Two communications revolutions

Two communications revolutions, separated by almost exactly 500 years, displayed marked similarities in the first 50 years after their introduction. The first, in about 1450, was Gutenberg's invention of movable type, which led to the widespread dissemination of printed books. The second, in the 1950's, was the transistor which led to rapid new means of communication between individuals. Both were initially based on previous technologies for their applications, the first on illustrated manuscripts and the second on vacuum tubes, but both soon developed their own character based on unique features. Both spread from their countries of origin to competing foreign production, both had periods of boom and then production overcapacity in their first decades, and both gradually changed in their first 50 years from the initial use as methods of storing and retrieving information to new means of widespread communication. Both saw threats of government control and censorship as their use became widespread. Both changed the world.