Inventor of Call Waiting

The thread about Bill Gates got me thinking...why do some who develop software become multi billionaires and others end up forgotten?

Is it timing?

I used to work for At&T then Ameritech (Baby Bell) then SBC. I happened to talk to the guy
(Bell Labs) who developed the software for Call Waiting. You may not know but this software was the predesessor to speed calling etc. etc, Caller Id and who knows what else...
(This was at least ten years after it had been released). I told him that I thought it was a really great acheivement and he said 'yeah, I got a really nice bonus that year' That is ALL
he received! I was totally amazed!!! Since he was an employee of Bell Labs any of his innovations were company 'property' and he could lay no claim to them. I wonder how much Bell Labs made off of this? I am sure he is retired by now...No one even knows his name....

kt

The are many Masters of Geekdom who are totally unrecognized for their talents. A real shame.

I know what you mean. My DSis worked for a small Company that manufactured grease, lubricating oils & heat sinc. Their lab guy, a scientest & friend of hers invented their recipe for heat sinc & they are making a 300% profit on it. The Company's income is 80% from this product alone. He is/was just getting his standard salary. Unfortunately he & every one else signed a Company waiver & confidentiality aggreement when they were first hired that anything made while employed by them was their property. They claim it as their product. It's a shame that businesses do this to people.
He has since left the Company, but since he is a scientist, he just added & changed some of the ingredients & is now selling the stuff on his own under a different name of course.

My hublet works with software release at NASA and I am amazed by the things that people invent everyday! Some people there love the work so much that when they actually are forced to retire they continue to come to work everyday anyway. There is some kind of loophole that allows them to come in. I have never heard anyone ever complain that they didn't receive enough recognition, very cool people. Good Luck and Happy Sweeping!!