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Path: utzoo!watmath!sunybcs!jmpiazza
From: jmpiazza@sunybcs.UUCP (Joseph M. Piazza)
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Re: spinoffs
Message-ID: <2601@sunybcs.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 9-Dec-85 09:28:18 EST
Article-I.D.: sunybcs.2601
Posted: Mon Dec  9 09:28:18 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 10-Dec-85 06:16:00 EST
References: <8511191259.AA24626@decwrl.DEC.COM> <380@anasazi.UUCP>
Reply-To: jmpiazza@gort.UUCP (Joseph M. Piazza)
Organization: SUNY/Buffalo Computer Science
Lines: 23
Summary: 

In article <380@anasazi.UUCP> john@anasazi.UUCP (John Moore) writes:
>In article <8511191259.AA24626@decwrl.DEC.COM> redford@JEREMY.DEC (John Redford) writes:
>>
>>The commercial value of spinoffs is negligible.
>>
>>program might develop something unique and innovative, but it rarely 
>>gains market acceptance because it is specialized to the needs of 
>>that program.  The bottom line is that if you want your research to 
>>be of commercial value, it must be directed to commercial needs.  
>
>So, if it is not commercially worthwhile, then neither is scientific
>research. Lets drop all funding of scientific research - since it is
>not directed at producing commercial results, it will rarely be useful!
>
I recall local firm here in Western New York that designed and
manufactured a component for the shuttle was able to market a product
based on that component (a small motor, I believe).  The point here is
that the company was producing a product (and jobs) that it would NOT
have if it wasn't for the shuttle program, which esentially served to
subsidize the component's design making the step towards marketing it
was a very small one.

	joe piazza