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ho ho ho... since when Italian Engineering is less than excellent? I can think of Arduino, mp3, the Pendolino... all Italian or with significant Italian contrib

by eecc 8y ago

ho ho ho... since when Italian Engineering is less than excellent? I can think of Arduino, mp3, the Pendolino... all Italian or with significant Italian contributions. The curse of the country is its managerial class, which will suppress whatever innovation with enthusiastic zeal, only to parrot similar solutions a generation later. They're hell bent in preserving the status quo and gently weaving their relations network rather than do anything else...

sbuttgereit 8y ago
I think they have a couple of well known car brands, too... if memory serves ;-)
- ithkuil 8y ago
  And don't forget the motorcycles
- toyg 8y ago
  And motorbikes. And some very relevant players in the military and space industries.
- eecc 8y ago
  Cars? Used to... it's mostly all gone, sold and off-shored. (and considering what a burden on the public purse had FIAT become it's perhaps good news)
NeedMoreTea 8y ago
> the Pendolino Much of which is technology bought from British Rail with their failed Advanced Passenger Train. Failed because the government of the time (Wilson, I think) pressured them to demo before it was ready. That led to a publicly embarrassing demo where many felt sick because the lean wasn't quite perfected, which they had been warned would happen. After which, rather than providing funds to finish the debugging and releasing, it was taken as yet more objective proof nationalised rail didn't work and funds were limited. Despite this it was completed, and prototypes quietly run successfully in passenger service. The government (by this time Thatcher) would not approve production versions, so the patents and drawings were sold to Fiat. Twenty odd years later Virgin would buy them as Pendolinos. A very typical British technology story really.
mbanzi 8y ago
thanks for mentioning Arduino (which is only partially Italian) :)

by eecc 8y ago

sbuttgereit 8y ago

I think they have a couple of well known car brands, too... if memory serves ;-)

ithkuil 8y ago
And don't forget the motorcycles
toyg 8y ago
And motorbikes. And some very relevant players in the military and space industries.
eecc 8y ago
Cars? Used to... it's mostly all gone, sold and off-shored. (and considering what a burden on the public purse had FIAT become it's perhaps good news)

NeedMoreTea 8y ago

> the Pendolino Much of which is technology bought from British Rail with their failed Advanced Passenger Train. Failed because the government of the time (Wilson, I think) pressured them to demo before it was ready. That led to a publicly embarrassing demo where many felt sick because the lean wasn't quite perfected, which they had been warned would happen. After which, rather than providing funds to finish the debugging and releasing, it was taken as yet more objective proof nationalised rail didn't work and funds were limited. Despite this it was completed, and prototypes quietly run successfully in passenger service. The government (by this time Thatcher) would not approve production versions, so the patents and drawings were sold to Fiat. Twenty odd years later Virgin would buy them as Pendolinos. A very typical British technology story really.

mbanzi 8y ago

thanks for mentioning Arduino (which is only partially Italian) :)