I’ve thought for a while that this is the most accurate comparison to draw in order to understand the magic of why Google works the way it does. Others have noted the similarity as well. Even some former Bell Labbers have flocked to Google Labs.
It’s a fascinating sort of environment to watch from the outside, which might explain why so many of us are waiting (im)patiently for Google to throw us the next uber-cool 20% project.
So what happens when you throw the best and brightest minds of a generation into a crucible of creative development and let them spend 1/5 of their time working on whatever happens to inspire them personally? Well, in this author’s opinion, take a glance at history and draw your conclusions.
Also, just as a post-script. When Google really does take over the world, does anyone else think we might have “Google World Conquest Beta” first?
Hmm… I’d have to say “no, not really”. Yes, Google Labs is collecting a bunch of very smart people, no doubt about that. But Google simply doesn’t do the kind of basic research Bell Labs was famous for in its heyday, which brought us the transistor and lasers among other things. Also, Bell Labs was sort of a national resource, supported as it was by the telephone monopoly. In the current economic climate I’m not sure we’ll ever see another Bell Labs.
Most of the work that came out of Bell Labs at first was related to Telecom, like voice synthesis, transistors, UNIX, fiber optics, and so forth. Google is far from being a monopoly with Yahoo and MSN breathing down its neck.
However, the hole in my theory is that eventually a Bell Labs clone will become evil and stop providing things for the greater good eg. BSD vs. SysV.