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The real Ajay Bhatt, co-inventor of the USB port

engadget.com

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Re: The real Ajay Bhatt, co-inventor of the USB port

#11

Post by prat »

whye wrote: post #4
ShabbyDoo wrote: post #3

That Conan (a) felt like Ajay would be relevant for a general audience, and (b) didn't bring him on for the sole purpose of humiliating him speaks well for the acceptance of engineering in US society. A decade ago, he would have been reduced to caricature -- "nerd" glasses and the like.

What I don't understand is why Intel didn't use the real Ajay in their ads. Here's someone who they are supposedly honoring as a rock star, and yet when it comes to the ads, instead of using him, they hire an actor. How big of an Intel star can you be, if you aren't good enough to appear on TV?

Maybe Ajay didn't want the spotlight - so what they did was the next best honor by atleast using his real name.

Re: The real Ajay Bhatt, co-inventor of the USB port

#12

Post by codexon »

zhyder wrote: post #6

I found it odd that he didn't share the credit with more people at Intel and its partners, and spoke negatively about Firewire[1]. [1]- Firewire lost mainly because the cheaper+slower USB1.1 became ubiquitous first, and then came the backward-compatible (in connectors/cables) and comparably-fast USB2.0.

I'm surprised someone voted you down and that you are still at 1 point.

USB 1.0 seems like one of the many interfaces that will eventually end up obsolete just like ISA PCI AGP PCMIA etc...

I really don't see anything technically superior about USB (feel free to correct me). The main reason it won out over Firewire was of course Intel and Microsoft backing, and that it was in the sweet spot for the price/feature trade off.

Re: The real Ajay Bhatt, co-inventor of the USB port

#13

Post by weaksauce »

codexon wrote: post #12
zhyder wrote: post #6

I found it odd that he didn't share the credit with more people at Intel and its partners, and spoke negatively about Firewire[1]. [1]- Firewire lost mainly because the cheaper+slower USB1.1 became ubiquitous first, and then came the backward-compatible (in connectors/cables) and comparably-fast USB2.0.

I'm surprised someone voted you down and that you are still at 1 point. USB 1.0 seems like one of the many interfaces that will eventually end up obsolete just like ISA PCI AGP PCMIA etc... I really don't see anything technically superior about USB (feel free to correct me). The main reason it won out over Firewire was of course Intel and Microsoft backing, and that it was in the sweet spot for the price/feature trad…

It was cheaper because it was not proprietary like the firewire port. I think that was the only issue really. Firewire has a smaller protocol overhead so at a given bit rate the throughput was faster. Did the original firewire spec allow for multiple devices on the same bus or was that included in a later revision?

Re: The real Ajay Bhatt, co-inventor of the USB port

#14

Post by pmorici »

whye wrote: post #4
ShabbyDoo wrote: post #3

That Conan (a) felt like Ajay would be relevant for a general audience, and (b) didn't bring him on for the sole purpose of humiliating him speaks well for the acceptance of engineering in US society. A decade ago, he would have been reduced to caricature -- "nerd" glasses and the like.

What I don't understand is why Intel didn't use the real Ajay in their ads. Here's someone who they are supposedly honoring as a rock star, and yet when it comes to the ads, instead of using him, they hire an actor. How big of an Intel star can you be, if you aren't good enough to appear on TV?

The real Ajay's time is likely a lot more valuable than some random actor who does commercials. I other words he is probably too valuable to appear on TV. Think about it when it is all said and done the guy would have had to take at least a week away from his normal responsibilities when you include travel, filming time etc...

Only B list celebrities play themselves on TV.

Re: The real Ajay Bhatt, co-inventor of the USB port

#15

Post by chaosprophet »

lunchbox wrote: post #10
whye wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I don't understand is why Intel didn't use the real Ajay in their ads. Here's someone who they are supposedly honoring as a rock star, and yet when it comes to the ads, instead of using him, they hire an actor. How big of an Intel star can you be, if you aren't good enough to appear on TV?

From a NYT article on Intel: The real inventors are not in the ads; they are played by actors. Mr. Bell said he wanted to ensure the commercials were humorous, and avoid arguments with Intel employees over which should be featured. "When you are required politically to cast certain people and get everyone involved, you tend to get this watered-down, feel-good campaign that works really well internally and makes the c…

That argument does not really hold much water. The fact remains that you are portraying the same person, so these arguments which Intel wanted to avoid would still come up. Considering that, they should just have gone with the real guy.

Re: The real Ajay Bhatt, co-inventor of the USB port

#16

Post by alabut »

whye wrote: post #4
ShabbyDoo wrote: post #3

That Conan (a) felt like Ajay would be relevant for a general audience, and (b) didn't bring him on for the sole purpose of humiliating him speaks well for the acceptance of engineering in US society. A decade ago, he would have been reduced to caricature -- "nerd" glasses and the like.

What I don't understand is why Intel didn't use the real Ajay in their ads. Here's someone who they are supposedly honoring as a rock star, and yet when it comes to the ads, instead of using him, they hire an actor. How big of an Intel star can you be, if you aren't good enough to appear on TV?

Fine, I'll say it if no one else will - the actor portraying Ajay looks funny and acts hilariously pompous, even in such a short ad.

"A decade ago, he would have been reduced to caricature" and the same thing happened now, so who knows whether the real Ajay would've been cool with it or able to pull it off. Consider all the wooden ads by sports stars that come off as stiff and rely on the recognition factor only.

Re: The real Ajay Bhatt, co-inventor of the USB port

#17

Post by brandnewlow »

My take: They didn't use the real guy because this let them create a little buzz and hold him back to give their ad campaign a second wind.

http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html

Interesting that a Tonight Show advertiser initiated this interview, the show said yes, and even admits this interview was prompted by a sponsor. (Also interesting that the ad-block HN crowd isn't complaining about watching sponsored content)

Intel's PR and marketing people played this one really well.

Re: The real Ajay Bhatt, co-inventor of the USB port

#18

Post by Andys »

chaosprophet wrote: post #15
lunchbox wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From a NYT article on Intel: The real inventors are not in the ads; they are played by actors. Mr. Bell said he wanted to ensure the commercials were humorous, and avoid arguments with Intel employees over which should be featured. "When you are required politically to cast certain people and get everyone involved, you tend to get this watered-down, feel-good campaign that works really well internally and makes the c…

That argument does not really hold much water. The fact remains that you are portraying the same person, so these arguments which Intel wanted to avoid would still come up. Considering that, they should just have gone with the real guy.

Its an advertisement, a lower grade of information than even a puff piece or glossy brochure.

For TV advertisements, you need people who can act. Engineers aren't actors. Save the real engineers for informational pieces like this interview.

Re: The real Ajay Bhatt, co-inventor of the USB port

#20

Post by paul »

brandnewlow wrote: post #17

My take: They didn't use the real guy because this let them create a little buzz and hold him back to give their ad campaign a second wind. http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html Interesting that a Tonight Show advertiser initiated this interview, the show said yes, and even admits this interview was prompted by a sponsor. (Also interesting that the ad-block HN crowd isn't complaining about watching sponsored conte…

That seems unlikely to me.

The "submarine" essay is a good one, but it has caused people here to overestimate the cleverness of PR people. It's better to think more in terms of the press being lazy.

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