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U.S. Government Developed the iPod

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the oh-yeah dept.

ezavada writes "Engadget reports that in a speech at Tuskegee University, President Bush claims that government research developed the iPod." From the article: "While we have to gratefully acknowledge the efforts of government agencies such as DARPA in some of the fields mentioned by the President, we also feel obligated to point out the accomplishments of private companies in the US and abroad, including IBM, Hitachi and Toshiba -- not to mention the Fraunhofer Institute, which developed the original MP3 codec ..."

20 of 614 comments (clear)

  1. Absurd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    He didn't say that at all. According to the article, he said that the "the government funded research in microdrive storage, electrochemistry and signal compression" and goes on to say that while the government intendeed that for one (unspecified) purpose, that "it turned out that those were the key ingredients for the development of the iPod".

    That's a long long way from claiming to have "invented the iPod".

    This whole story is a waste of space. It doesn't even mention Ponies.

    1. Re:Absurd by Gulthek · · Score: 5, Informative
      Bingo bango, Snopes strikes again: Internet of Lies

      Claim: Vice-President Al Gore claimed that he "invented" the Internet.

      Status: False.

      Origins: Despite the derisive references that continue even today, Al Gore did not claim he "invented" the Internet, nor did he say anything that could reasonably be interpreted that way. The "Al Gore said he 'invented' the Internet" put-downs were misleading, out-of-context distortions of something he said during an interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN's "Late Edition" program on 9 March 1999. When asked to describe what distinguished him from his challenger for the Democratic presidential nomination, Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey, Gore replied (in part):

      During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system.

      Clearly, although Gore's phrasing was clumsy (and perhaps self-serving), he was not claiming that he "invented" the Internet (in the sense of having designed or implemented it), but that he was responsible, in an economic and legislative sense, for fostering the development the technology that we now know as the Internet. To claim that Gore was seriously trying to take credit for the "invention" of the Internet is, frankly, just silly political posturing that arose out of a close presidential campaign. Gore never used the word "invent," and the words "create" and "invent" have distinctly different meanings -- the former is used in the sense of "to bring about" or "to bring into existence" while the latter is generally used to signify the first instance of someone's thinking up or implementing an idea. (To those who say the words "create" and "invent" mean exactly the same thing, we have to ask why, then, the media overwhelmingly and consistently cited Gore as having claimed he "invented" the Internet, even though he never used that word, and transcripts of what he actually said were readily available.)

      If President Eisenhower had said in the mid-1960s that he, while President, "created" the Interstate Highway System, we would not have seen dozens and dozens of editorials lampooning him for claiming he "invented" the concept of highways or implying that he personally went out and dug ditches across the country to help build the roadway. Everyone would have understood that Ike meant he was a driving force behind the legislation that created the highway system, and this was the very same concept Al Gore was expressing about himself with his Internet statement.

      Whether Gore's statement that he "took the initiative in creating the Internet" is justified is a subject of debate. Any statement about the "creation" or "beginning" of the Internet is difficult to evaluate, because the Internet is not a homogenous entity (it's a collection of computers, networks, protocols, standards, and application programs), nor did it all spring into being at once (the components that comprise the Internet were developed in various places at different times and are continuously being modified, improved, and expanded). Despite a spirited defense of Gore's claim by Vint Cerf (often referred to as the "father of the Internet") in which he stated "that as a Senator and now as Vice President, Gore has made it a point to be as well-informed as possible on technology and issues that surround it," many of the components of today's Internet came into being well before Gore's first term in Congress began in 1977.

      It is true, though, that Gore was popularizing the term "information superhighway" in the early 1990s (although he did not, as is often claimed by others, coin the phrase himself) when few people outside academia or the computer/defense industries had heard of the Internet, and he sponsored the 1988 National High-Perf

  2. Sounds like a (bad) joke to me by BaltikaTroika · · Score: 5, Insightful
    From TFA: George W. Bush told his audience, "the government funded research in microdrive storage, electrochemistry and signal compression. They did so for one reason: It turned out that those were the key ingredients for the development of the iPod."

    The bold type is mine. I doubt that the single reason that things like signal compression were funded was because it was necessary to develop the iPod. It seems like these things could be more useful in military/computer/communications/etc. spheres than in personal entertainment.

    Does this sound like a (bad) joke taken out of context to anybody else? Don't we have editors for this sort of thing?

    Baltika
    --
    http://www.pancakelane.com/

    1. Re:Sounds like a (bad) joke to me by TrappedByMyself · · Score: 5, Informative

      It was a joke. I dug up the speech

      Here is more of the quote:
      " Here's another interesting example of where basic research can help change quality of life or provide practical applications for people. The government funded research in microdrive storage, electrochemistry and signal compression. They did so for one reason: It turned out that those were the key ingredients for the development of the Ipod. I tune into the Ipod occasionally, you know? (Laughter.) Basic research to meet one set of objectives can lead to interesting ideas for our society. It helps us remain competitive. So the government should double the commitment to the most basic -- critical research programs in the physical sciences over the next 10 years. I look forward to Congress to doubling that commitment."

      --

      Help me take back Slashdot. When did 'News for Nerds' become 'FUD and Conspiracy Theories for Extremist Nutjobs'?
  3. Ah-HAH! by jettoki · · Score: 5, Funny

    This proves my conspiracy theory. You think you're listening to music, but in reality, your brain juice is being sucked out and put to nefarious use by the CIA.

    The truth is out there, my friends! Protect your precious bodily fluids!

  4. I'm rich! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well to take it to the logical extremes, the people elected the government who decided to fund these projects with their tax dollars.

    Which means I indirectly contributed about a hundredth trillionth trillionth percent to the development of the iPod... which means based on iPod sales I'm owed about $400,000 in royalties, if my calculations are correct.

  5. Re:US government Invented the iPod by Tx · · Score: 5, Funny

    If there's one thing worse than getting busted for shit, it's getting busted for shit after you flushed it already.

    --
    Oh no... it's the future.
  6. Vint Cerf said Al Gore was instrumental... by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 5, Informative

    In a private email message, Vint Cerf told me that it was true that Al Gore was instrumental in the development of the Internet. Before Mr. Gore's involvement, it was a semi-private utility known as ArpaNet and NSFNet. Mr. Gore championed the development of the private network as a public utility. This was years before Bill Gates, for example, recognized its importance.

  7. He made a funny! by riptide_dot · · Score: 5, Funny

    Bush had to have said this to get a laugh. If he pulled it off and got a laugh, I'm honestly surprised. Not because I don't think it is funny - it is. I'm just really surprised to hear something so witty from the man that gave us these gems:

    "Those who enter the country illegally violate the law." --George W. Bush, Tucson, Ariz., Nov. 28, 2005

    "Wow! Brazil is big." --George W. Bush, after being shown a map of Brazil by Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brasilia, Brazil, Nov. 6, 2005

    "It's in our country's interests to find those who would do harm to us and get them out of harm's way." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., April 28, 2005

    "I can only speak to myself." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., April 28, 2005

    --
    I was in the park the other day wondering why frisbees get bigger and bigger the closer they get - and then it hit me.
  8. To submitter and writer of the article by strider44 · · Score: 5, Funny
    Lets see if I get this right...

    - * <-- joke
    - o
    -\|/ <-- you
    -/ \
  9. Re:Haha by jrockway · · Score: 5, Funny

    > You can say what you want about Bush.

    True, but not on the phone!

    --
    My other car is first.
  10. myths vs fact by saiha · · Score: 5, Funny

    Myth: Bush is an idiot.
    Fact: Bush optimized the original MP3 codec and worked with top engineers to create the ipod.

  11. Want to read more? by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The mis-interpretation of Gore's words came from a dishonest political attack.

    Anyone wanting to read more may be interested in a quote from Wikipedia's History of the Internet: "Funding for Mosaic [the first browser] came from the High-Performance Computing and Communications Initiative, a funding program initiated by then-Senator Al Gore's High Performance Computing Act of 1991."

    Here's a quote from one of Wikipedia's articles about Al Gore: 'His [Al Gore's] statement caused no surprise at the time, and none of the journalists who covered it thought it worth including in their stories. However, two days later, the Republican Party began issuing press releases and statements denouncing Gore for claiming to have "invented the Internet".'

    Another Wikipedia article about Gore quotes Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf: "...as the two people who designed the basic architecture and the core protocols that make the Internet work, we would like to acknowledge VP Gore's contributions as a Congressman, Senator and as Vice President. No other elected official, to our knowledge, has made a greater contribution over a longer period of time."

    Interesting fact: IMDB says that the character Oliver in the movie "Love Story" was partly based on Al Gore. Al Gore had been a roommate of Tommy Lee Jones, who appears in the movie.

    1. Re:Want to read more? by samkass · · Score: 5, Informative

      Here's part of a speech Al Gore entered into the Congressional Record in 1986, almost exactly 20 years ago. At the time, I remember running a BBS on a 2400bps modem-- I was probably one of the geekier people among the general population then-- but even then I think Gore probably had more vision on the topic than any geek I knew. I personally think it's pretty obvious how much the Gore Vice-Presidency must have advanced the state-of-the-art over what may have happened if, say, Quayle had remained Vice-President. I honestly think Slashdot exists in no small part because of Gore's vision...

      [Note that text entered in the Congressional Record is supposed to be all-caps, but Slashdot disallows that, so it's in all lowercase.]

      both of these amendments seek new information on critical problems of today. the computer network study act is designed to answer critical questions on the needs of computer telecommunications systems over the next 15 years. for example, what are the future requirements for computers in terms of quantity and quality of data transmission, data security, and softwear [SIC] compatibility? what equipment must be developed to take advantage of the high transmission rates offered by fiber optic systems?

      both systems designed to handle the special needs of supercomputers and systems designed to meet the needs of smaller research computers will be evaluated. the emphasis is on research computers, but the users of all computers will benefit from this study. today, we can bank by computer, shop by computer, and send letters by computer. only a few companies and individuals use these services, but the number is growing and existing capabilities are limited.

      in order to cope with the explosion of computer use in the country, we must look to new ways to advance the state-of-the-art in telecommunications -- new ways to increase the speed and quality of the data transmission. without these improvements, the telecommunication networks face data bottlenecks like those we face every day on our crowded highways.

      the private sector is already aware of the need to evaluate and adopt new technologies. one promising technology is the development of fiber optic systems for voice and data transmission. eventually we will see a system of fiber optic systems being installed nationwide.

      america's highways transport people and materials across the country. federal freeways connect with state highways which connect in turn with county roads and city streets. to transport data and ideas, we will need a telecommunications highway connecting users coast to coast, state to state, city to city. the study required in this amendment will identify the problems and opportunities the nation will face in establishing that highway.

      --
      E pluribus unum
  12. Re:US government Invented the iPod by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny
    Why do you think that USA is so hated by the general population in the Middle-East?

    You misspelled world.

  13. Re:US government Invented the iPod by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Well, while I'm sure it hasn't done much to endear them to the average man in the mosque, the USA was hated by people in the middle east well before any of their Iraqi adventures. The bigger fallout from the Iraq war has been the damage to America's standing amongst their allies and other friendly nations. Even if the USA is stronger, nobody likes a greedy lying bully.

  14. Re:US government Invented the iPod by neoform · · Score: 5, Funny
    "Why do you think that USA is so hated by the general population in the Middle-East?"
    If the Bush administration has taught me anything, it's that it's because they hate the fact that we stand for freedom. Obviously.
    --
    MABASPLOOM!
  15. Re:US government Invented the iPod by online-shopper · · Score: 5, Informative

    Bush never claimed the government developed the iPod. Slashdot boned this one, engadget boned this one. From TFA:
    "the government funded research in microdrive storage, electrochemistry and signal compression. They did so for one reason: It turned out that those were the key ingredients for the development of the iPod."
    Turns out the government decided to spend our money researching some technologies that happened to be useful in portable mp3 players. no more, no less.

  16. US Basic Research Made iPod Components Possible by quickdot443 · · Score: 5, Informative

    I think this is what Bush was trying to put into words.

    http://www.whitehouse.gov/stateoftheunion/2006/ima ges/mp3-technologies.gif

    This graphic explains what Bush is talking about. Many of the components in the iPod were made possible because of basic research funded by the federal government. Much of this basic research was done at government labs, universities, and within companies with funding from the Pentagon, Department of Energy's Office of Science, National Science Foundation, etc. Hosts of other individuals and companies developed that basic research into components, but the initial funding and reseach was supported by the U.S. government.

    Smaller hard drives, codecs, file compression, etc. are build on the foundation of basic reseach - much of it made possible by initial U.S. funding.

  17. Re:US government Invented the iPod by kypper · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Now mod me down, because I am not part of the group think and my ideas and opinions burn you eyes.
    Funny, but I see your opinion every time I tune into Fox News.

    It always kills me to see the same black and white debate on the same issue. Absolutely nobody in America can stand politically in the middle, or concede that either side might have some valid point.