March 31st is World Backup Day, and this year marks the fifth time we've done a study on backup. You can see the results . Interestingly, according to the study, 92,7% of consumers back up their data at least once a year, which is 24% more than a year earlier. At the same time, 65% of respondents admitted that they or their relatives have lost data over the past year by accident or due to hardware / software failures. And this is almost 30% more than in 2018!
As you can see, even in the case of computer memory, backup does not help everyone. Needless to say about the more complex and confusing historical memory. Because of its omissions, many outstanding minds do not receive due recognition either before or after death. Their names and merits are completely forgotten, and their discoveries are assigned to third parties.
In this post, we will try to make a partial backup of historical memory and remember some of the almost forgotten scientists and inventors whose work we are reaping today. And at the end, let's talk about our new R&D unit in Bulgariawhere we actively recruit specialists.
Antonio Meucci - the forgotten inventor of the telephone
Most people believe that the inventor of the telephone was Alexander Graham Bell, a Scot. Meanwhile, Bell did not have and does not have the right to be called the "father of telephony." Antonio Meucci was the first to discover a method of transmitting sound through electricity and wires. This Italian invented the telephone quite by accident. He conducted experiments in medicine and developed a method of treating people with electricity. In one of the experiments, Antonio connected the generator, and his test subject loudly uttered some phrase. To Meucci's surprise, the voice of the assistant was reproduced by the equipment. The inventor began to figure out what the reason was, and after a while he designed the first prototype of a voice-over-wire system.
However, Antonio Meucci was not a successful businessman, and his discovery was simply stolen. After the news about the invention of the Italian appeared in the press, a representative of Western Union came to the scientist's house. He was generous with compliments and offered Antonio a handsome reward for his invention. The gullible Italian immediately βleakedβ all the technical details of his protophone. Some time later, Meucci was stabbed in the back - the newspaper published the news about Bell, who demonstrated the operation of the telephone. And the sponsor of his "show" was Western Union. Antonio simply could not prove his rights to the invention, he died, ruined by legal costs.
Only in 2002 did the US Congress rehabilitate the name of the inventor by publishing resolution 269, in which Antonio Meucci is recognized as the real inventor of telephone communications.
Rosalind Franklin - discoverer of DNA
The English biophysicist and radiographer Rosalind Franklin is a prime example of discrimination against female scientists. In the scientific community of the middle of the last century, this was a frequent occurrence. Rosalind studied the structure of DNA and was the first to determine that DNA consists of two strands and a phosphate backbone. She showed her discovery, confirmed by x-rays, to her colleagues Francis Crick and James Watson. As a result, it was they who received the Nobel Prize for the discovery of the structure of DNA, and everyone undeservedly forgot about Rosalind Franklin.
Boris Rosing - the real inventor of the TV
Boris Rosing, a Russian scientist with Dutch roots, can be considered the father of television technology, because he was the first to construct an electronic kinescope. Although systems for transmitting images existed even before the discovery of Boris Rosing, they all had a significant drawback - they were partially mechanical.
In the Rosing kinescope, the electron beam was deflected by the magnetic field of induction coils. The transmitter used an inertia-free photoelectric cell with an external photoelectric effect, while the receiver was a cathode flow control system and a cathode ray tube with a fluorescent screen. The Rosing system made it possible to abandon optical-mechanical devices for transmitting images in favor of electronic ones.
During the years of Soviet power, Boris Rosing fell under the distribution - he was arrested for aiding the counter-revolutionaries and exiled to the Arkhangelsk region without the right to work. And although, thanks to the support of his colleagues, a year later he managed to transfer to Arkhangelsk and enter the Department of Physics of the Arkhangelsk Forestry Engineering Institute, his health was undermined - a year later he died. The Soviet authorities did not spread about this, and the title of "inventor of the television" went to Vladimir Zworykin, a student of Boris Rosing. The latter, however, never hid that he made all his inventions by developing the ideas of his teacher.
Lev Theremin - the diamond of Russian science
Many curious inventions are associated with the name of this scientist, which would be enough for a real spy novel. Among them are the theremin musical instrument, the Far Vision television transmission system, radio-controlled unmanned aerial vehicles (prototypes of modern cruise missiles), and the Buran listening system, which read information from glass vibrations in the room. But Termen's most high-profile invention is the Zlatoust transmitting device, which for seven years supplied secret information straight from the office of the US ambassador to the USSR.
The design of "Zlatoust" was unique. He, like a detector receiver, worked on the energy of radio waves, due to which the device could not be detected by the US special services for so long. The Soviet secret services irradiated the building of the US Embassy with a powerful source at the frequency of the resonator, after which the device "turned on" and began to broadcast sound from the ambassador's office.
The "bug" was hidden in a decorative carved copy of the Great Seal of the United States, which was presented to the American ambassador by the pioneers of "Artek". The bookmark was discovered quite by accident. But even after that, American experts for a long time could not understand exactly how it works. It took Western scientists a year and a half to deal with this problem and make at least an approximate working analogue of Chrysostom.
Dieter Rams: the inspiration for Apple's electronics design
Dieter Rams is named after Braun, where he worked as an industrial designer from 1962 to 1995. However, if you think that the design of the technique developed under his supervision is hardly relevant anymore, you are mistaken.
It is worth studying the early work of Rams, and it becomes clear where Apple's designers drew their inspiration from. For example, the Braun T3 pocket radio closely resembles the design of early iPods. The Power Mac G5 system unit looks almost one-on-one as a Braun T1000 radio. Compare for yourself:
It was Dieter Rams who unmistakably formulated the main principles of modern design - practicality, simplicity, reliability. On their basis, almost all modern electronic devices are developed, which have smoothed shapes and contain a minimum of elements.
By the way, Rams also set some principles for the use of color in electronics. In particular, he came up with the idea to designate the record button in red and invented a color indication of the sound level, which changes its color with increasing amplitude.
William Mogridge and Alan Kay: the forefathers of modern laptops
Alan Curtis Kay is another designer whose work has defined the look and feel of personal computers and the interface philosophy of modern technology. With the advent of microelectronics, it became clear that a computer is no longer a room filled with cabinets. And it was Alan who came up with the concept of the first portable computer. In the layout of his Dynabook, created in 1968, one can easily guess both a modern laptop and a tablet.
Another person, thanks to whom the devices we are used to look that way, and not otherwise, is William Grant Mogridge. In 1979, he invented the hinged laptop folding mechanism. The same mechanism was later used in flip phones, game consoles, etc.
Fortunately, today there are many opportunities for talented inventors to talk about themselves and their work - thanks, the Internet. We at Acronis are also working to ensure that various important information is not lost. And we will be glad if you help us with this.
Welcome to Acronis Bulgaria
Now Acronis has 27 offices open, employing more than 1300 people. Last year, Acronis acquired T-Soft, which opened a new Acronis Bulgaria R&D center in Sofia, which should become the company's largest development office in the future.
Within three years, we plan to invest $50 million in the new center and expand the staff to 300 people. We many different specialists who will develop cyber defense technologies, maintain the operation of data centers and develop related products and services - these are Python / Go / C ++ developers, support engineers, Q&A and more.
In the process of moving, we help new employees with documents, taxes, interaction with the authorities, and generally advise on all issues. We pay for one-way tickets for the entire family of the employee, allowances for housing and children, and also allocate an additional amount for the arrangement of an apartment and a housing deposit. Finally, we organize acquaintance with the country and language training, help to open a bank account, find a school / gym and other institutions. And, of course, we leave contacts in case of emergency.
Full list of vacancies available , and on the same page you can send a resume. We look forward to your feedback!
Source: vagabond.bg
Source: habr.com