Ethernet inventor welcomed into Hall of Fame
Published: 08 May 2007 17:54 BST
…there will always be bad actors hanging around any system trying to game the system.
A big problem was that for 20 years the Patent Office did not issue software patents. It was against the rules. So, for example, when I patented Ethernet I spent a lot of time with Xerox attorneys explaining how you would build Ethernet using hardware, even though we actually built it using a lot of software. But since software was not patentable, we had to express it as a hardware embodiment. And then, somewhere along the line, for some reason I don't know, the Patent Office started allowing software patents. That created a big problem, because there was this big gap in the prior art. A lot of patents got issued that shouldn't have been issued, because there is prior art out there that just hasn't been discovered.
You started 3Com in 1979 and, ironically, Cisco Systems, not 3Com, is now considered the world leader in Ethernet.
That's right. Had I been a better person there would be no Cisco today. Were I a better person there would be no Novell today, and the list goes on. 3Com was ahead of a lot of companies, most famously Cisco, and it got passed. But you know that is pretty normal for companies. IBM let DEC get formed. And DEC let Sun get formed. And Sun let Apple get formed. And Apple let Nokia get formed. So there is a lot of precedent for companies getting overtaken from below. So many of my former 3Com buddies work at Cisco now, Cisco being a fine company.
The secret for getting credit for things is not to claim credit for things
Bob Metcalfe
Do you feel bitter about that or disappointed?
No, there is no bitterness here. I am proud of the company. It's still a substantial company, hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. It may even be profitable again. I am delighted that the company is still independent and delighted it has done a series of mergers and each time has chosen to keep the name 3Com, which I gave it. So that makes me the founder of this company even though there are a bunch of other people who founded parts of it. But it's funny, they don't get credit for founding their parts of it, because the 3Com named survived.
You seem to get a lot of credit for things.
Well, I have the knack for it. Some people hate me for that. The secret for getting credit for things is not to claim credit for things. The secret is to make bold predictions that people think are ridiculous and then have them come true. Then you get a lot of credit for that. That is how I have done it. I said a long time ago that Ethernet was going to be a standard someday and guess what? It turned out that way. I wasn't lying.
But some of your other predictions have not come true.
I wrote a column every week for eight years. That's a lot of predictions. I think my batting average is pretty good actually. But I think I know which one you are referring to.
Yes, I'm talking about the December 1995 InfoWorld column where you said the internet would suffer a "catastrophic collapse" in 1996. And then, after the prediction didn't come true, you ate a copy of your column in front of a live audience.
That was a huge PR stunt that I am proud of. I got the cover of Barron's. I got coverage everywhere for eating my column in 1997.
But do you think it hurt your credibility?
I don't think so. Among some idiots, I guess. But I don't care about them. Anyway, if you want the full story, there is a book about it. I wrote it. It's called Internet Collapses and Other InfoWorld Punditry, and it's still available on Amazon.com. You can buy it for $1.97 used. And it describes what I actually predicted. The problem is most people mischaracterised what I predicted. They say: "Metcalfe predicted that the internet would go away in 1996." Well, I didn't actually say that. They like to…
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