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Posted by Eric Tappert on July 11, 2008, 8:22 pm
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On Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:34:46 -0400 (EDT), hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
>This book was discussed a while ago and some people indicated an
>interest in obtaining it.
>
>I was wondering if those interested did get a copy and what they
>thought of it.
>
>I think it's an excellent reference and answer to many of the
>historical questions that come up in the newsgroup. It not only
>describes what the Bell System developed, but the background and why's
>and how's for a particular product and service. It has good footnotes
>so someone interested in more detail can look them up in a good
>engineering library.
>
>The book also has lessons for us today. While electronics has made
>components and trunks incredibly cheaper than in the past, 'cheap' is
>not 'free', and resources are still limited. Further, we load so much
>more information on a channel, such as high-fidelity audio
>transmissions or complex video signals over the Internet. (A 2400
>baud modem was fine for me to access BBS's since it was all text and
>it doesn't take much to send a whole page of text. But once fancy
>graphics, animation, full size documents, and pictures were available,
>much faster speeds were necessary. To this day we must be careful
>what we download lest we overrun even modern high capacity
>connections. Anyway, the book was written in a time when trunks and
>switches were still very expensive and care had to be taken to provide
>enough capacity to meet demand, but not waste capacity either. Care
>also had to be taken to spread the load evenly onto trunks and
>switches to prevent mechanical wear or congestion.
This particular book was part of a six part set, all published in the
mid 70's. I have all six, but unfortunately they are now out of
print. The official title was "Engineering and Science in the Bell
System" with volumes on:
1. The Early Years (1876-1925)
2. Switching Systems (1925-1975)
3. Transmission Systems (1825-1975)
4. Communications Sciences
5. Service to the Nation in War and Peace
6. Physical Sciences
All of these volumes (none of which was short...) were edited/written
by a handful of Bell Labs Directors and Executive Directors. The
feeling in Bell Labs in those years was that the history would
disappear if not properly documented, so these BTL Directors jobs for
the last few years prior to retirement was to document the efforts
before the real workers died off. Their efforts were superb.
Unfortunately, with the demise of the Bell System and Bell Labs (at
least as it formerly was assembled...) the emphasis has been away from
basic research and on to development. The hope for a future series of
history texts that describe the development of the packet based modern
communications system is likely non-existent.
Several years ago I was part of an accreditation visiting team for a
telecommunications program. One of my recommendations was that this
series be placed in the library. Few folks realize that the bazooka
was invented in Murray Hill (among other things)...
If you can find a copy of any volume, get it and enjoy it.
E. Tappert
| ![Bell System history--Switching 1925-1975 [telecom]](/images/header.jpg)
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