium) labs....
>
>A+
>jml

Jean that may be so but Philips is more than those products. And the location where something is developed does not define the "nationality" of a company. Companies like Shell and Philips are no longer Dutch. They span too many borders to be considered a national company any more. Don't you wave that finger at me! :)