>>>While a Metrologist, I worked at Ampex Corporation. They had about 20,000 employees and owned property all around the world. We produced the worlds first commercial audio tape recorder, invented the video recorder, instant reply
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>>As in "one click and the message has been replied to" :) ?
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>>>Thus an innovate American Company was sold to an Englishman for his pleasure and enjoyment.
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>>Had I invented capitalism, I would feel ashamed for this flaw in the system. If it will comfort you, I've seen inventive people being screwed by society in socialism as well. As one said "we would again let Tesla leave".
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>It is said that innovation is different from invention, and that companies like Ampex were inventors and companies like Sony were innovators. It is one thing to invent videotape and another to innovate new ways to align the head and tape to fit it in a smaller box.

Bret;

An interesting problem Ampex had when the engineers ran the company was that the equipment we manufactured seemed to work forever. That is not good if you want to make a profit over time. The Bank of America took over and things changed over night. We could not build anything - they got rid of many good people. We still invented but could no longer build. The joke was if you bought Sony (they were licensed to build our equipment) it worked as soon as you opened the box. With Ampex made equipment, you got a free Ampex Engineer who opened the box for you and stayed there until the machine worked. That could mean until retirement! :)

One day in September of 1989 Sony took out a two page add selling the new digital VTR's invented by Ampex. Sony was licensed by Ampex to build the machines. Ampex had 100% rejects and could not deliver even an NTSC machine. Sony was offering off the shelf NTSC, PAL, PAL-M, Secam and HDTV! We knew we were in trouble. Mild understatement!

The reality was several of us had been informing management for over 11 months of specific problems (about 450) concerning software and hardware for this product, our main product at that. Our manager sent our weekly reports to the general manager exactly as we wrote them. The GM changed the problems to in effect "everything is alright - there are no problems" and that went up to the Director. When 16,000 of us were laid off that day my manager and the GM were standing next to me. The GM said he changed the reports to appear be favorable to the Director. He said the Directors son was the Principal Engineer on the project and did not wish to offend the Director.

On the bright side the Director was promoted to Vice President of Quality.

Tom