Geoffrey Ball Books

Hearing loss affects countless millions of people, yet few sufferers even seek help, let alone try to find a cure. This is the story of a man who took on that daunting task and ultimately invented the world's most successful middle ear implant. Geoffrey Ball's adventure in technology began in the legendary Silicon Valley of California, the birthplace of so many innovations that have transformed our world, and ultimately led him to the mountains of Austria, where he now lives and continues his work. Ball's deafness was diagnosed early, but even as a child he knew that sign language and conventional hearing aids were not the answer. Despite his proficiency in lipreading, he wanted more - a better fix. Meanwhile, Ball never let his disability stand in his way. He became a kind of modern Renaissance man with interests that ranged from literature to sports to music, all coupled with an undeniable talent for entrepreneurship and invention. The author introduces us to family and friends, surfing buddies and lab rats, business partners and fellow inventors, computer and Internet legends, a brilliant, larger-than-life mentor who gave him his start, and the woman who ultimately saved his brainchild. He intersperses insights into technology, funding and business acumen with personal, often humorous anecdotes and fascinating accounts of successes, failures and near misses along the way. Today, every hour, somewhere in the world, one of his ground- breaking devices improves the quality of life of a hearing-impaired person. No one is laughing at the deaf boy now, and we haven't heard the last of Geoffrey Ball.

L’extraordinaire aventure technologique de Geoffrey Ball a débuté dans la légendaire Silicon Valley californienne et l’a mené aux montagnes autrichiennes, où il vit actuellement et poursuit son travail. Geoffrey a compris très tôt que le langage des signes et les aides auditives conventionnelles ne solutionneraient pas sa surdité. Refusant d’être entravé par son handicap, il est devenu un vrai homme de la Renaissance moderne, s’intéressant à tout, avec un talent indéniable d’entrepreneur et d’inventeur. L’auteur nous présente sa famille et ses amis, ses potes de surf et ses copains les rats de laboratoire, ses collaborateurs et ses collègues inventeurs, des légendes de l’informatique et d’internet, ainsi que le mentor génial qui lui a donné sa chance et la femme qui a sauvé son invention. Il nous insuffle son expérience en matière de technologie et d’esprit d’entreprise, en nous abreuvant d’anecdotes personnelles et de récits fascinants de ses réussites, de ses échecs et de ses occasions manquées.