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They might be examples research (cutting edge too) but from Bell came:

Karnaugh Maps, Transistor + MOSFET, Unix, C (this spans at least 1 to 2 years of any EE/CS curriculum). They won (at least) 2 nobel prizes in physics.

From IBM research: LASIK, Networking, DRAM, Leo Esaki + 2 other physics nobel prizes, fractal geometry, ATM, relational databases, vacuum tubes etc.

I don't think a comparison is even possible. (Not to take a cheap shot at anyone - Google has been the single biggest contributor to the delta between my parents' and my generation - they didn't have internet + IR to answer their questions and I have used their services for a large part of my life and they are doing some sweet-sweet things all the time)

Overall, the formula seems to be the same - collect super-smart people, give them freedom and see the magic happen. From what I see, the PR boost each of those contributions brought might have resulted in a net positive (not to mention, being a potential destination for people with immense knowledge of their domains has to be a HR win).



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